According to chapter 10 of the Practical Handbook of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, “there are always barriers and facilitators to change.  Through the recognition of these factors, organizations can put into place steps to reduce barriers and strengthen the facilitators.  Advancing of the concepts of exploration, adoption and installation, through professional learning so educators can grasp an understanding of the MTSS model and the processes involved is the key to ensuring that the MTSS is systematic, procedural and effective within a school district. To establish deadlines that do not promote these concepts will result in an unaligned, nonsensical delivery of the MTSS model that will ultimately result in lack of student achievement through the SST process across the district.  The MTSS framework must move through each step with a directionality towards student success.  As the chairperson, I would find it of utmost importance to create an administrative mandate that would put into place a delivery system of the MTSS model throughout the district that ensured legal mandates were aligned to the districts process at the same time ensuring compliance with the MTSS model was also a priority.
Through professional learning, it would be advanced that the MTSS is a framework not a program.  
The function of the Exploration Stage is a critical starting place for work with the school district.  Taking the time for exploration will save the school district valuable time and money and improves the chances for success.  During Exploration, readiness will be assessed by an MTSS Implementation Team which will be created to ensure systematic, procedural, effective goals are priority.  To the extent the organization is not ready, the Implementation Team will be created and accountable for helping create readiness of the MTSS program through the district and schools across the district; elementary, middle and high grade bands. This will ensure success in the adoption phase when the MTSS is disseminated through the district to the schools hence not moving too quickly.
As chapter 10 explains “adoption refers to the formal decision by a school board or committee to use a specific program or set of practices. Ideally, school boards or committees adopt to instructional programs after very careful review.  But as I have acknowledged, the MTSS model is a framework not a program and adoption must imply the necessary resources of the framework for effectiveness.
The function of the Installation Stage is to acquire or repurpose the resources needed to do the work ahead to stay cognizant of the goal of not moving too quickly and once again ensuring that the MTSS is systematic, procedural and effective.  Through the professional learning, the selection of staff, identifying sources for training and coaching, providing initial training for staff, finding or establishing performance assessment (fidelity) tools, locating office space, assuring access to materials and equipment, and so on are among the resources that need to be in place before the work can be done effectively and will be supported through established professional learning teams developed though the professional learning. During the Exploration Stage Implementation Teams help organizations recognize the need for these resources and during the Installation Stage Implementation Teams help organizations secure the needed resources to do the work ahead and prepare staff for the new practices. 



Think of an innovation that has been implemented within the past three years in your district or building.  How well has the execution of this innovation addressed the stages of change (exploration, adoption, installation, and implementation)?  To what extent have Fixsen et al.’s Change Implementation Components been considered?
The innovation that has been implemented in Atlanta Public Schools within the past three years is the Local School Governance also known as “The Go Teams”. On September 25, 2015, the State Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the Atlanta Public Schools charter system application during its state board meeting. Atlanta Public Schools became the 33rd school system in Georgia to achieve Charter System status.
A charter system is a school district that operates under a performance-based contract between the local board and the state board of education. Under the Charter System operating model, Atlanta Public Schools gained freedom and flexibility from many state education laws and regulations in exchange for increased accountability for student achievement. Additionally, the charter system distributed meaningful decision-making authority to individual schools by maximizing school-level governance through local school governance teams.
Through the exploration phase, readiness of the Go Team model was assessed through engagement sessions.  Through these APS sessions, parents, students, employees, and community members learned more about APS’ Charter System Model and was able to provide feedback.
Through the adoption phase, a “road map for chapter system application was developed which was a three phase system which addressed recommended approach development, application development, and operations.  An “APS charter system application timeline and activities” was also developed to formally address the decision by the APS school board or committee to become a charter school system.  
“Board updates” addressed the acquisition of the resources needed to do the work ahead.  From August 2014 to December 2015, “Board updates” addressed Operating Models for School system flexibility options, Advisory Committee Reports, to Charter System and Cluster planning.  Assuring access to materials and equipment, and so on are among the resources that need to be in place before the work can be done effectively according to Fixsen was done with fidelity.  
Implementation inclusive to the initial phase, and implementation schedule, and long term implementation (which is currently still an active phase) was done with careful planning and support.  Atlanta Public School began operating under a 5-yer contract in July 2016. The Go Teams began to meet over the summer of 2016 and meet monthly.  
