It’s not easy being in middle school. As students navigate an increasingly complex world, they’re also dealing with major changes to their bodies and brains. For kids with additional needs—be they academic, behavioral, social, or emotional—the stakes are even higher. The Second Step® team understands that while educators want to go above and beyond to give those students the extra support they need, the resources to do so aren’t always available—or affordable.
That’s why we’re excited to share that starting in 2026, the Second Step® Middle School digital program includes all-new Tiered Interventions to support students with additional needs, at no extra cost. Second Step Tiered Interventions are designed to make it easy for middle school educators to identify skill gaps for specific students and provide targeted, small group instruction to strengthen core human skills.
With Tiered Interventions, students receive the extra support they need to navigate the complexities of life and learning in key middle school years. Here we answer some common questions to help education leaders understand how these Tiered Interventions provide transformational support to students with additional needs.
What Are Second Step Tiered Interventions?
Each Second Step program is designed for universal instruction. The new intervention resources include small group lessons and individualized support resources that extend human skills instruction to small groups of students who require more assistance than what’s provided in the universal curriculum.
Small group lessons fall within three focus areas:
- Emotions, Thoughts & Feelings (such as managing strong emotions, stress, anxiety)
- Relationships & Prosocial Skills (such as problem-solving, social conflict resolution, empathy and kindness, perspective-taking, active listening)
- Executive Functioning (such as on-task behaviors, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility)
Each focus area includes six age-appropriate lessons for middle schoolers, giving educators 18 total lessons.
You can view a sample small group lesson here.
Second Step Tiered Interventions are designed for flexibility and customization, allowing school leaders to meet the unique needs of their students. Depending on their school community, leaders can design formats for Tiered Interventions—such as out-of-class sessions with individual students and a school counselor or drop-in, small group sessions with interventionists.
How Can Educators Identify Students With Additional Needs?
The new Tiered Interventions include an Assessment Toolkit with a universal screener, a teacher-report rubric, and a progress-tracking spreadsheet to help identify students who can benefit from targeted support and monitor their growth.
What Do Other Educators Think About Second Step Tiered Interventions?
While Second Step Tiered Interventions are still new, educators are already sharing positive feedback about their experiences. Here’s what they love so far:
Engaging and effective small group lessons: Educators like that the lessons focus on key human skills and appreciate the detailed instructions and easy-to-use resources.
“The structure of the lesson was very easy to facilitate and would be easy to understand for my students.”
“The scenarios on the handout are great for students to engage with. They are simple enough to act out but also relevant to students’ lives.”
Student Intervention and Progress Tracker: Educators praise this tracker, which allows teachers to track individual students’ weekly progress through the small group lessons.
“The student progress tracker is straightforward and easy to use. It is simple enough to understand quickly and something that could be used to input and share data between all involved staff members.”
Student needs screener: This screener helps identify the competencies and skills of individual students, enabling educators to create custom plans to meet those needs through small group lessons.
“This feels so much more comprehensive … In my dream scenario, this is a perfect answer to my problems in identifying [small group] needs.”
Schoolwide progress data: School leaders appreciate that they can see how their school is performing in focus areas, such as Executive Functioning and Relationships & Prosocial Skills, based on lesson completion data.
Meeting Every Student’s Needs With Tiered Interventions
Middle school is a pivotal time for every student. But many students need more help. The all-new Second Step Tiered Interventions, included in the Second Step® Elementary and Second Step® Middle School digital programs at no extra cost, make it possible—and easy—to ensure that those students have the support they need to strengthen key human skills for school and life.
Explore a sample small group lesson here. To take the next step toward bringing human skills programs to your school or district, request a free consultation today.
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Sponsored Content in Partnership With NASSP
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