Sixty-one educational leaders from a rural section of the Northeastern United States participated in this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study to determine the extent to which educational leaders felt knowledgeable and prepared to lead the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) in their schools. Despite educators' initial beliefs they felt knowledgeable about this topic, when probed for specific information on the components of MTSS gaps in knowledge and training were evident. This paper highlights these specific gaps in training and provides recommendations as to how educators and school district personnel can partner with higher education training programs to address this issue.