A school without an effective Student Support Team process is like an airport without an effective air traffic control. That thought came to mind as I was observing a middle school Student Support Team (SST) meeting last year.

The educators in the room were thoughtful, committed, and clearly cared deeply about their students. There were supports available—interventions, programs, staff expertise. And yet, the conversation kept circling. Students were discussed again and again, with the team engaging in what I call “admiring the problem”: naming challenges in detail without moving to the next step of identifying solutions. When the meeting finally turned to action steps, they were vague. No one was quite sure who was responsible for what or when the plan would be revisited.

It reminded me of a busy airport without an effective control tower. The planes are ready. The pilots are skilled. Passengers are eager to travel. But without coordination, prioritization, and real-time decision-making, the system breaks down. Runways clog. Critical flights don’t get priority. Planes circle overhead, burning fuel, while passengers wait to reach their destinations.

In schools, SSTs serve that same coordinating role within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). And yet, they are often the most overlooked—and most powerful—lever for making MTSS actually work.

When schools don’t have a strong SST process, students who need support may not be identified early. Available interventions aren’t always matched to the students who need them most. Decisions about what supports to provide, how intensively, and for how long are unclear, or not made at all.

MTSS Isn’t Just About Tiers. It’s About Decisions.

Most districts have invested significant time and energy into building MTSS frameworks. Tier 1 instruction is strong. Tier 2 and 3 supports exist. There are intervention menus, screening tools, and progress monitoring systems.

But here’s what I see over and over again: having supports is not the same as using them well.

MTSS depends on a set of ongoing decisions:

• Which students need additional support?
• What do they actually need right now?
• Are the supports we’re providing making a difference?
• And if not, what needs to change—intensity, approach, or duration?

Those decisions live inside SSTs. When SSTs are inconsistent, unclear, or under-supported, even the strongest MTSS structures start to break down. Meetings become compliance-oriented. Students get referred too late—or too often. Supports are layered on without a clear plan to monitor impact.

In contrast, when SSTs are strong, MTSS becomes dynamic and responsive.

Across dozens of SST observations over the past several years, certain patterns show up consistently. Effective teams aren’t necessarily doing more—they’re doing a few critical things intentionally.

Here are five elements in SSTs that truly support students.

1. A Clear and Purposeful Referral Process

Strong SSTs are thoughtful about which students are brought forward. Referrals clearly describe:

• The concern prompting the discussion
• Strategies already tried in the classroom
• Relevant data tied to the concern

This matters because SST time is precious. When referrals are vague or incomplete, teams spend their time trying to figure out why a student is there instead of problem-solving how to support them.

2. Data That Tells a Coherent Story

Effective SSTs don’t rely on a single data point. They look across:

• Academic performance and progress monitoring
• Attendance and engagement patterns
• Behavioral and/or social-emotional indicators
• Qualitative context—what’s happening in the student’s life that data alone can’t capture
• Teacher and staff observations

Importantly, this data is shared visually and discussed together, creating a common understanding rather than parallel interpretations.

3. The Right People at the Table

Who participates in SST meetings makes a real difference. Productive teams include:

• The referring teacher (or a synthesized teacher perspective at the secondary level)
• Staff with expertise in behavior, mental health, or instruction
• An administrator or designee who can support decision-making and resource alignment

This ensures that plans are both informed and realistic.

4. A Predictable Agenda and Strong Facilitation

Some of the most effective SSTs I’ve observed use a simple, consistent structure:

• Why the student was referred
• What the data shows
• What might be driving the concern
• Which supports align to those needs
• Who will do what—and by when

Strong facilitation keeps the focus on root causes rather than symptoms and helps teams avoid drifting into general discussions that don’t lead to action.

5. Clear Action Steps and Built-In Follow-Up

Every effective SST meeting ends with clarity:

• Specific supports to be implemented
• Assigned responsibility
• A timeline for reviewing progress
• Agreed-upon data to assess whether the plan is working

Without follow-up, even good plans lose momentum. With it, SSTs become engines of continuous improvement.

Consistency Across Schools—With Room for Smart Flexibility

One of the most important lessons from district-level SST work is the need for consistency without rigidity. Schools benefit enormously from shared language, aligned processes, and common expectations around SSTs. At the same time, SSTs should look different across grade bands.

Elementary schools often rely on one primary teacher and focused, student-by-student meetings. Middle schools need structures that support team-based referrals. High schools must coordinate across many teachers while maintaining a clear student focus.

The goal isn’t uniformity—it’s coherence.

A Final Thought

If your MTSS isn’t producing the outcomes you hoped for, the issue may not be the quality of your supports. It may be the system guiding them.

In my experience, strengthening SSTs is one of the fastest, most sustainable ways to improve how MTSS functions for students and educators alike. If this resonates—if you’re wondering how your SSTs are actually functioning in practice—it may be worth taking a closer look. Sometimes a few focused adjustments can dramatically change how well a system supports students.

And like air traffic control, when SSTs are working well, most people barely notice. They just see that students are getting where they need to go.