Too often in our systems, practices and procedures are followed because they were followed before. Do any of these sound familiar?
"That’s how we have always done it."
"That’s what the contract says."
"No one has ever questioned this before."
"Why are we suddenly changing everything?"
All of these responses come from individuals who are “frozen” in the current model. Sadly, the current model was not built for all students, and “freezing” there leads to the continuation of inequitable and exclusionary practices and systems.
Worry not! Change is possible when we challenge mindsets and build systems that support collective teacher efficacy and student learning. In short, we must commit to unfreezing and building equitable multi-tiered systems of support.
Building inclusive and equitable systems is an ongoing and cyclical process that requires flexibility and openness to change. To achieve this, it is important to unlearn mindsets that do not serve all learners and to understand the stages of change that people experience. Educators need to collaborate and develop a skill set that enables them to meet the needs of all learners. This includes consistently honing subject matter expertise, leveraging universal design for learning, and incorporating evidence-based practices in social and emotional learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, and trauma-informed instruction. And goodness, this is challenging without system support.
To incentivize change, we need to offer ongoing support through high-quality professional development, professional learning communities, instructional coaching, and high-quality instructional materials. We should also provide early adopters with opportunities to pilot new resources and become part of a distributed leadership team so they can create a demonstration of impact which will help others to get on board. Administrators must be clear that implementing inclusive practices and serving students with disabilities is not optional and provide the necessary leadership support, professional learning, and resources to increase collective efficacy.
By embracing a cycle of reflect-change-growth, we can build awareness, develop the skills, and acquire the resources necessary to create equitable and inclusive systems that allow all learners to access grade-level learning in general education classrooms with their peers.
So get started. Take the steps to create an equitable system of support for both your educators and your students. In the book In Support of Students: A Leader's Guide to Equitable MTSS, authors Katie Novak and Kristan Rodriguez share concrete guidance, tools, and strategies so you can shift your systems. Each chapter within the book breaks down: 
- Planning for Systems Change
- Understanding MTSS
- The Power of Inclusive Practices
- Building Your Team and Crafting a Vision
- Kicking Off the Needs Assessment Process
- Data Analysis to Prepare for MTSS
- Conducting the Self-Assessment
- Root-Cause Analysis
- Planning for Success
- Implementing Systems
