Our MTSS Summer Reading Stack: What We’re Reading This Summer
Summer offers something educators rarely get during the school year: a chance to step back, reflect, and think about the bigger picture.
As districts prepare for a new school year, many are focused on strengthening their Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). Whether the goal is improving intervention, building stronger teams, supporting student well-being, or making sure improvement efforts actually stick, the work requires more than a new program or strategy. It requires thoughtful leadership, strong systems, and a shared commitment to meeting student needs.
We asked members of the Catapult Learning team which books are shaping their thinking this summer. While the titles cover a range of topics, a common theme quickly emerged: helping schools build the conditions for MTSS to thrive.
Here are a few of the books shaping our thinking this summer.
For Leaders Focused on Coherence and Implementation
Coherence by Michael Fullan and Joanne Quinn
If there is one challenge district and school leaders consistently face, it’s initiative overload.
In Coherence, Fullan and Quinn argue that improvement efforts often stall when organizations pursue too many disconnected priorities at once. The lesson for MTSS leaders is an important one: MTSS works best when it becomes the framework that organizes improvement efforts, not another initiative added to an already crowded list.
Catapult Learning Vice President of Professional Development Sue Gerenstein recommends Coherence because it reinforces a challenge many school systems face: too many disconnected initiatives competing for attention. One of the book’s most relevant lessons for MTSS implementation is that improvement efforts are more likely to succeed when MTSS serves as the organizing framework for the work rather than another item on an already crowded list.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators
Many schools know what they want to accomplish. The challenge is maintaining focus amid the demands of daily work.
This book offers a practical reminder that meaningful improvement requires identifying a small number of critical goals and consistently monitoring progress. For MTSS teams, that might mean focusing on a handful of student outcomes and the adult practices that support them rather than trying to solve everything at once.
Sue also recommends The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators because it addresses a common challenge in schools: maintaining focus amid competing priorities. The book’s emphasis on identifying a small number of critical goals and creating accountability around them aligns closely with successful MTSS implementation.
Turning Insights into Action
Strong MTSS implementation begins with a clear understanding of what’s working and where students need additional support. Catapult Learning’s Collaborative Quality Analysis (CQA) helps schools identify strengths and opportunities for growth, creating a foundation for focused school improvement efforts. Learn more.
For Educators Focused on Teaching and Learning
The Digital Delusion by Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath
As schools continue to evaluate the role of technology in learning, Catapult Learning Vice President of Teaching & Learning Devon Wible recommends The Digital Delusion for its reminder of what remains at the center of student success: strong, intentional instruction.
While MTSS is often associated with intervention and targeted support, its foundation is effective Tier 1 instruction. The book challenges the idea that technology alone can improve outcomes and instead reinforces the importance of active engagement, productive struggle, hands-on learning, and the expertise of skilled educators.
For schools working to strengthen MTSS, the message is an important one: when core instruction is strong, more students receive what they need the first time, creating a stronger foundation for every tier of support that follows.
Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxicāand What We Can Do About It
Devon also recommends Never Enough for its thoughtful exploration of how schools define success and support student growth.
A strong MTSS framework is designed to support the whole child, not just academic performance. This book challenges educators to look beyond grades, test scores, and achievement alone and consider the habits, mindsets, and experiences that shape long-term success.
By emphasizing persistence, curiosity, reflection, resilience, and healthy responses to challenge, Never Enough highlights skills that help students navigate setbacks and continue growing over time. For educators committed to supporting both academic and social-emotional development, it offers an important reminder that student success is about more than outcomes. It’s also about helping students build the confidence and habits they need to thrive.
For Leaders Thinking About Intervention and Tutoring
The Future of Tutoring: Lessons from 10,000 School District Tutoring Initiatives by Liz Cohen
Tutoring has become an important component of many districts’ MTSS strategies. Yet questions remain about implementation, sustainability, and impact.
In The Future of Tutoring, Liz Cohen draws lessons from thousands of district tutoring initiatives to explore what successful tutoring programs have in common and how schools can build support systems that lead to meaningful student growth.
The book is particularly relevant for district leaders working to strengthen intervention efforts while maintaining alignment with classroom instruction and broader district priorities.
Join Liz Cohen for a conversation
We’re excited to welcome Liz Cohen for an upcoming webinar on June 22nd where she’ll share insights from her research and discuss what districts can learn from tutoring initiatives across the country. We’re also giving away 12 copies of The Future of Tutoring: Lessons from 10,000 School District Tutoring Initiatives! Register today and join us on June 22 for your chance to win. Register Here.
For Educators Supporting the Whole Child
Lost at School by Ross Greene
One of the most valuable ideas in MTSS is recognizing that behavior is often a signal that a student needs support.
Senior Director of Learning & Enablement Britt Shurley loves how Greene challenges traditional approaches to behavior and encourages educators to view challenges through the lens of lagging skills and unmet needs. The book offers practical strategies for understanding student behavior while maintaining high expectations and strong relationships.
CharacterStrong and the Students We Can’t Afford to Miss
MTSS is often discussed through the lens of academics, but student success depends on more than academic support alone.
Britt also recommends the CharacterStrong podcast episode, How High-Impact Tutoring Reaches the Students Schools Can Miss, because it highlights an important reality facing many schools: some students need more than strong core instruction to re-engage in learning and regain confidence.
The conversation explores how targeted support, strong relationships, and intentional intervention work together to help schools reach students who might otherwise slip through the cracks. Listen here.
What’s on Your Summer Reading List?
The books on this list explore different aspects of school improvement, from leadership and culture to intervention and student support. Together, they offer a reminder that strong MTSS implementation depends on more than a framework. It depends on the people, systems, and practices that help students get the right support at the right time.
As you prepare for the year ahead, we hope one or two of these titles spark new ideas for strengthening your MTSS framework and supporting students more effectively.
What are you reading this summer? We’d love to hear what’s on your stack.
