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2 TPC Digest Integrating a Multi-Tiered System of Supports With Comprehensive School Counseling Programs Jolie Ziomek-Daigle, Emily Goodman-Scott, Jason Cavin, Peg Donohue 2 A multi-tiered system of supports, including Response to Intervention (RTI) and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), has been embedded in many public schools for the last decade. Specifically, this data- driven framework promotes positive student academic and behavioral outcomes, as well as safe and favorable school climates. School counselors design and implement comprehensive school counseling programs that promote students’ academic, career and social/emotional success, as well as equitable student outcomes and systemic changes. As school leaders, school counselors should understand a multi-tiered system of supports and play a leadership role in the development and implementation of such a framework. School counseling interventions using tiered approaches, such as universal instruction via classroom guidance programming and subsequent small group follow-up, have increased student achievement and motivation. Positive behavior support strategies, which can be designed for students with behavioral issues in classrooms or at home, can be taught to teachers and parents for children who need more individualized support and monitoring. Additionally, school counselors have been identified as integral members to RTI teams by using behavioral observations to determine the effectiveness of responsive services. While in PBIS leadership roles, school counselors have demonstrated collaboration and consultation with stakeholders, contributed to a safe school environment and schoolwide systems of reinforcement, utilized student outcome data, implemented universal screening, facilitated PBIS-specific bullying prevention and conducted small group interventions. Behavioral RTI and PBIS, although similar in their focus on schoolwide behaviors within a three-tiered framework, are remarkably different. First, all students are exposed to behavioral RTI, but only students who attend schools implementing PBIS receive the behavioral supports of the latter. On the other hand, PBIS, a manualized approach, requires a specific evaluation process and ongoing training. PBIS fidelity is necessary for successful implementation and requires ongoing data collection and analysis. The behavioral RTI approach allows schools to design and develop their own frameworks in a contextual manner to best support their students, and the method and training for implementation remains flexible. School counselors can be active in both RTI and PBIS implementation in their schools as several of these roles overlap with comprehensive school counseling programs. School counselors are crucial in students’ learning and social development and are invested in early intervention, which is at the root of any comprehensive school counseling program. A multi-tiered system of supports aligns with the ASCA National Model’s chief inputs of advocacy, collaboration, systemic change, prevention, intervention and the use of data. Thus, both the ASCA National Model and a multi-tiered system are inherently connected given their overlapping foci. Aligning both frameworks may be a strategy to advocate at local and national levels for the school counseling field and comprehensive school counseling program implementation. Presenting school counseling programs in this manner also can increase stakeholder involvement, access additional resources and increase job stability. Focusing on the overlap between a multi-tiered system of supports and comprehensive school counseling programs leads to a data-driven, evidence-based focus on improving school climate, as well as student equity, access, and academic and behavioral success, meeting the needs of students across all three tiers. Jolie Ziomek-Daigle is an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia. Emily Goodman-Scott, NCC, is an Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University. Jason Cavin is the Director of Behavior Support and Consultation at the School of Public Health at Georgia State University and a doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia. Peg Donohue is an Assistant Professor at Central Connecticut State University. Correspondence can be addressed to Jolie Ziomek-Daigle, 402 Aderhold Hall, Athens, GA 30602, jdaigle@uga.edu . 2