#93: The Tier 2 Formula You’ve Been Missing with Linsey Jones
The Tier 2 Formula You’ve Been Missing—Straight from a School-Based SLP
From Stuck to Supported: The Tier 2 Struggle I Know Too Well
Years ago, I sat in yet another data meeting, heart heavy and hands tied. We all saw the same thing—a student who wasn’t making enough progress, but also wasn’t qualifying for special education. And just like that, another child slipped through the cracks, stuck in Tier 2 limbo.
Sound familiar?
In this episode, I sat down with Linsey, a seasoned school-based speech-language pathologist who’s turned that frustration into fuel. She created a Tier 2 intervention program that’s not only data-driven and research-backed—it’s getting real, replicable results.
If you’re an elementary teacher juggling small groups, interventions, and the growing pressure to “catch them all early,” this Tier 2 formula could be the breakthrough you didn’t know you needed.
What Makes This Tier 2 Program So Effective?
Linsey breaks it down into two big buckets: systems and instruction.
From a systems lens:
- It starts with early, intentional data collection—way before the gaps grow too wide.
- Screening and progress monitoring drive every decision.
- Intervention begins in kindergarten, not as a last resort.
From an instructional lens:
- Small groups of 2–3 students, 15–20 minutes, packed with targeted instruction.
- Visuals, like articulatory mouth pictures, make phonemes click.
- Every session is adaptive—based on student responses in the moment.
- Encoding, blending, and segmenting happen together, on purpose.
It’s the difference between checking the box and actually moving the needle.
How to Apply These Tier 2 Reading Intervention Strategies in Your Classroom
You don’t need to overhaul your entire intervention block to start seeing change. Here’s how to get going:
1. Collect smart data first.
Start the year with comprehensive early literacy data—not just for students already flagged for support, but for your whole K cohort. Identify trends. Zoom in on specifics (like which parts of phonemic awareness are weak).
2. Make every minute count.
Use short, high-impact sessions with a consistent structure. That predictability builds trust and saves time.
3. Use visuals and manipulatives.
Mouth pictures and letter tiles aren’t fluff—they anchor abstract sounds in something concrete and sticky.
4. Adapt in real-time.
Don’t wait for the next cycle of progress monitoring. If a student struggles with /k/, contrast it immediately with /m/ and highlight the differences.
5. Ditch “productive failure” for now.
We’re building accuracy, not resilience. Front-load your support, model hard, and reduce error rates as much as possible.
6. Don’t fly solo.
Linsey swears by collaboration. When teachers, SLPs, interventionists, and literacy coaches align, students soar. Everyone brings something to the table.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
- Why most Tier 2 programs aren’t closing the gap—and how to change that
- What a high-impact, low-time small group session actually looks like
- How to collect the right data without drowning in it
- The “magic trick” of pairing phonemic awareness with phonics
- What happens when collaboration is more than a checkbox
Bringing It All Together
You don’t need to wait for a student to qualify for services before you act. And you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to make your Tier 2 instruction more powerful.
Just start where you are. Use what you have. And take one small step that moves the needle forward.
Because the earlier we act, the more we can prevent. And prevention? That’s the real magic.
Want More Support? Join The Science of Reading Formula
Inside The Science of Reading Formula, you’ll find everything you need to bring this Tier 2 vision to life: done-for-you small group lesson plans, easy-to-follow trainings, intervention tools, and a whole community of educators who get it.
Ready to make your intervention time more effective and less overwhelming?
Join us now right here!
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