Community Partnerships Lead to Equitable Student Learning

Inclusive education is not a luxury; it’s a priority. Maintaining that priority in times of chaos and uncertainty requires schools to get creative and act with intention. During the 2024–2025 school year, the Student Support Team at Bishop Mackenzie International School in Malawi set out to integrate community partners into the fabric of our school using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model. Some partners were able to provide services on campus while others provided them off-site after school hours. Regardless of location, our aim was the same: to strengthen our Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). MTSS is a preventative, equity-based framework that delivers targeted instruction to students struggling academically, behaviorally, or socially. We also sought to bring inclusive practices to life and foster a sense of belonging that extended beyond our campus. Here’s what we learned:

“Funding freeze” and “limited resources”—these aren’t phrases that scare me. As a former Peace Corps Volunteer and public special education teacher in the United States of America who once taught for four years in a science closet, I’ve learned to get scrappy. Those experiences provided me with the grit and tools to navigate challenges, especially in my current role as coordinator at a small international school in a low-income country, where access to service providers such as Occupational Therapists (OT), Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP), and Educational Psychologists can be limited. Instead of seeing these as barriers, our Student Support Services team embraced the challenge. We recognized that creativity wasn’t optional; it was essential.

Fortunately, MTSS, our Multi-tiered Systems of Support framework, gave us a way forward. MTSS supplements high-quality Tier 1 instruction and, as Katie Novak (2023a) explains, “must be supported by leadership, implementation, and competency drivers to ensure that all…resources are focused on supporting our students, who can and will learn and succeed with our support.” MTSS isn’t just a tool for intervention; it’s a schoolwide commitment to ensuring that every student gets what they need, especially when Tier 1 alone is not enough.

While the school may not be able to fund service providers, the community often has untapped resources. Finding and partnering with community providers plays a crucial role in supporting students with Tier 2 and 3 services. The true challenge lies not just in identifying these providers but in integrating them into the school for maximum impact.

As a community hub within a small country, our school had already identified local partners, but we had yet to find an effective method for integrating them into our student support system. To address this, I leaned on the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model as a structured framework for building capacity in coordination with external service providers. According to Tichnor-Wagner (2017, as cited in Langley et al., 2009), PDSA enables collaborators to “Plan” what they want to change, “Do” or test the change, “Study” the outcomes, and “Act” on what to keep or modify. This cycle requires continuous refinement and upholds inclusive practices, ultimately providing a roadmap toward our wildly important goal. 

Challenge the Colonial Mindset

At the heart of true inclusion is the recognition and valuing of diverse perspectives and expertise. When I first arrived at my current school, I carried an unconscious bias that local service providers might be less capable simply because they weren’t Western-trained. Over time, I began to challenge this mindset by building relationships with these local providers, listening to their insights, and inviting them to share their expertise with our team and classroom teachers. 

Claiming only Western-trained educators are "legitimate" excludes diverse knowledge and expertise, reinforcing a hierarchical view that contradicts inclusion. Local service providers bring invaluable cultural knowledge and a genuine commitment to improving their services, rooted in their understanding of community needs and the reality that expertise comes in many forms. Embracing their contributions fosters mutual respect, shared growth, and a stronger, more equitable educational environment. 

The results of our PDSA cycle suggest that collaborating with parents and local service providers to create service plans will improve student growth and help families better understand the value these services bring to their communities. By amplifying the voices of service providers, we can reshape the narrative around expertise and model true inclusion in action.

Agreements and Inclusive Leadership

Developing a comprehensive service agreement is crucial for fostering collaboration with external service providers while addressing the priorities of the senior leadership team, who are supportive of these services but require clear structures regarding payment, liability, and insurance. A service agreement should clarify that families are responsible for handling payments and insurance directly with providers. It should also outline expectations for communication, confidentiality, safeguarding, and service location (on-campus or off-site).

A future goal is to apply the PDSA cycle to involve teachers, parents, and providers in the agreement drafting process. These stakeholders may identify blind spots that the school does not see, such as safeguarding procedures or communication protocols. A practical step would be to present a draft agreement to the classroom teachers and a focus group of parents who have experience with external services at the school. Their feedback would inform necessary adjustments while modeling inclusive practices.

To fully embed external service providers into the fabric of the school and model inclusion, it is essential to have a representative from the Student Support Services team on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT is responsible for setting the school’s direction, including the calendar, community events, program development, facility upgrades, teacher recruitment, and strategic planning. The Student Support Services team specializes in identifying and removing barriers—academic, systemic, social, and emotional—and can provide insights that strengthen leadership decisions that support the school’s inclusive mission.

A practical first step could be to invite the Student Support Services coordinator to participate in an advisory role, where input is systematically gathered and integrated into decision-making. As the school strengthens its inclusive practices, the coordinator could transition into a standing member of the SLT. Ultimately, establishing the Coordinator as a permanent member would ensure that inclusion remains structurally embedded within the leadership team.

Both initiatives would strengthen communication, address current challenges, and align daily practices with the school’s inclusive vision.

Service Delivery Planning

In MTSS, goal setting is most effective when all stakeholders are involved. It’s far more challenging to write a SMART goal in isolation for a student seen by three different experts than to create one collaboratively. For example, I recently worked on an individualized education program (IEP) for a student newly diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder with a Pathological Demand Avoidance Profile. I spent several days chipping away at potential goals and services, but by day three, I was flummoxed. I reached out to the classroom teacher and the Occupational Therapist. Together, we reviewed the educational psychology report, shared our insights, and created goals that could be addressed both in the classroom and therapy spaces. By aligning our efforts, we designed a service plan where each of us targets a specific skill—supporting holistic development for the student.

