“The goal is that no matter which classroom a student walks into, they will get access to high-quality instruction and interventions needed to succeed.”
Welcome to IMA
An invitation to keep education’s promise.
Education can be the great equalizer—our job is to deliver on that promise. Across classrooms, districts, universities, and agencies, education professionals at every level believe this. Yet we’ve been pulled off course: Siloed professional conferences, thought leadership over educational research, and products marketed as “research-based” that don’t move student outcomes. Leaders at all levels, choosing what’s popular versus what works.
The International MTSS Association (IMA) is a global nonprofit uniting research, practice, and policy to build prevention-first, evidence-driven systems—so every student can access any post-secondary path they choose.
If you value the science of learning, join us.
If you’re tired of a siloed system, support us.
Become a member. Partner with us. Donate to keep membership free.
Together, we can ensure every student gets access to high-quality instruction and intervention—and keep education’s promise.
With gratitude,
Joan Schumann
Joan Schumann, PhD
Founding Executive Director, International MTSS Association
“We started IMA to break the silos and put world-class research within reach of every leader—so together we can strengthen our educational systems that prepare every student for the future they deserve.”
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Joan Schumann, PhD is the Founding Executive Director of the International MTSS Association (IMA) and CEO of Leading for Learning. An educator with a research background, she has served as a K–12 classroom teacher, special educator, school principal, district leader, and university faculty member—bringing evidence to implementation in classrooms, teacher preparation, and school systems. Joan earned her doctorate at the University of Utah, where her dissertation examined PBIS and discipline disproportionality, and has since led large-scale MTSS efforts, including districtwide frameworks, high-impact professional learning, and data-driven school improvement.
Her leadership spans the U.S. and international schools, including principalship in California, Director of Professional Learning & Instruction at the International School of Beijing, and Director of Student Support Services at Stamford American International School in Singapore. She has guided assessment and curriculum adoptions, mentored administrators and teachers, secured multi-million–dollar resources to expand services for students and families, and presented nationally and internationally on MTSS, RTI, PBIS, educational equity, attendance, women in leadership, and systems-level leadership. Her written work appears in the Handbook of School Psychology, the Handbook of Positive Behavior Support, and the Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.
Today, Joan focuses on helping leaders at every level of the educational system implement best practice—and making research (and researchers) accessible to everyday school professionals.
