Henrico County Public Schools began implementation of Virginia Tiered Systems of Support (VTSS) in 2016, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and the Virginia Commonwealth University Research and Implementation Center (VCU-RIC). VTSS is a three-tier framework and philosophy intended to provide resources and support to help every student to be successful academically and behaviorally. VTSS aligns academics, behavior, and social-emotional wellness into a single decision-making framework to establish the support needed for schools to be effective learning environments for all students. In essence, VTSS is a huge umbrella that seeks to capture all aspects of student success and provide tiered systems of support to ensure that all students are successful, and the needs of the whole child are met.

To date, HCPS has 51 schools/programs implementing the VTSS model. These schools have installed Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and have Intervention Teams that meet weekly to review academic, behavior, and attendance data, make recommendations for interventions and monitor students’ response to intervention (RtI). As the HCPS Strategic Plan: Destination 2025 states, by 2024 all HCPS schools will implement positive behavior interventions and supports as evidenced by formal implementation of Virginia Tiered System of Supports or a schoolwide behavior plan.