15-Minute Focus: Making Mtss Work

Does your school have an MTSS system, or just a lot of meetings about one?

In 15-Minute Focus: Making MTSS Work, Heather Bushelman gives educators, counselors, and administrators the clarity, practical tools, and step-by-step guidance to build a behavioral and social-emotional support system that every staff member can understand, own, and sustain.

When MTSS gets introduced in a school, it rarely comes with a roadmap. Teams get formed, calendars fill up, paperwork multiplies, and somehow the school counselor ends up responsible for all of it. Meanwhile, students who need support keep falling through the cracks. The problem is not dedication. It is that no one is clear on who owns what, what the data is actually telling them, or how to make the pieces work together. This book cuts through the noise and shows you exactly how to build a system that works, and how to keep it working long after the people who built it have moved on.

You'll discover:

• Why MTSS SEB is not one more thing, but a smarter way to connect what your school is already doing
• How to align PBIS, SEL, Attendance, and Mental Health into one cohesive system instead of four competing initiatives
• The distinct roles of educators, counselors, and administrators at every tier, and why clarity on those roles changes everything
• How to use data at Tiers 1, 2, and 3 to make confident, student-centered decisions rather than guesses
• A practical intervention matching process that takes the guesswork out of what to do next, and why behavior charts and candy rewards are never the answer
• How to build a Tier 3 BIP that teaches rather than punishes, and how to know when a student needs it before the six-week window closes
• How to engage families and community partners as genuine collaborators at every tier, not just in a crisis
• Actionable tools, templates, downloadable resources, and more!

15-Minute Focus: Making MTSS Work will ask you to look honestly at how your school is currently supporting students, and whether the system you have is actually working for every adult who is supposed to carry it. When roles are clear, data drives decisions, ownership is shared, and the why behind behavior is always the first question asked, the right support reaches every student.