Alix Kunkle, debate coach, used to be an English teacher, but now their job looks a lot different. Aside from being the coach of the debate and forensics teams, they are now the school’s reading interventionist and an MTSS coordinator.
MTSS stands for multi-tiered system of support. Kunkle explains this as “the state of Kansas has a requirement to have a system in place that makes sure that [the school] is meeting the needs of [each student].”
They explain that the MTSS program consists of three tiers. One of these is “no risk,” another is considered “some risk,” and the other is considered “high risk.” Kunkle makes it clear that this is not a way of placing tiered levels of learning on students.
“So, it is a way to help students at all of these levels, and it’s meant to be very fluid. It is not a way of saying that students [have tiers], it is more associated with the learning targets and the specific skills.” Kunkle said.
They claim that being an MTSS coordinator differs from being an English teacher in a few key ways.
“We have started creating a mold of what this reading interventionist will look like . . . . I spend a lot of time in other classrooms pushing into some english classrooms. Sometimes that means pushing into other subjects like biology or math.”
However, this role does not only apply to students, but to the overall classroom as well. Kunkle explains that sometimes all that is needed is “another set of eyes” within a classroom to provide that extra bit of help. This may apply to an “essay they are writing.”
In their new role, Kunkle has found this job to be quite fulfilling.
“If there is one student that I’ve helped everyday, that is rewarding for me. The end goal is to make sure that students are succeeding and that they are able to succeed after high school.”
