Posted by Beth DuBose on Dec 06, 2011
In the latest installment of the Ask the Expert series on the National Center on Response to Intervention’s website, Laurie Emery answers the question "How is behavior support included in the RTI framework in your school?"
View Laurie’s answer in the video on the National Center on Response to Intervention’s website.
Posted by Beth DuBose on May 18, 2011
Perspectives from Urban Schools
This article examines the application of the popular Response to Intervention (RTI) approach to the early identification and service delivery for students with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in schools. The article begins with an explanation of the RTI model as applied to the social behavior domain, based on the empirical research base.
Read the article at the Council of Exceptional Children’s website
Posted by Beth DuBose on May 13, 2011
www.projectachieve.infoContinuous school improvement and school, staff, and student success are facilitated by understanding (a) the components of an effective school; (b) how strategic planning fits into these components; and (c) how the school improvement process is organized through the committee structure of the school and the activities of school-level committees. This free Technical Assistance (TA) paper addresses each of these issues, specifically focusing on an evidence-based blueprint of the school-level committees needed (structurally or functioning) by every school and what their primary missions should be. Go to: http://www.projectachieve.info and the “Project ACHIEVE: Planning and Development Tools” pull-down menu.
Posted by Beth DuBose on May 11, 2011
A collection of papers that were presented by National Center on Response to Intervention (NCRTI) staff at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2010 Conference. The collection features papers on nine different topics including: critical issues facing states in RTI implementation, providing effective instructional intervention within an RTI framework, and using RTI to reduce disproportionality and the achievement gap.
To download the PDF, visit the National Center on Response to Intervention.
Posted by Beth DuBose on May 04, 2011
Read about how Response to Intervention is transforming how we address student needs in today’s schools in this NEA policy brief.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 11, 2011
This article looks at Response to Intervention from not only the school district’s point of view, but also the teacher’s, parent’s and attorney’s.
The Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES recently gathered data from 8 of their 9 school districts to determine the success of their Response to Intervention process. Diane Bennett, special education school improvement specialist at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, said the data gathered from the districts within the BOCES suggest the process of classifying special education students is becoming more efficient thanks to their response to intervention process. Their referrals have dropped from 160 in 2007-2008 to 69 as of late February 2010-11.
Parents feel like their students need special education services, but Response to Intervention is slowing down the eligibility process. Bennet stated that the purpose of RTI is to provide early help to students who are struggling, but do not necessarily need special education services. “If they get appropriate intervention early on, they’re probably not truly learning disabled,” she said. “What you saw before, when there was a problem, many parents and staff thought (students) immediately had to be referred to special education. We’re finding with the use of appropriate targeted interventions, that students can get appropriate supports in general education through a response-to-intervention model.” The BOCES feels the data they gathered from their member districts shows that RTI is doing it’s job.
The author also interviewed a local special education attorney, Andrew Cuddy. He is worried that students with true learning disabilities will languish in a general education setting when they should be classified and given an individualized education program. In response, Bennett stated screenings occur right away and children with needs are identified quickly and Tier 1 (general education) interventions can begin right away.
To read the full article, go to Auburnpub
We have heard from many districts that they are seeing more and more litagation in their districts around Response to Intervention. Spectrum K12 recently conducted a webinar presented by Dr. Andrea Ogonosky adressing this exact issue. She states that data and documentation is vital for any district to represent what they are doing in regards to Response to Intervention. She recommends districts have strong data aggregation systems where they can not only see individual student data but also data on how individual students are measuring up to their peer group. This webinar has been very popular, and recommended by numerous individuals. Click here to view The Must Do’s of RTI Documentation… Staying out of Due Process: Documenting Assessments, Data, Curriculum, Interventions and Fidelity
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 04, 2011
A comprehensive list of Response to Intervention Math resources including websites, software and books.
At the recent Title I conference in Montana, Ann Verploegen presented resources for schools and districts when implementing Math into their RTI process. This list includes the resources she gathered for that presentation broken out by category including Progress Monitoring, CBM, Skill Mastery, Research Based Products, Traditional Assessments and Books.
To view Ann’s resource list, please visit the Montana DOE.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Feb 28, 2011
This special report examines the many forms Response to Intervention is now taking, its research base, its influence on the educational marketplace, and the federal regulations that both fuel and restrict its growth.
Education Week released their newest special report on RTI today. The articles include:
To view the entire report and download a free interactive PDF version, visit Education Week.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 28, 2011
A major concern for parents as well as teachers is how to help children who experience difficulty in school. All parents want to see their child excel, and it can be very frustrating when a child falls behind. This paper provides information to parents on what Response to Intervention is and how it can be used in schools to help their child.
To access the paper go to National Association of School Psychologists
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 26, 2011
Catawba Springs Elementary, Love Memorial Elementary, and S. Ray Lowder Elementary Schools of Lincoln County School District in North Carolina were recognized in December as Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) Exemplar Schools.
The schools’ staff and students went through an evaluation process that required a school visit, interviews with staff and students, and a lengthy presentation on the PBIS prgram at each school.
To read the full article go to Lincoln Tribune.com
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 21, 2011
Most RTI frameworks organize interventions according to intensity of intervention and frequency of data collection. Typically, interventions are organized into a pyramid. This Action Tool focuses on developing a three-tiered system.
Read the full report at ASCD.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 14, 2011
During an iNACOL-hosted webinar, Spring ISD Virtual School in Houston divulged the details of their Response to Intervention, or RTI, program.
Many people argue that you can only provide appropriate intervention instruction face-to-face with students. But Spring ISD Virtual School looked at the underlying definition of RTI: RTI requires commitment from a team that includes students, counselors, learning specialists, teachers, supporting teachers, parents, and administrators and should provide assistance in areas where students need special help before they become a problem. The students enrolled in Spring ISD Virtual School receives instruction online, so interventions provided to them needed to reflect their education setting. Spring ISD Virtual School found that the most effective interventions were teacher watches and weekly counselor check-ups. They also conduct all of their RTI meetings online, providing parents and teams access to a private folder only available to individuals that have access to see that particular student’s file. As technology advances, online education can become more popular, so districts will need to discover how they can integrate their practices into a digital format.
To read the entire article, visit Education Week.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 10, 2011
With the advancement of technology in education, more and more data is available to educators. The article addresses the issue of how staff can prioritize which data to analyze with so much to choose from.
