Better Together: Using MTSS as a Structure for Building School–Family Partnerships

A large body of research suggests that families' engagement in their children's education is a crucial factor in promoting school success for children and youth. Family engagement in school is associated with improved academic achievement and reductions in social and behavioral problems. Research also suggests that collaboration between schools and families is an important support for students with learning and behavioral challenges, including students with disabilities. The importance of engaging families in their children's schooling is recognized in both general education and special education laws and policy initiatives. Schools in every state in the country are implementing some version of a multitiered system of support (MTSS) to improve outcomes for all students, including those with or at risk for disabilities. This article offers recommendations for educators to support family-school partnerships within the context of MTSS. These recommendations are based on family engagement research and the authors' experiences supporting schools throughout the country in implementing MTSS and intensive intervention through national technical assistance centers, and other federal, state, and local projects focused on implementation of tiered systems. The recommendations are intended to help educators partner with families to support students' learning and behavior and sustain these partnerships by aligning and embedding family engagement across the tiers of MTSS.