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The challenges of working within rural schools can impact successful implementation of a multitiered system of supports (MTSS). Although special education and general education teachers’ responsibilities within a MTSS framework have been addressed through a myriad of school districts across the nation, rural districts face unique challenges that can impact successful MTSS implementation. Some of these rural challenges include, but are not limited to, teacher preparation and training, recruitment and retention, limited flexibility of teacher time, and inadequate access to material and space resources. This article addresses critical issues related to successful rural implementation of a MTSS, including the presentation of three data-based strategies rural districts can employ, referred to as the rural A-B-C’s: (a) approach academic and behavior instruction simultaneously, (b) be creative with data opportunities, and (c) collaborate with purpose. Case study application and tables are provided for ease of implementation.

This study investigated the effects of an intensive prereading intervention on the beginning reading skills and social behavior of kindergarten children at risk for behavioral disorders and reading difficulties. Children identified through a systematic screening process were assigned randomly to experimental or nonspecific treatment conditions. Children who received the intensive prereading intervention showed statistically and educationally significant gains in their beginning reading skills relative to their counterparts in the nonspecific treatment condition. In contrast, improvements in teacher ratings of the classroom competence, emotional and behavioral self-control, and self-confidence of children in the experimental and nonspecific treatment conditions were not statistically significant from one another.