Evelyn S. Johnson, Ed.D., Deborah R. Carter, Ph.D., and Juli Pool, Ph.D. discuss the issue of data overload in education. They quote a teacher’s comment that they “like using data to help inform [their] decisions, but it seems like every week [they] make decisions that require us to do a lot more work.” This concern is becoming more and more frequent and relevant as technology advances and provides educators with more data. But systems like EXCEED are helping districts prioritize the data they capture and provide quick and easy analysis of that data.
To read the entire article, visit the RTI Action Network
To learn more about EXCEED, visit Spectrum K12
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 07, 2011
The authors provide an overview of RTI and describe the experience and outcomes of RTI implementation at Cheyenne Mountain Junior High.
Evelyn S. Johnson, associate professor of special education at Boise State University in Boise, ID and Lori A. Smith, principal at Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School in Colorado Springs, CO. provides a discussion of lessons learned and implications for other middle schools considering RTI implementation. A free online preview is available at Middle School Journal, but it is $10 to download the entire journal issue.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 22, 2010
Dr. Andrea Ogonosky and Gerald Stefhon answer your questions in December’s RTI Mindshare topic: Data Driven Problem Solving.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 10, 2010
Project ACHIEVE is an evidence-based school improvement process that involves the implementation of Positive Academic Support and Services (PASS), Positive Behavioral Support Systems (PBSS), and multi-tiered Response-to-Instruction and Intervention support systems.
Implemented in schools and districts nationwide since 1990, it is directed by Dr. Howie Knoff who is well-known for his writing, professional development, and technical assistance in these area. Today, the new Project ACHIEVE website goes on-line (www.projectachieve.info) with free information and technical assistance papers and powerpoints in many of these implementation areas. We encourage you to visit the website to review these and the other Project ACHIEVE resources.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jun 28, 2010
Anyone just starting implementation of a Response to Intervention process may be unclear on how RTI can be used for identification of students with Learning Disabilities. The RTI Action Network reviews the historical definitions of LD and summarizes the scientific basis for the changes in identification and intervention introduced by IDEA 2004.
The author of the article, Dr. Jack Fletcher, explains that the historical definition of Learning Disabilties was not very clear, and because the definition states that a learning disability could occur when "a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more areas, " the IQ discrepancy model became the way to identify learning disabilities dispite contrary evidence and research that the discrepancy model lacked vaildity and reliabilty. When IDEA 2004 was passed it allowed districts to choose an identfication model that represented alternative inclusionary criteria, including a model basd on RTI. This allowed for models that did not use IQ as an inclusion criteria.
Researchers have suggested three primary criteria to be used when identifying Learning Disabilities:
Thus, identifying children with LD, whether as part of the process stipulated in IDEA (2004), a clinic outside of school, or in research, requires the presence of low achievement and inadequate response to instruction as inclusionary criteria. This is true whether the overarching identification model stems from an RTI process or from some type of psychometric model.
Fletcher reminds districts that implementing a RTI process can take several years, so they should prepare for a gradual change. He also emphasizes the need for a collaboration between general and special education when implementing RTI. At the time of his report, Fletcher states that many educators feel like RTI is a special education initiaive. Through our annual RTI Survey, we have seen this perspective change over the years and now 55% of responders across the nation indicate that implementing RTI is a unified effort in their distrct.
Click here to read the entire article from the RTI Action Network.
Posted by Beth DuBose on May 27, 2010
Spectrum K12 Student Achievement and RTI Software Chosen as “Best Education Solution” and “Best K-12 Enterprise Solution”
Spectrum K12 School Solutions Inc., the leading provider of Response to Intervention (RTI) and student achievement management 
solutions for K-12 school districts announced today announced it’s EXCEED® software has been selected as the “Best Education Solution and “Best K-12 Enterprise Solution” by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). Nominated products underwent an intensive review by subject matter experts, analysts, journalists, and others with deep experience in the field. Only 34 winners were chosen from more than 785 nominations submitted by 374 companies. Spectrum K12’s EXCEED® was one of only 4 products that were named a winner in two separate education categories. The announcement was made at the 25th Annual CODiE Awards Reception and Dinner in San Francisco.
Spectrum K12 earned the award for its EXCEED software, a student achievement management product that gives teachers an easy way to drive day-to-day activities, research based interventions and outcomes to help all students achieve success while giving administrators the ability to see what’s working and what’s not by student, class, school, teacher or intervention.
The award for “Best Education Solution” recognizes EXCEED as the best overall education technology solution out of the 785 nominated products. Judges selected EXCEED as the “Best Education Solution” using criteria including ease of use, richness of functionality, impact on education processes, and overall visual/program aesthetics.
EXCEED’s selection as “Best K-12 Enterprise Solution” recognizes it as the best business management tool that supports education enterprises at preK-12 levels and that best enables data exchange, processing and reporting. EXCEED was judged the “Best K-12 Enterprise Solution” based on it’s ability to integrate data and information from various sources, ability to meet different user needs and education missions, easy access to student and/or course data, and a short learning curve.
A list of winners is now available on the CODiE Awards Website at www.siia.net/CODiEs.
Posted by Beth DuBose on May 24, 2010
Prufrock Press, Inc. is providing a complimentary download of the Summer 2009 Special Issue of Gifted Child Today on the Topic of RtI and Gifted Education.
To help education professionals take a proactive look at the ways gifted education and the needs of gifted students fit within the RtI initiative, Gifted Child Today’s editor, Susan Johnsen, Ph.D., and the journal’s editorial board invited two prominent professors (Mary Ruth Coleman, Ph.D. and Claire E. Hughes, Ph.D.) to guest edit a special issue of GCT on the important topic of RtI and gifted child education.
Posted by Beth DuBose on May 20, 2010
Spectrum K12 School Solutions, Inc., and leading education organizations including the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) announced the results of their 2010 survey of K-12 district administrators which gauges the extent to which Response to Intervention (RTI) has been adopted and implemented.
Complete 2010 RTI Adoption survey results can be viewed at www.spectrumk12.com/rti/the_rti_corner/rti_adoption_report.
Spectrum K12 teamed with NASDSE, CASE and AASA to provide a roadmap for districts nationwide by determining (1) how widely RTI has been adopted in U.S. 
school districts and implementation obstacles, (2) the effectiveness of RTI, and (3) how school districts are funding RTI.
RTI Adoption and Implementation Obstacles
The 2010 survey results indicate strong and rapid adoption rates of Response to Intervention with 61% of respondent districts indicating they are currently either in full implementation or in the process of district wide implementation – up from 54% in 2009, 32% in 2008 and 24% in 2007 with 48% of respondents indicating their district has a formal RTI district implementation plan like the NASDSE Blueprint.
