Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports

In this follow-up episode of Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports, host Naren Balasubramaniam welcomes back Tanya Morret, Training and Consultation Supervisor, and Dr. Matthew McLaughlin, Professional Development Specialist at Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12, for a deep dive into one of the most misunderstood aspects of MTSS: data-based decision making. Building on their previous conversation ab...

On Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports, host Naren Balasubramaniam sits down with Tanya Morret, Training and Consultation Supervisor, and Dr. Matthew McLaughlin, Professional Development Specialist at Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12, for a systems-level conversation on what schools often misunderstand about MTSS and whole-child support. Together, Tanya and Matt bring a unique perspective from s...

On Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports, host Naren Balasubramaniam sits down with Julie Hollander, Director of MTSS for Standards at Manteca Unified School District (California), for an inside look at how districts strengthen Tier 1 instruction while coordinating supports across academic, behavioral, and social-emotional systems. Julie shares her 23-year journey within MUSD—from classroom te...

On Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports, host Naren Balasubramaniam sits down with Hal Heard, Executive Director of Student Services at Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (Michigan), for a grounded conversation about what it looks like to coordinate academic, attendance, behavior, and mental health supports—without losing sight of the student’s real lived experience. Hal shares his journey fro...

On Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports, host Naren Balasubramaniam sits down with Dr. Christopher Sanzeri, Assistant Director of Specialized Student Services – Curriculum & Instruction at Elgin Area School District U-46, for a practical and forward-looking conversation on what it takes to build inclusive, high-quality systems for students with complex learning needs. Christopher shares h...

On Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports, host Naren Balasubramaniam welcomes two leaders from Santa Barbara Unified School District: ShaKenya Edison, Assistant Superintendent of Student & Family Services, and Christina Fernandez, Executive Director of Student & Family Services. Together, they share how Santa Barbara Unified is building a unified, justice-centered MTSS approach that go...

On Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports, host Naren Balasubramaniam sits down with Dwayne Williams, Director of Equity and Student Services at Joliet Public Schools District 86, for a grounded and practical conversation on supporting students through an equity-centered, whole-child lens. Dwayne shares his journey from special education teacher to district leader, and how that experience shape...

On Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports, host Naren Balasubramaniam sits down with Scott Drue, Director of Student Services at Salem-Keizer Public Schools, for a deeply personal and systems-level conversation about what it truly means to support the whole child. Scott shares how his own experience growing up with dyslexia shaped his career in education, and how those early challenges now info...

On Whole Child: Personalized Tiered Supports , host Naren Balasubramaniam sits down with Erik Carlson, High School Principal, and Joshua Glick, MTSS Director, from Holton Public Schools in Michigan — marking the very first episode of the show. Together, they walk through how a small district is building a truly collaborative, K–12 approach to multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) that centers the...