This post is adapted from a post published on the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast & Islands blog with permission from IES.
Youth are experiencing unprecedented rates of mental health distress. Depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts and behavior among high school students have been on the rise for years prior to COVID but were further exasperated by the pandemic. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, more than 42 percent of students felt persistently sad and hopeless in 2021—up from 31 percent in 2017. Moreover, 22 percent of students seriously considered suicide and 10 percent attempted it, compared to 17 and 7 percent, respectively, in 2017. To address this crisis, many schools and districts are turning to multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)—a framework for implementing a cohesive set of evidence-based programs and practices.
Due to the urgent need and interest in this topic, REL Northeast & Islands brought together educators from across the region for a series of coaching sessions with social and emotional learning (SEL) expert Dr. Shai Fuxman and public health educator Bonnie Lipton, beginning in November 2023.
Recently, we distilled the strategies and best practices discussed during these meetings into a series of new fact sheets to support educators’ use of MTSS for SEL and mental health. “MTSS is about a single, cohesive and comprehensive system with a lot of different pieces that have to work together,” says Fuxman.
“These fact sheets are about paying attention to all the individual elements and how they interact with each other to make one good system.”
This blog introduces each of the five new MTSS fact sheets and their topics—including understanding MTSS, meeting the SEL and mental health needs of students, using data to promote student well-being, promoting educator well-being, and ensuring equity is at the center of MTS efforts.
To continue reading the post and its related resources, visit the original REL Northeast & Islands post.
Erica Macheca, a writer and managing editor for REL Northeast & Islands at EDC, brings expertise in editing, writing, communications, and strategic dissemination. Working with subject matter experts, she translates complex topics into clear, engaging resources—including success stories, case studies, blog posts, online tools, user guides, and newsletters—for diverse audiences. | |
Shai Fuxman is a mental and behavioral health researcher who leads initiatives to support school districts’ development and implementation of SEL and school-based mental health efforts. He currently leads the Massachusetts-based Social, Emotional, and Behavior Academy, which supports districts to design and implement MTSS approaches to student well-being. | |
Bonnie Lipton is a public health educator who provides subject matter expertise on SEL and mental health best practices to school districts, state agencies, and community organizations. |
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