MARSHALL — The Marshall School Board discussed and reaffirmed their current intervention programs, which serve to help the student body across the district in various areas to be successful in their academic experience and learning. 

In their recent meeting on Aug. 5, Director of Teaching and Learning Beth Ritter presented results from the 2023-24 school year of student diversities across the district. The board also presented the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) theme for this year, “One District, Many Voices,” to structure the importance of supporting all students. 

Discussed heavily was the difference between equality and equity, and how they strive to maintain equity. Equality is treating everyone the same and providing equal resources, regardless of individual needs. Whereas equity is using the resources according to individual circumstances to achieve fairness and justice.

The following diversity results are as follows: 

• 31 languages spoken

• 13.9% English learners

• 17.7% Special education

• 54.9% White

• 19.4% Hispanic or Latino

• 12.2% Asian

• 6.8% Black or African American

• 2% American Indian

• 4.4% Classify two or more races

• 0.1% Respectively Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and other Indigenous Peoples.

DEI also classifies in other areas as well, like students who may want to participate in band or school but may have troubles with transportation or getting equipment. 

The two main intervention programs the district has are Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR).

“That’s (MTSS) the overall arching system, where we talk about looking at student individual needs,” Superintendent Jeremy Williams said. “We’re doing screeners and individual testing and stuff to determine what kids’ needs are.” 

BARR is a system used to manage MTSS. 

“It’s (BARR) a framework that we’ve implemented at the high school. We’ve been using it there for about five years, and now we’re adding it at the middle school and Southview,” Williams said. “It’s a framework to help organize MTSS things. So, it’s how we determine students’ attendance and their needs, or their behavioral needs, their academic needs, and who’s touching base with that kid and making sure they have some individual attention to whatever their individual needs are.” 

A form of help the intervention programs implemented recently was hiring social emotional learning (SEL) teachers and counselors to assist students with mental health needs. 

“Our schools are different than they were 20 years ago, or even post COVID. We’re seeing things differently than what we saw before. We see a lot of kids with mental health needs, a lot of kids with attendance needs, a lot of kids with academic needs,” Williams said. “So, things like when we brought in SEL teachers, and we talked about the importance of counselors in the schools, and just helping meet some of those pieces that affect academics as well.” 

There continues to be a growing need for student support, which MTSS and BARR along with the district will continue working on managing. 

“We’ve really spent a lot of time focusing on what it is that each kid needs,” Williams said. “We can’t give them all the same thing and expect to get the results that we’re looking for. We have to target those interventions or enrichment activities.” 

Also revealed in the diversity report is there are 16 homeless kids in the district, meaning they do not have a consistent home each night. 

Williams said the programs and faculty work toward supporting them in various ways and making sure needs are met.  

“It might mean they’re checking in with the nurse to make sure that whatever medical things are taken care of. It might be, sometimes you have kids who need clothes, they need shoes, or they need supplies or that kind of thing,” Williams said. “Sometimes our homeless kids are more in need of those types of things, and we’ve got some of that stuff in place too, but we have to know which kids need it.” 

Through MTSS and BARR, the board said district faculty will continue using these programs and having conversations to make sure proper support is given.