Hortonville is using a multi-tiered Social Skills screening model to move from reactive behavior management to proactive, data-informed student support.
At a glance: Student well-being and behavior supports reach more students when universal screening data is built into everyday workflows instead of depending on behavior referrals. That is what district leaders in Hortonville, Wisconsin, say they have learned in Year 5 of their partnership with Resonant Education.
Using the SSIS2 Brief Universal Screener, the district built a proactive system with 100% completion on teacher screening for multiple years running and about 98% completion on student screening. Led by Director of Pupil Services Lori Smits, the work has created a consistent process for identifying student needs early, supporting Tier 2 interventions and tracking behavior progress in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
Referrals alone leave gaps
Before the screener was part of their broader system, district leaders relied on behavior referrals to estimate how student actions connected to core social skills. That approach left blind spots. Quiet, internalized student needs often went unnoticed, and support tools were hard to scale across elementary and middle school grades. In some schools with strong test scores, screening surfaced Social Skills needs that academic data alone did not show.
Connect every screening result to a tier of support
District leadership designed a multi-tiered response so each result leads to a next step:
Tier 1 (universal and classroom): Districtwide screening data shows broad skill needs. When a building or classroom scores low in a competency such as responsible decision-making, staff lead whole-group lessons on that skill.
Tier 2 (targeted support): Homeroom teachers use post-screening rosters to place students in targeted competency groups or options such as after-school skill-building clubs.
Tier 3 (intensive support): Students showing possible concerns are connected to secondary screeners or to the building's Pupil Services Team for support from specialized staff.
Make screening part of the district plan
To keep the work going, the district made SSIS2 scores an official measure in its continuous improvement plan, which keeps building principals invested in Social Skills goals. Data reaches the district's warehouse within 48 hours of screening, so teachers can adjust instruction quickly.
With clear measures in place, educators began to treat behavior as a skill to be taught rather than a compliance issue. District leaders credit the program's long-term self-sufficiency to skipping "plug-and-play" software expectations and doing the organizational work to connect screening data to daily classroom practice, with hands-on support from Resonant Education.
“[Teachers] understand that behavior is a skill and they also feel good that they’re not missing the quiet ones that need support.”
— Lori Smits, Director of Pupil Services, Hortonville Area School District
What this means for your district
If your district relies on behavior referrals to find students who need support, universal screening can show you who is being missed, but only if the results connect to what teachers do next. Before your first screening window, decide what each result will lead to: a whole-class lesson, a skill group or a referral to your pupil services team.
Call to action: Talk to our team about building a screening-to-support process for your district.
