Multi-Tiered System of Support
MTSS for Adults
A New Framework for Supporting Educators and Staff
WE ARE THE EDUCATORS.
WE GO FIRST.
MTSS BEGINS WITH US.
"Students are only as emotionally and cognitively healthy as their teachers, administrators and those staff who serve them."
Dr. Lori Desautels
We are introducing a new framework for adults working with children and youth—a multi-tiered approach designed to support and nourish the adult nervous system. This framework offers practices and insights to deepen our awareness of our own nervous systems, enhance decision-making, and empower personal agency.
By addressing the needs of the adult nervous system in schools, districts, and organizations, we aim to foster a sustainable mindset for emotional and mental health. This, in turn, can reduce burnout, build resilience, and create a sense of safety within our learning communities.
The framework is flexible, offering different ways to support staff, individuals, or smaller groups. Think of the tiers as a menu, offering options that best meet the unique needs and preferences of adults. Whether you choose to engage with all the tiers or focus on just one or two, we welcome differentiation to ensure a personalized and effective approach.
TIER ONE
All-Staff Seminars, Reflections, and Discussions
As an organization, district, or school, we come together to learn, ask tough questions, and explore our gaps, strengths, assets, and challenges. Through surveys and data collection, we gain a deeper understanding of what contributes to a healthy adult climate within our environment.
Read more about Tier One
Tier One: A Foundational Seminar for All Adults
Tier One is designed for all adults within a school or organization. This tier consists of a four-hour seminar that includes discussions, surveys, feedback, and reflections. We will take a deep dive into understanding our nervous systems and explore how they influence the way we sense, feel, behave, and perceive the world around us.
The seminar is grounded in the four pillars of the Applied Educational Neuroscience framework and supported by the manual Body and Brain Brilliance. These resources will guide adults in cultivating emotional and mental well-being, even as we navigate the many tasks, decisions, initiatives, and responsibilities of our daily lives.
We’ll explore how the adult nervous system can serve as a model and a regulatory agent for children and youth, helping to reclaim an embodied, biologically respectful awareness of how learning occurs. Through this process, we will integrate relational neuroscience with reflective practices, while tapping into daily rhythms and anchors to promote resilience and well-being.
TIER TWO
Smaller Group Discussions and Reflections
Tier Two focuses on the specific needs and desires of smaller groups within the organization, district, or school. Here, we share practices and strategies that promote collaboration, awareness, and nervous system flexibility. The goal is to foster adaptability in interactions with coworkers, while validating and building on each other’s successes and strengths.
Read more about Tier Two
Tier Two: Supporting Small Groups for Deeper Integration
Tier Two offers support and coaching for smaller groups or teams of educators, mental health professionals, and other adults within schools or organizations who are committed to deeply embedding adult well-being into their environments. It is through the smaller group gatherings that teams will begin to integrate their learning and practices into schools, districts and organizations. These groups will come together to address their unique needs and explore the untapped potential most relevant to their schools or organizations, with a focus on better aligning their work to support children and youth.
The goals of these small groups may include tackling challenges such as staff resistance, addressing stagnant procedures, or improving routines that feel unpredictable or inadequate in supporting the adults within the system. During these sessions, we will introduce practices that emphasize co-regulation, with a primary focus on nurturing the emotional and mental health of the adult nervous system.
This is a time for collaborative planning, reflection, and feedback, aimed at fostering sustainable awareness and promoting healthy collective nervous system states for adults serving children and youth. These sessions can take place over one hour, either via Zoom or in person, depending on preference.
TIER THREE
One-on-One Therapeutic Touchpoints
Tier Three provides personalized support for adults who may be feeling fatigued, overwhelmed, resistant, or in need of co-regulation. These one-on-one touchpoints address how individuals can navigate feelings of disconnection or loss of hope within their workplace, and how to re-establish a sense of connection and well-being.
Read more about Tier Three
Tier Three: Personalized Support for Individual Well-Being
Tier Three provides one-on-one coaching designed to support individuals who may be highly skilled but are feeling exhausted, depleted, and overwhelmed by the demands of their roles. This tier is for educators, mental health professionals, and other adults who are pouring their energy into their work, only to feel fatigued and stretched thin.
It also serves as a therapeutic touchpoint for newer professionals who are still adjusting to the complexities of their roles, facing the challenges and initiatives that can make their work feel overwhelming.
Are you worn out, yet still hopeful? Feeling resistant or burned out, but longing for a shift? Do you need motivation and support to help you reconnect with yourself and find clarity?
In this space, we will work together to help you clear the mental clutter, prioritize your well-being, and set boundaries that allow you to engage with children, youth, and coworkers from a place of ease, transparency, and grounded presence.
Contact Us for Pricing and Customized Delivery
The framework is flexible, offering different ways to support staff, individuals, or smaller groups. Think of the tiers as a menu, offering options that best meet the unique needs and preferences of adults. Whether you choose to engage with all the tiers or focus on just one or two, we welcome differentiation to ensure a personalized and effective approach.