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Good Fit

Ok, so you’ve done your research and you’ve selected a variety of evidence based strategies to possibly employ in your school. So now what? Now is the time to see what strategies are the best fit. One tool to help you do this is NIRN’s Hexagon Tool. The Hexagon tool is a great resource for assessing if your district should implement a strategy or not.

The Hexagon tool looks at 6 areas to help you decide.

1. Need

What is the need demonstrated in the data at your school or district? What is it that will help meet the needs of your students or subgroups of students? This is something to consider prior to selection. We have to ensure we match the right solution to the right problem.

Do you need help with determining the problem? This would be a good time to work on a root cause analysis to help you determine the cause of a problem in order to find the right solution.

2. Fit

Does the strategy you seek to employ align with your community’s values? Does it align with the cultural aspects of your community and the families you serve? Does it align with your overarching strategic plan and goals? If not, you may want to consider a different strategy.

3. Capacity

Do we as a district have the capacity to implement something to fidelity (the way the research/evidence says it works)? What qualifications or skills do we need to pull it off?

4. Evidence

Perhaps the strategy worked in a certain group or community with a specific group of kids. Who is it that you will use the strategy with? Will it meet their individual needs? What evidence will your team use to ensure it’s working (ie: student outcomes, fidelity, cost vs. effectiveness?)

5. Usability

What is the strategy’s purpose? Is it well defined for your stakeholders? Have there been other sites that have found success that you can learn from? Were there adaptations based on context and the student populations the strategy was employed with?

6. Supports

What supports do you need to pull the evidence-based practice off successfully? Does it impact all students equitably? Who can you solicit help or feedback from to help your district get this off the ground? We are always here to support you at the NCESD.

In 2022, North Central ESD’s past MTSS Specialist, Stephanie Andler, shared her knowledge on all things Multi-Tiered System of Supports and how regional school districts can implement the strategies in this blog series.