Survey results also show RTI is being increasingly implemented across all grade levels with a significant increase in middle and secondary schools as compared to previous years.
Survey respondents report the primary obstacles to implementing RTI remain the same as in 2009 – (1) insufficient teacher training, (2) lack of intervention resources, (3) lack of resources for instruction and/or progress monitoring and (4) lack of data, knowledge, skills to implement tracking and charting.
RTI Effectiveness
In respondent districts that had sufficient data to determine the impact of RTI, 76% indicated RTI has led to an improvement in (AYP) vs. 24% that indicated it has not and 87% indicated RTI has reduced the number of special education referrals.
RTI Funding
RTI funding is coming from a variety of sources including General Funds, Title 1 and IDEA Early Intervening Services. ARRA Stimulus Funds have had an impact with 43% of respondents citing these funds as a source of RTI funding.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Mar 19, 2010
A number of leading education organizations are once again jointly conducting a survey to capture the extent to which Response to Intervention (RTI) has been adopted and implemented in school districts. Sponsoring organizations include NASDSE (National Association of State Directors of Special Education), AASA (American Association of School Administrators), CASE (Council of Administrators of Special Education) and Spectrum K12 School Solutions.
This survey can be completed in approximately 15 minutes. Survey responses are strictly confidential and will only be reported in the aggregate.
Take the survey now by clicking the link.
Click here to take the 2010 RTI Adoption Survey
Results of the survey will be available in a report jointly published by the sponsoring organizations. The survey report will provide you with critical information regarding RTI adoption trends, implementation issues and success metrics. Data from this survey will also be mapped to results from previous year surveys to identify trends and progress between 2007 through 2010.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Mar 18, 2010
This month the Center on Education Policy released a report that looked at data from 2007-2008 to determine if there is a difference in achievement gaps between boys and girls. The Center on Education Policy looked at the achievement of boys and girls on the state reading and mathematics tests used for NCLB accountability. The data for these analyses were drawn from an extensive set of test data that has been collected from all 50 states by CEP with technical support from the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO). State education officials have verified the accuracy of the data.
The report addresses four main questions:
Below are the main findings from the report:
To download the complete report, visit the Center on Education Policy
Posted by Beth DuBose on Mar 17, 2010
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has released broad principles for renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The guidelines will focus on some of the same areas NCLB orginally did, such as disaggregating data and improving the performance of particular student groups, such as students in special education. But the new act would allow states more flexibility on how they would handle districts that are struggling to meet requirements, and would allow states the decision to test beyond reading and math. The 2014 date from NCLB where all students would need to be proficient in reading and math would disappear, allowing states time to develop college/career ready programs in their schools with no new deadline determined yet.
With the new ESEA act, the bottom 5% of schools would be required to use on eof the four tournaround models presented by the US DOE. The next 5% would be put on a warning list, and would be required to use research-based interventions within their curriculum. Also, states would be required to identify the schools with the largest achievement gaps, if if those students do not show improvement in three years, the state will take over the school’s Title I money.
From the interviews listed in EdWeek, it seems Administrative organizations like what they see in the blueprint but teacher organizations do not because it places so much emphasis on the teacher being responsible for the success of the school.
If you would like to read the entire article, please visit Education Week
Posted by Beth DuBose on Mar 16, 2010
Posted by Machele Stefhon
Are you looking for a list of successful interventions to address your RTI needs? Try the “What Works Clearinghouse” a one-stop shop for checking to see what the best research-validated intervention are in any area.
What Works Clearinghouse is the top visited RTI sites for accessing one comprehensive list is of interventions.
Located at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/
Posted by Beth DuBose on Mar 09, 2010
EXCEED™ RTI Software Selected By K-12 School Districts in 8 States and the District of Columbia
Towson, MD - Spectrum K12 School Solutions Inc., the leading provider of Response to Intervention (RTI) software and student achievement management solutions for K-12 school districts, today announced that it recently passed the 400,000 students served mark in school districts employing its EXCEED™ RTI software. EXCEED RTI is a web-based software application that automates and delivers the Response to Intervention process, simplifying an otherwise cumbersome and paper driven process. Tracking, monitoring and managing intervention and student performance data, EXCEED RTI ensures fully-informed decision making and high quality instruction.
To manage the growth of its business and customer base, Spectrum K12 has grown the employee base 15% and is actively recruiting to fill additional positions.
The increase in the number of districts using EXCEED RTI to manage and streamline their Response to Intervention processes and data management reflects the accelerated rate of RTI adoption as noted in a recent survey. The survey, jointly conducted in April 2009 by Spectrum K12, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), and the National Association of State Title 1 Directors, showed the number of districts in some stage of implementing RTI rising from 60% in 2008 to 71% in 2009. Survey results can be downloaded from www.spectrumk12.com/campaign/rti_survey_results
In addition to rapid adoption by customers, Spectrum K12 has also received extensive industry recognition for their innovative solution including:
• 2010 CODiE Finalist for “Best Classroom Management Solution”, “Best K-12 Enterprise Solution", and “Best Education Solution” with winners announced at the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) Ed Tech Industry Summit May 24th, 2010
• 2009 CODiE Award Winner for “Best K-12 Enterprise Solution” presented by SIIA
• 2008 “Readers Choice Top 100 Products” presented by District Administration Magazine
• 2008 “Best of NECC” presented by Techlearning.com
• 2008 CODiE Award Winner for “Best Education Solution” presented by SIIA
Posted by Beth DuBose on Mar 05, 2010
The finalists for the highly sought after $4 billion in Race to the Top grants were announced Thursday, March 4. The list was longer than anticipated with 15 states and the District of Columbia now in the running.
The 16 finalists are: Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Each of these states scored above 400 points out of a 500 point scale on their application. Of the 16 finalists, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan estimates there would only be seven or fewer winners sharing in the $2 billion dollars up for grabs in part one of the competition. The remaining $2 billion will be handed out in September for part two of the competition.
The next step for the finalists is to have an in-person presentation with the individuals that reviewed their application. These presentations will be made the week of March 15 in Washington, D.C. and the winners will be announced in April. At that time the videos of the presentations will be posted and made public, as will the state scores and reviewers’ notes.
Read more about the Race to the Top finalists at Education Week , eSchool News, and the US Department of Education.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Feb 25, 2010
Spectrum K12 School Solutions announced today that their EXCEED™ Student Achievement Manager software has been selected as a finalist for a 2010 CODiE Award in three separate categories; “Best Classroom Management Solution”, “Best Education Solution”, and Best K-12 Enterprise Solution”. Spectrum K12 is one of only 5 companies named as a finalist in three or more categories from a total of 124 companies who submitted nominations.
