Meet the Team: Region 5
2023-24 School Year
As schools welcome students back this fall, we’d like to take this time to introduce members of the Nebraska Multi-tiered System of Support (NeMTSS) team. NeMTSS serves five regions across the state to ensure personalized support to schools and programs in their MTSS implementation efforts.
Regional Support Team Roles
Each Regional Support Team includes four individuals who work together and serve in the following roles to support schools/programs within their region (click the links to watch short videos about what each team member does):
- Regional Support Lead
- Early Childhood Implementation Facilitator
- Social, Emotional and Behavioral Learning (SEBL) Specialist
- Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Coach
Visit the blog each week in August to learn about the individuals on the five regional support teams.
Region 5 Team Members
Region 5 is located in Western Nebraska and includes ESUs 13, 15 and 16.
Regional Support Lead
Tessa Fraass
Tessa Fraass has served as a regional support lead for NeMTSS for three years. She is a passionate educator who strives to ensure that school systems meet the needs of adults and students in a sustainable way. Serving as a teacher and administrator for 25 years has strengthened Tessa’s commitment to work with ESUs to support districts and schools in creating collective efficacy toward common goals and priorities, while providing a safe and welcoming environment for all. She is always yearning for knowledge — whether from a colleague, textbook, workshop or class. Tessa holds a bachelor’s degree in teaching from Chadron State College, an administrative and specialist degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and is currently working toward a doctoral degree in education from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Early Childhood Implementation Facilitator
Nicole Long
Nicole Long has passionately served in a variety of roles in Nebraska public schools for 22 years and is excited to join the NeMTSS team. Her experience includes K-12 art, curriculum, assessment, TeamMates, Career Technical Education work-based learning, and serving as a PK-6 grade principal. In particular, Nicole enjoys building efficient and effective systems using valuable data to make important decisions for all students, classrooms, schools and districts. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from Doane College, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Doane College and a master’s degree in educational leadership (PK-12) from Arkansas State University. Aside from her professional credentials, she just loves kids!
Social, Emotional and Behavioral Learning Specialist
Sara Gentry
Sara Gentry provides professional development, technical assistance and coaching to educators regarding the social, emotional and behavioral learning needs of educators and students across the state. Sara earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Molloy College in New York and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California. She is a licensed clinical social worker and a licensed mental health practitioner. Sara has spent the past 15 years working with diverse populations in a variety of settings, including her most recent role supporting rural schools as a school social worker.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Coach
Linda Clavel
As a former teacher, counselor and principal, Linda Clavel sees how Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) significantly impact school culture as part of a multi-tiered system of support framework. PBIS implementation provides resources to help schools select, organize, implement and evaluate behavioral practices to meet the needs of all students. Regardless of size, no district is more or less important than any other, and the PBIS framework helps to build equity across the state by providing high quality, systematic and targeted support.