Student Support Teams (SST) and Their Core Members
The Student Support Team's membership is critical to its success. The logic is clear, we need
professionals who are trained and certified in academic instruction (teacher); behavior, social
emotional learning and cognitive skills (school psychologists, school counselors, school social
workers) as well as a dynamic school administrator. We must have the best that the school can
offer. The Student Support Team should have as its teacher representative the person who is
most expert in instruction and peer consultation as well as equipped in effectively addressing
classroom management. It is equally important that the individual be motivated for change and
willing to promote a quality problem solving process. The support staff members must have
strong knowledge of both behavior and learning. At least one of these three professions must be
part of the school’s core leadership team. The school counselors, psychologists and social
workers must have strong consultation skills in working with teachers and in guiding them to try
interventions with students needing them. These staff should provide guidance and leadership in
functional behavioral analysis and a variety of appropriate strategies likely to be successfully
used for both academic and behavioral needs. This group should have a strong understanding of
behavior, mental health and social skills as they relate to academic achievement. They should
guide and support the school in the collection of measurable results of the interventions used. In
addition, the team must utilize the expertise of intervention and knowledge of the individual
student as seen by the school-based, mental health professional. The school needs to include
these providers, the community agency therapist that has knowledge of the student in question or
who is available for a referral for targeted intervention as an important member of SST. It is
imperative that the SST include community providers when a student is receiving services to help
ensure that all interventions are aligned. Student Support Teams are not limited to the core
members and should include, when possible, all staff knowledgeable of the student and family.
It is important that we emphasize the importance of using problem-solving approaches to support
at-risk students within general education. Unlike traditional models of “refer and place”, problemsolving models seek to resolve student difficulties with the general education through the
application of evidence-based interventions and systematic monitoring of student progress. The
student’s response to regular education interventions then becomes the primary determinant of
the need for special education referral, evaluation and service. Key common features include:
classroom observations; screening assessment that emphasize skills rather than classification,
and the measuring of the student’s response to instruction rather than norm-referenced
comparisons; evidence-based interventions within general education; and collaborative
consultation and/or team efforts among general and special educators. Measurement and record
keeping is key to the success of SST’s.
We must distinguish the Problem-Solving Team from the Pre-Referral Teams or as many in our
District call IBA. They differ in both purpose and intent.
- A Problem-Solving Team develops valid interventions designed to resolve a student’s
academic and/or behavioral difficulty in the general education setting. The true emphasis
is to meet the student’s needs first and produce positive learning outcomes. Additional
support for students and teachers may include connection with community agencies,
mentoring and other academic supports.
- A Pre-Referral Team’s intent is to move the child through one or more interventions as a
prerequisite to a MFE for consideration of special education placement.
Historically, Pre-Referral Teams have been perceived as procedural hurdles en-route to special
education services rather than vehicles for implementing evidence-based interventions to solve
student problems.
Generally, all models have three basic components:
- Describing and analyzing a student concern
- Identifying potential strategies to address the concern
- Testing the selected alternative strategies by implementing them and evaluating their
measurable effectiveness
The distinguishing features of Problem-Solving Teams include the following:
- Use of systematic, problem-solving process.
- Focus on modifying the environment to assist students.
- Focus on assessment of what the student knows and can do and not on weaknesses.
- Helping teachers understand the function of behaviors and developing positive alternative
behaviors and their reinforcement.
- Interventions that have been shown by research to have a high probability of success.
- Use of strategies to ensure that the interventions are implemented consistently and
accurately.
- Use of systematic data collection and progress monitoring to determine the student’s
response to the intervention.
Problem Solving Steps
- Step 1: Define the problem in measurable, observable terms
o Break down a broad, general concern into specific skills related to the concern
(reading difficulty VS a specific phonemic awareness skill)
- Step 2: Develop an assessment plan
o Identify methods of measurement or baseline
- Step 3: Analysis of the assessment results and goal setting
o Compare student’s baseline performance to the others in the classroom or a
local norm and the discrepancy between the baseline and the expected
performance drives the goals for the intervention
- Step 4: Develop and implement the intervention plan
o Team identifies the interventions that can be implemented according to the
students needs and available resources
- Step 5: Analysis of the intervention plan
o The team analyzes the progress and determines:
 Good progress is being made so continue intervention
 Insufficient progress so the plan is either modified or a new plan is
developed
Questions:
- What is an intervention?
o An intervention is a new strategy or modification of instruction or behavior
management designed to help a student improve performance relative to a
specific goal. An effective intervention is based on valid information about
current performance and desired performance, is realistic for implementation in
the current setting, is directed toward important and realistic goals, and defines
success in measurable terms.