EXCEED is a universal Student Achievement Management solution that manages, administers and prescribes the personalized learning process and data required for all students: in general, compensatory, gifted or special education. EXCEED gives teachers an easy to use, automated way to drive day-to-day activities, interventions and progress monitoring to help all students achieve success while giving administrators the ability to see what’s working and surface achievement gaps at the individual student, class, grade, group, and district level.
“To have our software judged and selected as a finalist in three separate categories by such a cross-section of the education industry is recognition of the scope, power and ease of use of our Student Achievement Management solution,” stated Jim Marshall, president and CEO of Spectrum K12 School Solutions.
Established in 1986 by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the CODiE Awards recognize and honor excellence in the education, software and digital information industries. Nominated products underwent an intensive review by subject matter experts, analysts, journalists, and others with deep experience in the field. The products that qualified will now be reviewed by members of SIIA, who will vote on winners for all 24 categories. The winners will be announced at a special CODiE Awards Dinner on May 24th, which will be held in conjunction with the 2010 Ed Tech Industry Summit in San Francisco, CA.
To view a list of all the finalists, visit http://www.siia.net/codies/2010/finalists.asp
Posted by Beth DuBose on Feb 24, 2010
The National Center on Response to Intervention interviewed Dan Deshler about what work or research is currently being done around secondary RTI that we will see in the future.
He states that they are currently looking at middle and high schools that have implemented a RTI process and have been successful. They will look at what they are doing for universal screening, progress monitoring, and tiered instruction. Because Elementary schools typically have the same students all day, it is easier to administer tiered instruction to their students. What Deshler wants to find out is how are the middle and high schools that have been successful with RTI implementing tiered instruction. You can see the interview here.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Feb 23, 2010
Machele Stefhon had a great session last week with over 30 educators that attended the Scaling the RTI Pilot: Steps to Implementing a District RTI Initiative webinar.
Attendees to webinar heard about the latest research from leading national organizations and RTI experts, and saw a demonstration of tools for RTI implementation success. You can view the recorded webinar here. You can also sign up for future webinars in the series.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 29, 2010
In the State of the Union address on Thursday, January 27, 2010, President Obama discussed a $4 billion increase in the education budget. A large part of the billion dollar increase, $1.35 billion, will go to increasing the amount of funding in the Race to the Top funds. As well as increasing funding, he will also have these grants, originally limited to states, opened up to school districts.
The 2011 budget is expected to be realesed on Monday, along with plans to consolidate 38 Educational Departments into 11 and elimate 6 programs. No news, yet, on which departments or programs will be affected.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 28, 2010
It seems that when we think of RTI we focus the discussion on universal screening and progress monitoring. Though these are very important, the core of RTI is the instruction that is provided to the student. Universal screening is important because it helps us determine where our students are struggling so we know what instruction to provide. Progress monitoring is important because it shows us if the instruction that is provided is helping the student meet their goals. Without appropriate and effective instruction, students will not progress.
In his article, Tiered Instruction and Intervention in a Response-to-Intervention Model, Edward Shapiro discusses the most common Three Tier RTI model and how to determine where a student falls within those tiers. Tier 1 is the typically core instruction that all students receive. Tier 2 contains students that are struggling being pulled into small groups, usually ranging from 5-8 students per group. Tier 3 are those students that are significantly struggling, and are worked with in even smaller groups of 3-5 students, or even one-on-one. Determining if a student should fall into Tier 2 or 3 can be difficult. This is one of the core discussions in Shapiro’s article. He claims that based on the model that is used in the school or district will determine if a student falls into Tier 2 or 3. The models can be based on the intensity of the instruction, the frequency of the delivery of instruction, or a combination of the two.
Shapiro also discusses where Special Education fits into the Response to Intervention model. Some models use Tier 3 as Special Education, others use three tiers of instruction and see Special Education as Tier 4.
Collaboration is stressed as a key component in a successful RTI model. Staff and parents must work together to determine appropriate interventions and provide adequate instruction for the success of the student.
To read the entire article, visit the RTI Action Network
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 22, 2010
Education Week Leadership Forum
April 7, 2010, Chicago, IL
April 19, 2010, Washington, DC
With the amount of RTI data and other educational data that schools and districts are collecting, are they using it to maximize student achievement? At the Education
Week Leadership Forum, they will be looking at:
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 22, 2010
Read Write Think was created by the International Reading Association (IRA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Verizon Foundation to provide educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction.
The resources and lessons are FREE and are not only aligned to the IRA/NCTE English Language Arts standards, but also individual state standards as well. The content is written by literacy experts including professors, teachers and consultants across the country.
A large number of lessons are for small group, and can be used as small group intervention activities. Each lesson provides research indicating the validity of the activites. There is an instructional plan with each lesson, taking you step-by-step in the development of the lesson and activites. Each lesson also includes a materials list, ncluding links to printable documents and websites that will enhance the lesson.
This site is a great resource! I wish it was around when I was teaching!
Visit www.readwritethink.org
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 21, 2010
This article, by Douglas Dexter and Dr. Charles Hughes of Penn State University, discusses the identification of students not progressing adequately in Tier 2 of an RTI model, and provides recommendations to improve Tier 2 instruction and identify those students needing Tier 3 interventions.
Because a lot of states are considering Tier 3 interventions Special Education or a step to refer to Special Education, the success of students in Tier 2 is critical in decreasing the number of students referred to Special Education for specific learning disabilities.
As indicated in the article:
"D. Fuchs and Deshler (2007) estimate that the number of students, based on the assumption of a normal distribution, who do not show improvement in response to the increasingly intensive Tier 2 interventions and are moved into Tier 3 should fall between 2% and 7% of the general population. However, there is no clear methodological definition of how or when a student is to be identified as a nonresponder to intervention, what intervention is to be used, who is to deliver the intervention, or how nonresponsiveness is to be measured. This lack of clarity creates the potential for inconsistencies in identification of students not progressing adequately in Tier 2 and for highly variable prevalence rates at the school, district, state, and national levels (D. Fuchs et al., 2008)."
The article discusses six methods that are currently being promoted for identification of students struggling in Tier 2: a) dual discrepancy, b) median split, c) final normalization, d) final benchmark, e) slope discrepancy, and (f) exit groups. A description of each method and the data gathered on percentages of struggling students in Tier 2 through each method is provided in the article.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 19, 2010
Recorded webinar presented by Casey Gordon, an ELL Coordinator at Kent ISD. The webinar focuses on how teachers can ensure that RTI is a positive program for ELL students.
