Student Intervention Centers: Merging ISS, MTSS, PBIS, Restorative Practices, & SEL

Presenters

• Bridget B. Guenthner, Seijaku ConsultingFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

EdD

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2008

First Presenter's Field of Study

Educational Leadership

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

University of Phoenix

First Presenter's Institution

Gwinnett County Public Schools/Lanier Middle

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Dr. Guenthner has been in public education since 1999 and was her local school's 2014-15 Teacher of the Year. The first ten years were spent teaching mathematics to at-risk middle grades students and 3 as the In-School Suspension and Response to Intervention Coordinator. At the start of the 2016-17 school year, Dr. G assumed the role as International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme Coordinator and Academic Coach. Dr. Guenthner's specialties include classroom management techniques and alternative strategies for teaching mathematical concepts. She has worked extensively with RTI and Special Education over the course of her career, including time spent as a 504 Coordinator/MTSS Lead. Currently, Dr. Guenthner is a Behavior Interventionist, building and implementing behavior support systems through a Student Intervention Center at the middle school level. She also serves as an adjunct education professor and speaker, sharing her expertise with future educators, and provides consulting services through Seijaku Consulting, LLC.

Location

Vernon

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support

Relevance to Primary Strand

Middle school presents unique challenges as students navigate complex socio-emotional situations, particularly for at-risk students. Support programs typically work in isolation or parallel to each other. For example, restorative practices offer strategies for reducing behavioral violations, and creating improved learning environments. PBIS offers a mechanism for reinforcing expectations and student success. Social-emotional learning (SEL) aims to cultivate more equitable learning environments that promote belonging & engagement for all students. MTSS provides structure for academic and behavioral interventions along with wrap-around services. By aligning these evidence-based practices, schools effectively support the whole child.

Student Intervention Centers provide opportunities to merge best practices by using a two-pronged approach of academic and behavioral/SEL support. School-age students often lack strategies for meeting behavior expectations prior to an office discipline referral and related consequences. Existing systems tend to respond reactively rather than proactively when it comes to student behavior. When merged, these practices encourage the analysis of real-time behavioral and academic data, enabling interventionists to identify underlying issues and provide timely support. This session explores delivering student support out of one room, including space for restorative circles and mediations, SEL stations and learning, disciplinary reteaching, and related student support.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

Participants will: (1) engage in the practical application of MTSS, PBIS, Restorative Practices, and SEL to improve student outcomes (2) discover intervention strategies that empower students and foster academic, behavioral, and social-emotional growth; and, (3) receive actionable tools and guidance to align new strategies with existing practices and district mandates and to support immediate implementation and long-term, sustainable improvements in their schools.

Summary

Student Intervention Centers provide opportunities to merge best practices through a two-pronged approach of academic and behavioral support. Students often lack strategies for meeting behavior expectations prior to an office discipline referral and existing systems tend to address behavior reactively rather than proactively. This session explores the relationship between and outcomes from using PBIS, restorative, and SEL practices to establish a relationship-based culture while incorporating MTSS structure. When merged, these practices encourage the analysis of real-time behavioral and academic data, enabling interventionists to identify underlying issues and provide timely support, which keeps students in classrooms learning.

Evidence

The Student Intervention Center model is grounded in well-established educational psychology, behavioral science, and restorative theory. By merging ISS with MTSS, PBIS, Restorative Practices, and SEL, schools can shift from punitive to instructional and relational responses to behavior—leading to better long-term outcomes for students. Traditional ISS models lack effectiveness when punitive; however, when reframed through constructivist and restorative lenses, ISS can become an intervention for skill-building. Studies have shown that restorative or supportive ISS models (with academic and behavioral support) reduce repeat offenses compared to punitive ISS or OSS (American Institutes for Research, 2021). Based in restorative justice and social constructivism, this approach focuses on repairing harm and rebuilding relationships rather than punishment. Restorative practices foster improved school relationships and reduced suspensions (Gregory et al., 2016; Lodi, et al., 2021). The American Institutes for Research (AIR, 2021a) emphasized the importance of pairing ISS with academic support, SEL, and behavior intervention. Schools that redesigned ISS in this way saw reduced repeat incidents and improved student outcomes.

MTSS is grounded in the public health model of prevention, providing tiered interventions based on student need (universal, targeted, intensive). MTSS has been found to reduce behavior incidents and improve academic outcomes when implemented with fidelity (Sugai & Horner, 2009). Similarly, PBIS is rooted in behaviorism, particularly Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). It emphasizes teaching expected behaviors, reinforcing positives, and using data for decision-making. Schools implementing MTSS and PBIS with consistency and fidelity see a decrease in exclusionary discipline and improvements in school climate (Bradshaw, Mitchell, & Leaf, 2010).

Grounded in emotional intelligence theory and developmental psychology, SEL supports the development of self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, and decision-making. SEL programs show significant gains in social skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance (Durlak et al., 2011). A 2021 study by Cook et al. (Psychiatry Research) found that combining PBIS with SEL in a tiered framework resulted in reductions in internalizing/externalizing behaviors and enhanced mental health outcomes in K–12 students. SEL reduces disruptive behavior and supports emotional regulation—key to behavior intervention and supports the whole child—emotionally, behaviorally, and academically.

Effective ISS includes behavior reteaching, SEL instruction, and reflective practices. When integrated with behavior support systems, restorative approaches help address root causes of behavior and build accountability. Since 2020, research increasingly supports the integration of behavioral and emotional interventions under a multi-tiered, restorative, and supportive structure. When ISS is reimagined as a tiered intervention center—incorporating PBIS routines, restorative dialogue, SEL coaching, and progress monitoring—students are more likely to succeed behaviorally, socially, and academically.

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Learning Objective 1

(1) engage in the practical application of MTSS, PBIS, Restorative Practices, and SEL to improve school climate and student outcomes

Learning Objective 2

(2) discover, through collaboration, intervention strategies that empower students and foster academic, behavioral, and social-emotional growth

Learning Objective 3

(3) Receive actionable tools and guidance to align new strategies with existing practices and district mandates.

Start Date

6-3-2026 8:30 AM

End Date

6-3-2026 9:30 AM

Recommended Citation

Guenthner, Bridget B., "Student Intervention Centers: Merging ISS, MTSS, PBIS, Restorative Practices, & SEL" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 76.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/76

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