This year, we’ve also been more intentional about tracking student progress quarterly using a shared Google Doc accessible to classroom teachers, Student Support Service team members, and service providers. Each quarter, stakeholders formally meet to reflect, revise goals, and brainstorm strategies for shared impact. This inclusive collaboration recognizes the unique strengths each team member brings while creating space for mutual learning and collective growth.

The PDSA cycle can help refine this structure by testing the impact of more frequent classroom visits and informal check-ins between teachers and service providers. One practical approach is to coordinate bi-monthly classroom observations followed by brief, focused conversations. These quick exchanges—whether in passing or during a scheduled moment—can often yield insights just as valuable as longer meetings. Educators are skilled at communicating their observations into clear, actionable input. These small shifts can drive deeper alignment, better communication, and stronger outcomes across the MTSS continuum.

Building Trust- Site Visits Matter

Building relationships takes time, requiring intentional efforts to foster trust and respect among all parties involved. This process is rarely straightforward and demands patience and commitment. One often overlooked but powerful strategy is visiting the service provider's business office or treatment location. These site visits offer critical insights: how insurance is handled, where the provider is located relative to the school and our families, what a typical student session involves, how data is collected, and how treatment plans are developed.

This is essential for two main reasons. First, it provides a bird’s-eye view of service delivery, allowing us to see firsthand how support is structured. Second, it gives the Student Support Services team a clearer understanding of the services we recommend to families. How can we confidently encourage these services to families if we have never seen them ourselves?

I learned more in the one-hour site visit than I believed possible. I toured a therapy center located just a few kilometers from our school, where many of my students receive occupational and speech-language services. I observed therapy spaces, reviewed assessment tools, and met face-to-face with service providers. This visit laid a foundation rooted in mutual respect and a shared commitment to collaboration.

Looking into the future through the PDSA lens, it would be ideal for interested teachers to tour our service provider’s facility, meet the providers, and begin building relationships that will foster greater collaboration and long-term impact. 

An even more impactful future step could be hosting a satellite therapy center on campus for our providers who currently operate off campus. This would allow providers to deliver services during the school day, observe students in real-time, and collaborate more closely with teachers, daily rather than quarterly. A practical way to start would be piloting a part-time integration, such as half days or select days each week. Using the PDSA cycle, we could identify strengths and blind spots early on, navigating challenges such as scheduling, service balance, and role expectations.

Such integration would enhance Tier 1 instruction, leading to more consistent student growth, timely interventions, and improved collaboration between teachers and providers. With stronger Tier 1 support, we can reduce the need for Tier 2 and 3 services, ensuring more equitable access to quality support for all students. 

The Proof Is In The Pudding- Collective Teacher Efficacy

We cause learning “when [we] fundamentally believe that [we] can make the difference and then [we] feed it with evidence that we are…. that is fundamentally powerful (Waack, 2018).” 

Collective teacher efficacy has a mean effect size of 1.57, making it the single most significant predictor of student achievement—surpassing intervention, classroom management, or explicit instruction. When educators believe in the power of working together and back it up with evidence, real change happens.

Using the PDSA model, we tested the impact of having a classroom teacher observe a speech and language session. What we learned was significant: teachers gained practical strategies, felt more confident supporting students, and noticed more growth. This simple action fostered a greater sense of shared responsibility for student outcomes. Moving forward, we aim to offer these opportunities more broadly across all classrooms and providers.

The success of this approach highlights how layering services within an MTSS framework, guided by PDSA, helps us optimize limited resources. But it also requires a mindset shift from “I” to “We.” When we act together, we produce results. 

Inclusion Can’t Wait 

With all the changes to the political landscape and the impacts on tuition and staffing, international schools in low and middle-income countries are under pressure to find effective ways to meet the needs of their students. Each school has its unique characteristics and cultural potential; however, inclusion is not an option; it is a necessity. MTSS is a great framework to create a system that guarantees students get what they need. 

Tapping into community resources to bolster Tier 1 instruction is possible, but doing so requires trust, bold leadership, and intentionality. How do you intend to expand your services while staying within budgetary constraints? How are you addressing MTSS in your school and ensuring that services are layered and sustainable? And when will you be brave enough to ask your community to be partners rather than observers?

References

Novak, K. (2023b, March 10). What is MTSS and why do we need it? Novak Education. Retrieved April 11, 2025, from https://www.novakeducation.com/blog/what-is-mtss-and-why-do-we-need-it

Tichnor-Wagner, A., Wachen, J., Cannata, M., & Cohen-Vogel, L. (2017). Continuous improvement in the public school context: understanding how educators respond to plan–do– study–act cycles. Journal of Educational Change, 18, 465–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-017-9301-4

Waack, S. (2018, October 12). Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) according to John Hattie - VISIBLE LEARNING. VISIBLE LEARNING. Retrieved April 5, 2025, from: https://visible-learning.org/2018/03/collective-teacher-efficacy-hattie/#:~:text=Collective%20Teacher%20Efficacy%20is%20the,%E2%80%9Cnew%20number%20one%E2%80%9D%20influence.