Throughout th webinar, viewers will learn who is and ELL and what Response to Intervention is. Then the presentation looks at what a successful RTI program for ELL students would look like. Challenges are looked at when using RTI with ELL and students, but the presenter also provides guidance on what instruction would look like with an ELL student at the different tiers of RTI.
The webinar is free, but you will need to enter your name when accessing the webinar.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 15, 2010
Principal Leadership magazine publilshed this story about Penn-Trafford High School in Harrison City, PA. The article describes how best practices were being used in their school to reach struggling students through RTI, but not all students were engaged. The school decided they needed a new approach for these students.
The school purchased the FastForward reading program, and those students saw gains of an average of 1.1 years in reading skill levels in just 30 days. The school also saw increased improvement in attendance and behavior as well.
Read The Reading-Ready Brain from Principal Leadership magazine.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 15, 2010
FreeReading is a great website that provides an open-source resource for teachers and parents who want to work with their children on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
The resources are focused for children in grades K-3. There is a 40-week plan on the site for using the materials as a reading intervention program. The research base for FreeReading includes the 2000 National Reading Panel research concerning the five Big ideas in Beginning Reading (Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Comprehension).
FreeReading allows users to rate the activites on their website, as well as start discussions around their reading interventions so you can hear how other educators used that particular intervention.
Free registration is required to use the resources on the site, but all materials are available free of charge for printing and use for teaching.
For more information, visit FreeReading.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 13, 2010
IRA has published a document with their guiding principles in regard to reading interventions in the Response to Intervention Process.
The guiding principles discussed in the document are based on the following topics:
Responsive Teaching and Differentiation
Assessment
Collaboration
Systemic and Comprehensive Approaches
Expertise
These principles will be most beneficial to districts working on creating a RTI process to support students with research-based reading interventions.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 12, 2010
Today we launched RTI Watch, a free Response to Intervention focused newsletter. RTI Watch will run 2 to 3 times a week to provide you with the latest information you need to stay up-to-date on Response to Intervention.
RTI Watch is a subscription based newsletter. To sign up for RTI Watch, click here.
To view an example of RTI Watch, click here.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 06, 2010
Today we launched The RTI Corner. The RTI Corner was created to provide educators a central place to find and access the best, free resources related to RTI.
In The RTI Corner you will find information related to:
We would love to hear any feedback, suggestions or additional resources you have related to The RTI Corner. Please contact us with your suggestions!
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 30, 2009
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the city’s public schools to start using student achievement data in the evaluations of teachers who are up for tenure this school year. He stated in a panel discussion at the Center for American Progress on November 25, 2009 in Washington that he has ordered his principals to include student-performance data in teacher assessments.
Bloomburg is urging that state lawmakers also encourage districts to tie teacher assessments to student gains so the state has a better chance of winning part of the
$4.35 billion Race to the Top grants. The Race to the Top funds do not allow states to apply for the grants if they do not let schools use student performance data in teacher evaluations. Arne Duncan, who was also part of the panel on November 25, stated that he did not want states to make changes just to win the money. He wants the staes to make changes that will last decades. The American Federation of Teachers said it doesn’t oppose using student data to determine teacher effectiveness, but it should not be the only criteria in the teacher’s evaluation.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 17, 2009
Spectrum K12 School Solutions Inc, the leading provider of response to intervention (RTI), special education and student achievement management software solutions for K12 school districts, today announced a strategic partnership with Alphanumeric Systems, where Alphanumeric will be authorized to sell Spectrum K12’s award winning EXCEED™ product suite in NC, SC, VA, MD, FL and GA.
“We are excited about the partnership we have developed with Spectrum K12 and the capabilities their software provides to the K-20 sector for managing a student’s educational performance. As we look at how to be successful in early intervention and drop-out prevention, this software is far and above any other product we have reviewed,” said Jay Baucom, VP of Public Sector Operations at Alphanumeric.
On Thursday, January 21st, Spectrum K12 and Alphanumeric will co-sponsor an interactive presentation and demonstration focusing on how to utilize ARRA funding to implement RTI and student achievement management solutions. The lunch seminar will be held from 11:00am-1:30pm at Alphanumeric’s Headquarters in Raleigh. For more information or to register for this complimentary event, visit www.alphanumeric.com/january21/index.htm.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 12, 2009
The Education Department has set aside $4.35 billion for states in the Race to the Top fund. The rules for the Race to the Top funds have recently been finalized. Bids will be rated on a point system, with the highest vales going to improving teacher and principal effectiveness. A perfect bid would be worth 500 points. The Education Department made the following statement on where these funds will go:
"Awards in Race to the Top will go to states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform. Race to the Top winners will help trail-blaze effective reforms and provide examples for States and local school districts throughout the country to follow as they too are hard at work on reforms that can transform our schools for decades to come." (www.ed.gov)
Through Race to the Top, states are asked to advance reforms around four specific areas:
The key policy details can be found in the Executive Summary document. Districts can also find the application for the funds on the Race to the Top website.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 09, 2009
Staples Foundation for Learning (SFFL), a private foundation created by Staples, Inc., announced today it has awarded 29 grants totaling $287,875 to non-profit organizations dedicated to helping youth throughout the country. These organizations were selected for their commitment to providing educational programs that help at-risk youth develop the skills and confidence necessary to become responsible adults and future community leaders.
One of these grants was awarded to the Better Basics Reading Intervention program in Birmingham, AL. The Reading Intervention program improves the reading skills, standardized test scores and self-confidence of disadvantaged elementary school students. Students are selected to participate in the Reading Intervention program through teacher recommendations and test scores. They are placed with an intervention teacher employed by Better Basics who works with the students in a small group format three times a week for 20 weeks. Other qualifying students are placed wtih trained volunteers who work with students once a week. For more information on Better Basics, please visit their website.
Follow the link to view the entire list of Staples Foundation for Learning Grant Awards.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 06, 2009
The International Reading Association (IRA) is conducting a survey to learn about teachers’ experiences with Response to Intervention (RTI). The survey provides teachers a chance to share their stories about how RTI is working in their classrooms and schools.
