15-Minute Focus: Making Mtss Work - by Heather Bushelman (Paperback)

About the Book

Does your school have an MTSS system, or just a lot of meetings about one? In 15-Minute Focus: Making MTSS Work, Heather Bushelman gives educators, counselors, and administrators the clarity, practical tools, and step-by-step guidance to build a behavioral and social-emotional support system that every staff member can understand, own, and sustain.

Book Synopsis

Does your school have an MTSS system, or just a lot of meetings about one?

In 15-Minute Focus: Making MTSS Work, Heather Bushelman gives educators, counselors, and administrators the clarity, practical tools, and step-by-step guidance to build a behavioral and social-emotional support system that every staff member can understand, own, and sustain.

When MTSS gets introduced in a school, it rarely comes with a roadmap. Teams get formed, calendars fill up, paperwork multiplies, and somehow the school counselor ends up responsible for all of it. Meanwhile, students who need support keep falling through the cracks. The problem is not dedication. It is that no one is clear on who owns what, what the data is actually telling them, or how to make the pieces work together. This book cuts through the noise and shows you exactly how to build a system that works, and how to keep it working long after the people who built it have moved on.

You'll discover:

• Why MTSS SEB is not one more thing, but a smarter way to connect what your school is already doing
• How to align PBIS, SEL, Attendance, and Mental Health into one cohesive system instead of four competing initiatives
• The distinct roles of educators, counselors, and administrators at every tier, and why clarity on those roles changes everything
• How to use data at Tiers 1, 2, and 3 to make confident, student-centered decisions rather than guesses
• A practical intervention matching process that takes the guesswork out of what to do next, and why behavior charts and candy rewards are never the answer
• How to build a Tier 3 BIP that teaches rather than punishes, and how to know when a student needs it before the six-week window closes
• How to engage families and community partners as genuine collaborators at every tier, not just in a crisis
• Actionable tools, templates, downloadable resources, and more!

15-Minute Focus: Making MTSS Work will ask you to look honestly at how your school is currently supporting students, and whether the system you have is actually working for every adult who is supposed to carry it. When roles are clear, data drives decisions, ownership is shared, and the why behind behavior is always the first question asked, the right support reaches every student.

Review Quotes

15-Minute Focus: Making MTSS Work is a great resource for anyone looking to expand their knowledge of MTSS and how to implement it in their own school with fidelity. Each tier is broken down with clear explanations and concrete examples of how to implement. When there is a dedicated team working intentionally, great gains can happen across academic and personal social domains. If you want systems which produce positive growth, add this to your to be read list.

Brittany Smith
School Counselor

Comprehensive doesn't mean more.
Work smarter, not harder.
Be responsive, not reactive.

These are just a few of the reminders I've shared over the years when talking about building and running an effective MTSS school counseling program - and the new title in the 15-Minute Focus series from National Center for Youth Issues brings those concepts to life.

Whether you're new to school counseling, taking over an existing program, suddenly finding yourself tasked with behavior interventions, or simply looking to step back and thoughtfully reflect on what's working (and what needs to change), this book is for you.

Laura Filtness
School Counselor

This quick read helps clarify many questions when it comes to MTSS and the role of the school counselor. It has great strategies that are easy to identify and implement. Chock full of simple steps. Always impressed with National Center for Youth Issue's publishings.

Lisa Kilcourse
School Counselor

About the Author

Heather Bushelman has been in education for over two decades, with sixteen of that time spent as a school counselor. Her current role is serving as the District MTSS Coordinator for the third largest district in Kentucky, Boone County Schools. She has previously served as the Kentucky Department of Education's Coordinator for Comprehensive School Counseling also. As the 2024 Past-President of the Kentucky School Counselor Association, she advocates for school counseling around the state and nation. She was also honored to have been named the 2022 Kentucky School Counselor of the Year. Heather has presented nationally for conferences in Georgia, Nevada, Florida, California, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas on topics including building MTSS at the school and district level, SEL Implementation within MTSS, Trauma-informed practices, building a comprehensive school counseling program, and college and career readiness.