This review describes available research on interventions delivered by Occupational Therapists (OTs) in schools to identify the outcomes addressed and in which tiers of support (universal, focalized or intense) the interventions are situated. Previous reviews focus on the effectiveness or efficacy of OT school interventions, but the participation…

An increasing number of districts and schools have adopted/adapted a multi-tiered support system (MTSS). The investments in some states have been in the millions. Over the last five years, a variety of concerns have arisen across the country about how well MTSS is meeting teachers' needs for student/learning supports. Some concerns have emphasized…

Students who require intensive individualized intervention often demonstrate needs in both academic and behavioral domains. However, practices around assessment and development of interventions are often siloed and separate, which can be a barrier to implementing intensive individualized support in an integrated manner to maximize efficiency. In…

Multitiered systems of support (MTSS) are an effective and efficient framework burgeoning in schools across the United States. School-based occupational therapy practitioners (SBOTPs) have much to offer in the MTSS framework and can influence school-based outcomes. Understanding the current literature and its implications for practice is…

Emergent literacy (EL) interventions are effective at fostering foundational skills for reading and writing. During the COVID-19 pandemic schools faced several challenges to maintain these interventions, namely changing face-to-face to remote modalities. In this study, the effects of a multi-tier emergent literacy intervention are examined,…

Schools need to make strategic decisions regarding the practicalities of delivering interventions for students struggling with foundational literacy and numeracy skills. This includes planning -- or designing -- how the overall learning environment and experience of the intervention will work to obtain desired results, not just the instructional…

Effective classroom management (CM) is critical to promoting student success, as there is a clear connection between teacher CM practices and student academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. Research demonstrates that children spend more time academically engaged, progress more rapidly, and have higher levels of academic achievement when they…

Behavior and academic outcomes in school are interrelated; students who struggle with academics are likelier to exhibit troublesome behavior and students who struggle with behavior tend to fall behind academically. Multitiered systems of support (MTSS) offer frameworks for providing increasingly intensive support for students with academic and…

Authentic connections and experiences frequently occur between students, educational material, peers, and staff. Staff set the climate and culture of the classroom and impact the academic, behavioral, social, and emotional achievement of students. To support students behaviorally and academically, schools across the United States have created a…

This qualitative process evaluation explores the implementation of a Tier I student intervention plan by educators at primary and intermediate campuses. The purpose of the study is to understand the factors influencing the successful implementation of the intervention and to identify areas for improvement. Data were collected through…

Meeting the needs of students in schools has been challenging for many years. Consequently, some schools have responded with comprehensive, multi-tiered intervention systems (e.g., MTSS) aimed at addressing students' academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. However, most educators have a rudimentary understanding of these systems and the…

Wise Ways School District (pseudonym) is a public school district in northern New Jersey which consists of grades K-12. The high school is a four-year comprehensive institution that serves 583 students in 9th-12th grade. Wise Ways High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school whose goal is to address the needs of all of its students.…

This study examined a school's improvement efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in a rural, high-poverty elementary school. Through improvement science, it analyzed the effects of attendance interventions on attendance improvement. It is well known that students who do not regularly attend school will also struggle with adequate progress and…

Introduction: The 2022 NAEP Mathematics Assessment reported the "largest score declines in NAEP mathematics at grades 4 and 8 since initial assessments in 1990" (NAEP, 2022). More disturbing is that those who could least afford to lose ground lost the most. Gaps based on race, gender, and disability remain virtually unchanged from year…

The implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) has been successful in multiple elementary systems across the United States. Providing three tiers of support for students struggling academically, social-emotionally, and behaviorally in the classroom setting and created success for many students until they reach the secondary level,…