If you are a teacher or reading specialist and would like to take the IRA Survey on RTI, visit the IRA RTI Survey site. The survey is only 20 questions, and should not take but a few minutes. These results will help those of us interested in the state of RTI see how the individuals that are providing the interventions feel about the Response to Intervention process.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 04, 2009
For districts looking for a way to help fund Response to Intervention there is a possible $650 milllion in new funding available. The U.S. Department of Education has instituted the Investing in Innovation, or i3, Fund, and plans on accepting applications in early 2010, with all applications due in spring of 2010. The fund is being setup to accelerate the creation of programs and processes that support the development and adoption of effective solutions.
All i3 funding will be handed out by September 30, 2010.
This fund will provide competitive grants that expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative and evidence-based practices, programs, and strategies that significantly:
The U.S. Department of Education released a fact sheet in October and hosted a webinar to discuss the notice of proposed priorities for the i3 Fund. For more information on the purpose of the Investing in Innovation Fund and the proposed program requirements, visit the U.S. DOE i3 website.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Oct 29, 2009
Former Board of Education chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System and current senior vice president of McGraw-Hill Education’s Urban Advisory Resource, Arthur Griffin Jr., has written a position paper on the state of the Response to Intervention (RTI) Process. He states how RTI was initially designed to be more accurate way of determining which students should be identified has having a specific learning disability. Yet what educators have found is that the RTI process has also been beneficial to any student who may be struggling in the classroom. The Response to Intervention process provides them with extra help to make sure they do not fall too far behind. Griffin also explains how RTI, unlike many other educational fads, can be a successful program because it is designed to evaluate its own effectiveness on an ongoing basis.
Griffin gives a brief overview of the RTI process that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System used, and provides three key factors to implementing a successful RTI program:
1. High and consistent standards for achievement;
2. Ongoing, scientifically based assessments and instructional practices that are continually evaluated and adjusted for efficacy; and
3. Teachers and teacher aides who have been trained properly in the implementation of the RtI assessment and intervention process.
He goes on to say how if any of those three factors are missing, the process will not succeed.
The paper also includes a definition and history of Response to Intervention, along with the current state of RTI, sighting the RTI Survey conducted by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), Spectrum K12 School Solutions and State Title 1 Directors.
To read Griffin’s position paper, go to http://www.mheducation.com/uar/RtI_White_Paperfinal.pdf
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jul 20, 2009
By Earle Dean Christian, who has devoted 21 years of her life to furthering education
NASET, National Association of Special Education Teachers, provides Parent Teacher Conference Handouts on a variety of topics. These handouts are extremely useful for parents of children with special needs.
With the start of school just a few weeks ago, one of the available handouts, “How Parents Can Help Their Children with Homework” provides helpful tips for a successful school year. The handout can be found at http://www.naset.org/767.0.html#c1977.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jul 15, 2009
When I was working in the classroom, I always tried to incorporate technology into my lessons throughout the week. But I also know that for most educators, trying to bring technology into the classroom seems like another burden. Yet, if educators are properly introduced and trained on the multiple technologies that could enhance their classrooms, I believe more teachers would use these products willingly and find more exciting ways to teach.
I came across a great blog entry on Edutopia, where the author, Jim Moulton, discussed this very same topic. He suggests to not think about the kids this summer and think more about you and how you can use the summer to become more tech savvy. He believes, as I do, that the more familiar you become with these tools, the more likely you will use them in your classroom. He even includes ten suggestions to look at and possibly use in the classroom. Below are his suggestions:
Create Your Own Video Vault
Miro is like iTunes for video. With it, you can download videos from sites like YouTube and TeacherTube and save them on your local hard drive. So, now you can load up a flash drive with some of those viral videos you just have to show your sister and not worry about finding them online when you get to her house.
Oh, and when school is back in session, this will mean you can arrive in class with a host of content specific videos loaded on that same flash drive or on your laptop. You’ll never waste precious teaching time waiting for downloads or fighting filters again.
Have Fun with Photos
I just love BigHugeLabs.com. Going to a wedding or other special event this summer? Head here either before or after the big day, and come armed with some pictures. You’ll be able to make posters of various kinds, badges, trading cards, and more.
And because the results are JPEG files, you can easily pass them on to friends and family. Too much fun! In the fall, how about using this great tool as a way for kids to make content projects come to life or to celebrate a special day or a special student?
Create Comics
Plasq makes a piece of software called Comic Life. Now, I have to believe that you are going to take your digital camera with you this summer to the beach, to the mountains, horseback riding, to a barbecue, or out in the canoe. Imagine being able to easily—yes, easily—turn those pictures into a comic book?
This tool will have your friends saying, "Shazam! How’d you get so creative? This is great!" Meanwhile, back in the classroom, you’ll want to use this handy tool as a way for students to create graphic novels that clearly demonstrate their understanding of key concepts, or even as a way to make your own customized lab setup instructions.
Whip up a Wiki
Everyone is going to attend an event or two this summer, like a birthday party, a wedding, or a anniversary. If you’re a planner of one of these, then set up a wiki to share all the information about the event.
If you are an attendee, set up one of these babies as a way to organize that group of friends who will also be there, and then use it to maintain your connections after the event. In the classroom, come fall, your summer experience will have you ready to establish a classroom wiki.
Form a Questionnaire
Need to find out who is going to bring potato salad to the family reunion? Want to choose a restaurant for a group to meet at without making a civil case of it? Use a form from Google Docs or a survey from SurveyMonkey.com and ask your questions online. You’ll be able to send out a simple Web address to folks and they can answer your questions online, and you’ll get the data right away.
Both sites require registration, but they are free. Oh, and if the URL for your survey or form is one of those terribly long things, head to TinyURL.com and shrink it before you send it out.
Use these great tools for asking questions with your kids to help them understand content more deeply and get ready for the tests. Kids who know how to ask good questions are better at answering them, and in order to ask good questions about a curriculum topic, the kids have to understand it first.
Share Snapshots
Summertime is when so many memories are made. And photos help us hold onto those memories long after the sand is vacuumed out of backseats of cars and mustard stains are washed out of T-shirts. If you aren’t already using an online photo-storage site to share your pictures online, go to Google’s Picasa. There are lots of others, so ask you friends what they like.
What you’ll appreciate is the ability to take snapshots of your children doing silly jumps into the pool and then—at no cost—share them exclusively with family members and friends you select. When school begins again, how about starting a project with that friend of yours who teaches a few states over? You and your students could share images and information about where you live and the class from away will do the same. What a great way to spice up geography.
Survey the Situation
Going back to where you grew up for a visit this summer? Head to Google Maps before you go, and take a look at the old neighborhood in a whole new way. Sure, the ability to see either a map or an aerial photograph is cool, but wait until you see the street-level views! "Hey," you’ll say, "I wonder whose truck that is parked in from of Luanne’s house?"
