The Honeymoon Is Over: Now What? Building a System That Makes Targeted Support Possible

The first weeks of school can feel almost magical. New schedules. New classrooms. New relationships. If you have been in a school for more than a few months, you probably know the feeling. The first weeks of school often bring a sense of optimism and possibility. Teachers are establishing routines, students are learning expectations, relationships are beginning to form, and everyone is working hard to get the year off to a good start. Then, somewhere along the way, the honeymoon ends. The routines that seemed solid begin to loosen. Academic demands increase. Peer relationships become more complicated. Some students who appeared to be doing just fine begin to struggle, and teachers may start to wonder, “What happened?” or, perhaps more importantly, “What do I do now?”

The honeymoon is over—and I think that’s a good thing. Not because we want students to struggle, but because by this point in the school year, our systems are beginning to tell us what students really need. We’ve had time to teach expectations, establish routines, build relationships, and observe students across settings. We know our students better now, and we’re beginning to see who is responding to universal supports and who may need something more. This is a good time to pause and ask what the patterns are telling us. Which students are showing early signs that the universal system isn’t quite enough? Which teachers are beginning to ask for additional support? And what can we do now, while there is still time to change the trajectory?

I know this point in the school year from experience. As a former high school principal, I led my school through the implementation of PBIS, work that ultimately resulted in our recognition as a Gold Model School and selection as a National Demonstration School for Positive Behavior Support. Those recognitions affirmed the work, but they were never the reason we did it. Our starting point was much simpler: Every student known, valued, and inspired. That motto was more than words on a wall; it was the lens through which we made decisions—from hiring and supporting staff to designing systems and responding to challenges—with students at the center.

I have always believed deeply in the power of relationships. PBIS gave us a framework for making those beliefs more intentional, consistent, and sustainable across the school. It helped us build a system in which targeted support was not dependent on individual good intentions but was part of how we respond when students need something more. That is what I want to explore here: what happens when a school builds a system that makes targeted support possible—and two strategies that were particularly meaningful within ours.

When Tier 1 Isn't Enough: A strong Tier 1 system is essential. Students need clear expectations, consistent routines, explicit instruction, opportunities to practice, and meaningful positive feedback. Teachers need a common language for responding to behavior, and staff need to understand that supporting behavior is a shared responsibility. But even a strong Tier 1 system will not be enough for every student. That doesn't mean Tier 1 has failed, or that the student or teacher has failed. It means recognizing that students are individuals, and some need additional support to access the same opportunities for success as their peers.

This is where Tier 2 becomes so important. Technically, Tier 2 provides targeted support for students who need more than universal supports but may not require intensive individualized intervention. From a principal's perspective, I think about it more simply: Tier 2 gives us an opportunity to catch students before they fall—to recognize when a student is beginning to struggle and provide support before those struggles become patterns, crises, or barriers to success. By this point in the school year, we often have the information we need to know which students may need more. The patterns are there. The question is what we do with them. When a student begins to struggle, the response should be early and intentional—not simply another consequence. And when a teacher asks for help, it should be a system that helps determine what the student needs and provides the teacher with the support to implement it.

Building a System That Made Targeted Support Possible

Check-In/Check-Out, or CICO, was one of the two Tier 2 strategies that was particularly meaningful within our system. The structure is straightforward: a student checks in with an adult at the beginning of the day, reviews a goal, receives feedback throughout the day, and checks back in at the end of the day to review progress. But the structure was the easy part. Making it work requires thoughtful implementation.

Staff needed to understand the purpose, students needed to be matched with adults who could provide consistent support, and someone needed to coordinate the process, monitor data, and make adjustments when it wasn't working. Most importantly, we recognized that the same approach would not work for every student.

We built that infrastructure over time. Some students checked in with a centrally located staff member who became a consistent presence in their day. Others checked in with a mentor or classroom teacher with whom they already had a strong relationship. The structure remained consistent, but the relationship within it was individualized. The daily progress report was a tool. The system surrounding it was the intervention.

Consider the difference for a student who spends much of the day hearing corrections—“Sit down,” “Stop talking,” “Get to class”—and instead begins the day with an adult who knows their name, knows their goal, and says, “I'm glad you're here. Let's have a good day.” Throughout the day, that student receives meaningful feedback and ends the day knowing someone noticed their progress. That doesn't happen simply because a school starts CICO; it happens because the school has created the conditions for it to work.

A strong Tier 2 system also shifts the conversation for staff from “What are you going to do about this student?” to “What additional support can we provide?” Behavior becomes a shared responsibility, and teachers are not left to solve every challenge alone.

Relationships Matter. Systems Make Them Sustainable.

I have always believed deeply in knowing students and developing authentic relationships with them, and mentoring was one of the most meaningful parts of my work as a principal. PBIS helped us make those beliefs part of how our school functioned rather than leaving them to chance. We used data to understand whether the supports we put in place were making a difference. Relationships gave the work meaning, systems made it sustainable, and data helped us know whether it was working. Fidelity matters for the same reason. It isn't about following a process for the sake of the process; it is about creating the conditions that allow students and staff to experience the outcomes we want.

Mentoring Was More Than a Tier 2 Intervention

If there is one part of this work that is particularly personal for me, it is mentoring. As a principal, I mentored students from ninth grade through graduation and, in many cases, beyond. I watched them grow from teenagers figuring out who they were into young adults beginning to imagine what might be possible for their futures. Over those years, mentoring took many forms—talking through grades or difficult decisions, celebrating accomplishments, having hard conversations, or simply being there. That continuity mattered. For some students, having an adult who knew them, believed in them, and remained in their corner made a lasting difference. They didn't have to wait until something went wrong to get my attention; they knew someone was invested in who they were and who they were becoming.

PBIS didn't teach me the value of mentoring; I already believed deeply in it. What PBIS gave us was a way to make intentional relationships more accessible to students who needed them. And, just as with CICO, we used data to look beyond our intentions and understand whether our supports were making a difference. The data did not create my belief in mentoring; it reaffirmed it.

What Can You Do Next Month?

The good news is that strengthening Tier 2 does not require launching another initiative. Start with the students you already know may need more support. Bring the right people together, look at the data, and listen to what teachers are seeing. Then ask, what would additional support look like for this student? For one student, that might be CICO; for another, a mentoring relationship or a different Tier 2 intervention may be a better fit. The goal isn't to place every student in the same program, but to have a system that allows you to match support to need. If CICO is part of your approach, establish the people and processes that will make it work, consider which adult is the best fit for each student, and decide from the beginning how you will know whether it is making a difference. Use the data to adjust the support—not to judge the student. Tier 2 gives us an opportunity to recognize when a student is beginning to struggle and intervene before those challenges become patterns, crises, or failure. You don't have to fail before we decide to help you. That, to me, is the heart of Tier 2—and the reason I still believe so strongly in it.

Closing

Looking back, what stays with me is how much becomes possible when a school has the capacity to respond early and intentionally. That is what Tier 2 can provide—not another program to add to the list, but a way to recognize when students need something more and respond while there is still time to make a difference.

Early support matters. Relationships matter. But neither happens consistently by accident. We have to build systems that make both possible—and use data to ensure those systems are working. When we recognize the signs and respond early, we change the trajectory before struggle becomes failure. We should not have to wait for a student to fail before providing the support they need.

Build the system. Know your students. Use your data. Strengthen Relationships. Change the trajectory. Create the conditions for success!