Leading Equity-Based MTSS for All Students

Amy McCart, Ph.D. is an Associate Research Professor with Life Span Institute with Adjunct Faculty status in the Department of Special Education at the University of Kansas. She is the Co-Principal Investigator for the Equity Leadership in High Need Schools research grant, funded through the U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The focus of this work is to bring about equity in student outcomes by developing high quality, effective instructional leaders. Dr. McCart is Co-Director of SWIFT Education Center, established in 2012 at the University of Kansas. SWIFT is a national pre-K-12 research and technical assistance center designed to improve outcomes for all students, with emphasis on students of color and those with the most extensive need for support. Dr. McCart leads an amazing team of technical assistance professionals in urban, rural and high need schools across the United States. Dr. McCart learned much from her co-educators in her work on the ground in a number of urban school districts, including the Recovery School District in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, and the District of Columbia Public Schools. Dr. McCart traveled to Ghana, Africa to support the Ministry of Education and continues their work in supporting all children.

Dawn Miller, Ph.D. is Associate Director of Technical Assistance of SWIFT Education Center at the University of Kansas. Her early career focused on creating local educational support processes that address student needs and support educators and families. This experience evolved into a role in statewide implementation of a problem-solving process and, ultimately, to her home state’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) program. As part of these efforts, Dr. Miller was on a committee that led state regulatory changes regarding Child Find and eligibility of children in the community for special education services, and helped to translate these changes into district procedures linked to MTSS. She also had the opportunity to serve as a district team member leading the planning, staff development, implementation, and evaluation of MTSS. Further, Dr. Miller is part of a national network of like-minded individuals and state agencies who share a vision for and systems approach to supporting student success. She is most appreciative of the extraordinary educators with whom she has had the privilege to work in schools, districts, states, and nationally. Together with them, she strives daily to support the notion of “all students – all systems.”