No, they are not images in real time, but you’ll be so ready for the real visit after digitally cruising the area. Using maps is powerful across all the curriculum areas, so once you see how easy these are to use, you’ll want to explore the settings of novels you’re reading as a class or places where historical events took place.
Cache In
Geocaching is a great way to learn more about a place you and the family are traveling this summer, or even about your home area if you are going on a staycation. You really have to visit the site, but basically, through the use of a global-positioning-system receiver, you will find your way to places where folks have tucked away a small waterproof box. Might sound silly, but people who get involved love it!
Search this site by ZIP code and you’ll find where geocaches have been hidden in places that only the locals know about. GPS makes latitude and longitude come to life. Geocaching has super possibilities, so if you do anything with maps in your classroom, go geocaching.
Know the News
Visit Newseum to read the front pages of newspapers from around the world—a great way to see what is worthy of the front page in a place you are headed toward for a visit, or to keep up on the front-page news back home while you are away. If your students are going to be players in a global economy, knowing what is on the front page in a newspaper kiosk in Beijing, Beirut, Houston, London, New Delhi, or Toronto is important.
Listen Up
If you have a road trip planned, a good audiobook can be a great thing to have along. This is the best free audio collection of public domain books out there. The readers are excellent, and you’ll find many classics.
How about having The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or A Christmas Carol read to you as you drive? Put them on your mp3 player or burn a set of CDs, and you’re good to go. In the fall, consider making CDs of classic literature and sending them home to families as a gift. They will love them, and exposure to high-quality readers and classic literature will help all learners.
Along with activities to use with your students, there is also a ton of technology out there to make your life easier in the classroom. You can perform assessments, track grades and communicate with parents. You can now track all your students’ progress towards individual goals, and be alerted when they start to fall off track. For more information on this software, please visit the EXCEED webpage.
To read Jim Moulton’s blog entry, visit his blog on Edutopia.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jul 13, 2009
By Earle Dean Christian, who has devoted 21 years of her life to furthering education
Grant funds are available as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A portion of the funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program.
The SFSF program includes awarding $5 billion competitively under the “Race to the Top” and “Investing in What Works and Innovation” programs. $4.35 billion has been appropriated to make competitive grants under the “Race to the Top” fund. These grants will help states to drive significant improvement in student achievement. $650 million has been appropriated to make competitive awards under the “Invest in What Works and Innovation” fund. These grants are for LEAs or nonprofit organizations that have made significant gains in closing achievement gaps to serve as models for best practices. More information can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/presentation/index.html
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jun 04, 2009
Spectrum K12 School Solutions, Inc., and leading education organizations including the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), American Association of School Administrators (AASA), the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), and State Title 1 Directors today announced the results of their 2009 survey of K-12 district administrators to gauge the extent to which Response to Intervention (RTI) has been adopted and implemented.
Spectrum K12 and these organizations teamed to determine the Response to Intervention rate of adoption, the effectiveness of RTI implementation and perceived critical implementation factors to provide a roadmap for districts nationwide.
The 2009 survey results indicate strong and rapid support for Response to Intervention with 71% of districts in some stage of implementing RTI – up from 60% in 2008 and 44% in 2007. The survey results also showed RTI is being increasingly implemented across all grade levels with a significant increase in high school implementation compared to 2008.
Districts reported the three primary obstacles to implementing RTI as insufficient teacher training, lack of intervention resources and lack of an easy, comprehensive way to monitor and drive student achievement.
Of districts with enough data, 83% indicated RTI has reduced the number of referrals to special education.
The survey results can be downloaded at www.spectrumk12.com/campaign/rti_survey_results.
Learn more about the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE)
Learn more about the American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
Learn more about the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 17, 2009
This publication from the National Center for Learning Disabilities explains how the essential components of RTI — universal screening and progress-monitoring with research-based, tiered interventions — can be applied in preschool settings.
Many schools have seen success in implementing Response to Intervention in their K-12 classrooms. Now schools are starting to look at how they can provide Response to Intervention strategies to their Pre-K students. The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) has created a guidance document for schools to develop an RTI program for their Pre-K students.
The NCLD explain that the core components of RTI and Pre-K RTI are the same. Both need high quality instruction, tiered instruction and intervention, ongoing student assessment and progress monitoring, and family involvement.
The NCLD indicates that the purpose of their report and what you can learn from the report is:
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 16, 2009
The Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) has put together a webpage with resources around the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and how it will effect special education. Resources include a Q-and-A summarizing portions of the act that CEC believes to be of particular interest to special-educators.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) can be confusing to most educators. How much money are we getting? When are we getting it? What can we use it for?
The Council of Exceptional Children has put together numerous resources to help educators understand how ARRA will effect them, their district and their students. CEC recommends that readers view the CEC’s Q&A: How the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Impacts Special Education and Early Intervention.
To access the resources, visit the Council of Exceptional Children’s Economic Stimuus page.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 08, 2009
The Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) has a wonderful resource available for schools that are trying to use Response to Intervention with students with emotional/behavioral disorders. The article includes ways that a school can setup a tiered system to provide interventions to these students.
First, they discuss how RTI for E/B D works, providing examples of how each tier would look and what interventions would be used within that tier. They also provide insight into how staff would provide progress monitoring and data collection for the interventions. There is also a section on how and who might be on the RTI team for students with emotional/behavioral disorders, and what would need to be discussed at these meetings.
The CEC also provides guidance on how to involve parents, saying that they should be notified as soon as possible and be involvedin the meetings. They also provide advantages and challenges for using RTI for E/B D students. For example, advantages to using RTI for behavior include improved services students, decreased discipline referrals, and improved teacher performance. Some challenges being training and personnel.
Below you will find examples of what they provide for guidance on what the three tiers would look like for behavior intervntions.
Tier Services in RTI for E/BD
In Tier 1, as in School-wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS), all students receive explicit instruction in behavioral expectations and a system is implemented to encourage, reinforce, and acknowledge appropriate behavior. Also, all teachers implement effective, research-based classroom management practices. Additionally, in Tier 1 all students are screened to identify those who need Tier 2 support.
For Tier 2 services, schools provide targeted interventions to students who did not respond to Tier 1 interventions or were identified through screening as needing additional support. These research-based interventions are often geared to small groups and can be easily implemented.
For Tier 3 services, schools provide intensive supports to students with the most significant behavioral needs. These supports are individualized based on the student’s specific needs. Some students may require wrap-around services, which include community services.