- How is the effectiveness of an intervention measured?
o Data is gathered throughout the implementation of the intervention in order to
see if it is working for the child. It is common to have at least six data points for
measured progress.
- Are students later referred to special education?
o Evaluation for special education eligibility is only one possible outcome of the
problem-solving process. The goal of problem-solving teams is to help children
in the general education setting. Special Education should be seen as an
intervention. The question of the predicted effectiveness of such an intervention
should be determined.
- Are parents involved in the process?
o Parent input should always be sought because parents know their children best
and often have unique information and ideas to share.
- What skills are needed by the team?
o Teaming requires good listening and collaboration skills, as well as a good
foundation in the design of academic and behavioral interventions and in the
measurement of student skills and progress.
Some Early Warning Signs
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Poor School Attendance
o Attendance problems often lead to other more serious concerns
Social Withdrawal
o The withdrawal often stems from feelings of depression, rejection, persecution,
unworthiness and lack of confidence.
Excessive Feelings of Isolation
o For the most part research indicates that these children are not violent.
However, in some cases, this can be associated with aggression and violence
Excessive Feelings of Rejection
o Without proper support, youngsters who are rejected may express their
emotional distress in negative ways, including violence.
Being a Victim of Violence
o Children who are victims of violence, including physical or sexual abuse, are
sometimes at risk of becoming violent toward themselves and others.
Feelings of Being Picked On and Persecuted
o Those that are bullied/humiliated may initially withdraw socially and without the
proper support may themselves vent their frustrations in inappropriate ways
Low School Interest and Poor Academic Performance
o It is important to assess the emotional and cognitive reasons for the academic
performance change to determine the true nature of the problem.
Expression of Violence in Writings and Drawings
o An overrepresentation of violence in writing and drawings that is directed at
specific individuals consistently over time may signal the potential for violence.
Uncontrolled Anger
o Anger is a natural secondary emotion associated with frustration, rejection,
neglect and abuse. However, anger that is expressed frequently and intensely in
response to minor irritants may signal potential violent behavior.
Patterns of Impulsive and Chronic Hitting, Intimidating and Bullying
o Some mildly aggressive behaviors might, if left unattended, later escalate into
more serious behaviors.
History of Discipline Problems.
o May set the stage for engage in aggressive behaviors with others
Past History of Violent and Aggressive Behavior
o Without support the child is to repeat those behaviors
 Cruelty to animals, fire setting, etc.
Intolerance for Differences and Prejudicial Attitudes
o Intense prejudice toward others may lead to violent assaults against those who
are perceived to be different.
Drug Use and Alcohol Use
o Reduces self-control and exposes children and youth to violence as a perpetrator
and/or as a victim
Affiliation with Gangs
o Youth who become affiliated with the gangs may adopt these values and act in
violent or aggressive ways in certain situations
Inappropriate Access to, Possession of and Use of Firearms
o Children who have a history of aggression, impulsiveness, or other emotional
problems should not have access to firearm and other weapons
Serious Threats of Violence
o One of the most reliable indicators that a youth is likely to commit a dangerous
act toward self or others is a detailed and specific threat to use violence.
Imminent Warning Signs
*No single warning sign can predict that a dangerous act will occur. Rather, imminent
warning signs usually are presented as a sequence of overt, serious, hostile behaviors or
threats directed at the peers, staff or other individuals (usually evident to more than one
person as well as the family).
May include some of the following:
- Serious physical fighting with peers or family members.
- Severe destruction of property.
- Severe rage for seemingly minor reasons.
- Detailed threats of lethal violence.
- Possession and/or use of firearms and other weapons.
- Other self-injurious behaviors or threats of suicide.