MTSS Simplified Five Principles to Support Implementation

by Harlacher, Jason

• ISBN13: 9781462562718
• ISBN10: 146256271X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-05-04
• Publisher: The Guilford Press
• More Book Details
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Summary

Why are some schools able to implement and sustain a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS), while others struggle to keep momentum going? This concise book cuts through the complexity with five clear principles to keep MTSS on track. Using humor, everyday examples, and pop culture references, MTSS expert Jason Harlacher demystifies technical aspects of implementation while also addressing the human side of change. In a convenient large-size format, the book includes 20 reproducible and downloadable forms and hands-on activities to put each principle into action. Harlacher shows how to make MTSS implementation more successful--by keeping it simple. 

This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.

Author Biography

Jason Harlacher, PhD, is a Senior Researcher at American Institutes for Research, where he is Director of the Center on Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), Co-Director of the Wyoming MTSS Center, and a technical assistance provider for the National Center on Intensive Intervention. Dr. Harlacher has expertise in classroom management, data-based decision making, intensive intervention, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and social and emotional learning. Since the early 2000s, he has teamed directly with educators, school leaders, and district directors to implement MTSS in a practical and manageable way. Dr. Harlacher has worked as a school psychologist, district-level coach, adjunct professor, and state-level consultant. He is an award-winning author of several books.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Introduction: Simplifying MTSS
I. Foundations of MTSS
2. What’s in a Name?: An Overview of MTSS
3. Layered Cake: The Tiers of Support
4. Taking the Reins: Data and Teams
II. Simplifying MTSS
5. Acknowledge That Change Is Hard
6. Build the Need for Change
7. Think Systems, Not Individuals
8. Get a Spark Going
9. Ask the Right Questions
Epilogue: Steady Improvement
Index