Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in Action: Meeting the Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Academic Needs of Learners through Responsive Teaching and Strong Relationships

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is an important addition to a long list of initiatives designed to ensure educational equity for all students. Veteran educators will recognize many MTSS strategies as practices they already use, while others may feel uncertain or overwhelmed by yet another framework. This book bridges that gap―grounding MTSS in authentic classroom experience and practical wisdom.

Through vivid, real-life stories, the authors illuminate both the complexity and the humanity of school-based work. Drawing on decades of experience―as a classroom teacher and as a school counselor/psychologist―their narratives span from 1982 to the present day, including insights from K–12 settings and university teaching. Each chapter presents a compelling case study highlighting student and classroom engagement across grade levels. These stories invite reflection and dialogue around research-based best practices and educational theory, with each chapter concluding in a transparent explanation of the authors' professional thinking.

Readers will trace the evolution of educational practice over time―from an era when Culturally Responsive Pedagogy was rarely discussed to today's emphasis on inclusive, socially-constructed learning environments. The book chronicles the profession's broader shift from behaviorism to social constructivism and demonstrates how that journey informs effective MTSS implementation.

The case studies illustrate how culturally responsive practices, data-informed decision making, and authentic relationships with students create the conditions where academic growth, positive behavior, and social-emotional wellness intersect. Universal (Tier I), Targeted (Tier II), and Intensive (Tier III) supports―across academics, behavior, and social-emotional learning―are woven seamlessly throughout.

Ideal as an introduction to both the theory and practical application of MTSS, this book offers clarity, compassion, and hard-earned insight. It is designed to spark meaningful discussion in teacher preparation programs, professional learning communities, school buildings, and district leadership teams.

Dr. Alice Rodli Tomasini is an adjunct faculty for the School of Education, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She earned a doctorate in Social and Cultural Studies in Education from the University of California at Berkeley. She teaches foundations of teaching, and the curriculum design course for the Single Subject Teacher Credential Program. She also enjoys teaching an undergraduate course in children’s development and learning that is a foundational course for the Equity in Education Minor and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential Program. She has been integrating visual art, music and drama into her secondary school and college teaching since 1985, in California and in Mexico (2003-2015). She teaches world drumming to young English learners in an after-school program. Summers, she will be teaching a global program that she created--Cal Poly in Ireland: Children’s Development, Arts and Equity.

Julia 'Judy' Johnson, EdD, was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger as the LEP (Licensed Educational Psychologist) member to the Board of Behavioral Sciences, State of California, serving from August 2005 to 2008, with a reappointment by Governor Brown from 2008 to 2012. She has served as a member on the State Stakeholders Committee for the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), chair of the BBS Consumer Protection Committee, chair of the BBS Planning Committee, chair of the Continuing Education Provider Committee, and as a member of the Policy/Advocacy Committee.

Johnson, of Brea, has been in private practice as a licensed educational psychologist for more than 30 years, assisting parents, community agencies, universities, and school districts with educational planning. She was previously on faculty at the University of Redlands as a professor in the MA in Education/School Counseling Program and at Mount Saint Mary’s College in Los Angeles. She had a 35 year career as a school counselor and a school psychologist in districts throughout the state, serving as educational coordinator for counseling programs and supervisor for counseling interns in multiple mental health disciplines. Previously, Johnson was a part-time professor in educational counseling and special education at California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.

She is a member of the California Association of School Psychologists (CASP), the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and the American Board of School Neuropsychology. She completed a Doctorate in Leadership for Educational Justice at the University of Redlands in 2011. Dr. Johnson completed preliminary work on developing a code of ethics for LEPs in California for her dissertation. Johnson is a Board Member of Lift Renewal Ministries, a private nonprofit organization that promotes leadership development within church communities throughout the world, The Dibble Institute, a private nonprofit organization that promotes mental health and positive relationships for youth, and The Riverside Assn of School Psychologists.

Currently, Dr. Johnson is a full-time faculty member in the School of Education at Azusa Pacific University, teaching in the Graduate Programs for School Counseling, School Psychology, and Clinical Counseling. Areas of teaching, research, curriculum development, and private practice specialty include: Active Parenting Workshops, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Neurodiversity, Post Concussive Syndrome and Return To Learn/Return To Wellness, PTSD, Crisis Intervention and Response, Resiliency Skills and Restorative Practices, School Neuropsychology, Suicide and Threat Assessment, and MTSS across educational settings.