To view the resources, visit the Council of Exceptional Children
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 07, 2009
The federal Institute of Education Sciences has released a practice guide on reading instruction and response to intervention.
A strong response-to-intervention, or RTI, program for early-childhood reading should include screening of all pupils, small-group instruction three to five a times a week for children who are struggling, and monitoring of those struggling students at least once a month to see how they are responding to the intensive lessons, according to the guide. It was published on the ies Web site on Feb. 18 through the What Works Clearinghouse.
Russell Gersten, the chairman of the panel that developed the guide, stated that “[Response to Intervention] has the advantage of being efficient” in providing instruction to students who need extra help.
I found the guide in the Education Week article ‘What Works’ Guide Gives RTI Thumbs Up on Reading. Within the article, Education Week interviewed the director of the RTI Action Network, Kathleen Whitmire who said "the panel for the guide represented a good balance of researchers and practitioners. The guide authors also did a good job in describing certain pitfalls of implementation, and how they can be overcome."
The practice guide is the first on response to intervention that has been released through the What Works Clearinghouse. The guide includes five recommendations for schools to follow in adopting an RTI program:
The practice guide does not recommend specific programs that can be used to provide the intensive instruction that some students may need. It does offer suggestions, though, for how school personnel can make good choices of different programs for their students.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 06, 2009
The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy examined 11 high schools in 9 districts in Massachusetts. These high schools have recently reduced their dropout rates by using strategic interventions designed for their at-risk students. By identifying students that were at-risk of dropping out, these high schools were able to develop targeted interventions for these students.
Many of these interventions focused on building strong connections between school and college or careers and creating strong relationships with faculty and community partners. Massachusetts is also fortunate to be able to provide alternatives to traditional high schools to these students.
These high schools have embraced the core values of Response to Intervention. They are not looking solely at academics for these students, but at providing interventions for every aspect of their students’ lives. Dropout prevention is a huge concern for high schools, and by providing targeted interventions as these high schools have can help districts decrease their dropout rates significantly.
To read the article, visit Education Week.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 03, 2009
A study published in the February 2009 issue of the journal Pediatrics studies links between recess and classroom behavior in 11,000 children aged 8 to 9. The study showed that those children receiving more than 15 min of recess a day had better behavior and concentration in class.
This does not come as a surprise to me at all. I am sure as adults we all expect and need a 15 min break to regroup in the middle of the day, and our attention span is much longer than a child’s. The ability for children to give their minds a rest and get a little exercise is essential, I believe, to allowing them to recharge for the rest of the school day. How many times have you been in a long meeting or seminar and felt like if you could just get up and walk around for a few minutes, you could get your focus back?
I know with the expectations that are put on schools today, it is hard not to try to use every minute to provide instruction to our children. But by not giving them a break, we might be doing more harm to their concentration. Especially with schools losing Physical Education time and more students going home and playing video games instead of playing outside, a short recess for young children might be more important than ever. I am not saying go out to the playground for an hour, but 15-20 min a day should be sufficient. A lot of teachers are even working lessons into their outdoor time. I have seen classes outside doing a measurement lesson as they go around and measure different playground equipment. I have seen Science lessons being conducted as classrooms take nature walks. Being outdoors provides children with the chance of getting some fresh air and movement. Even if you plan to teach outside your students may feel like you have taken them on a mini-field trip.
To read the entire article, visit The New York Times.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Apr 02, 2009
There was an article in The Washington Examiner discussing how a local district in Maryland is concerned about the impact of their inclusion programs. They audited their program and found 100% of the students that had been transitioned from segregated classrooms to inclusion classrooms scored at the lowest level on Maryland’s state math exam, and 81% scored the at the lowest level for the reading exam.
I was surprised to read these facts because I have had quite a bit of experience with both segregated and inclusion classrooms, and found for most students, inclusion classrooms were more beneficial. But after reading further, I understood perhaps why this district was seeing these scores.
The audit also showed that only about 25% of the teachers were actually providing differentiated instruction to the inclusion students. And a mandatory training for teachers that would be working with these inclusion students was only attended by about 50% of the staff. These numbers are more alarming to me. Most teacher programs do not prepare general education classroom teachers to work with special education students. If these teachers are not properly trained, of course the students will struggle. There also seems like there should be better collaboration with the general education and special education teachers. The special education teachers should be able to help, model and provide differentiated instructional practices for the general education teacher. I know educators are pulled in every direction today, and collaboration among all staff is key to providing the tools necessary for helping the students. I am sure if every district across the country did the same audit as this district did, many districts might find that their numbers are pretty similar. I know inclusion is not appropriate for every student, but I do believe that it is beneficial to most students receiving special education services if the inclusion program is well developed.
To read the article, visit The Examiner.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Mar 04, 2009
The other day we looked at how Universal Screening is one element that schools and districts must consider when developing their RTI implementation plan. Another element is Progress Monitoring. Many questions arise when developing your Progress Monitoring plan.
How often should we do it?
What should we use?
Who provides the Progress Monitoring assessments?
How will we track if students are making progress?
Why can’t we just use our traditional assessments?
Traditional Assessments vs. Progress Monitoring
The reason you want to stay away from traditional assessments for your Progress Monitoring is because they are typically more time consuming. They also have many more questions that might not reflect the areas that you are trying to assess the student on. Traditional assessments are also not given frequently enough to track student progress to catch a student early if they are not making the progress we want so the intervention can be changed or tweaked.
Many schools and districts are using Curriculum-Based Measurements for Progress Monitoring. These measurements are quick and provide immediate feedback to the teacher. These measurements are focused on the district curriculum, and can be used to make educational descisions for the student.
This 2007 presentation presents information regarding the benefits and purpose of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM). It explains how to measure student progress and how to use student progress monitoring data in reading. It was presented by Chris Lemons, Laura Sáenz, and Pamela Stecker, and released by the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Mar 02, 2009
Response to Intervention is an important process that a lot of schools and districts have or are planning to adopt. Yet, some districts and schools are having a hard time determing what elements should make up their RTI plan. One of those elements that many are struggling with is Universal Screening. When should we do it? What should we use? How many times should the students be screened?
Even schools that have implemented a plan have found challenges when trying to determine the best way to provide universal screening to their students.
Challenges:
Time: Probably one of the biggest issues schools and districts must face when creating their RTI plan. How will we have enough time to do universal screening? Do we hire substitute teachers for a week so our classroom teachers can do screenings? Do we pull auxiliary teachers to provide the screenings? When I was doing my studet teaching many years ago, the school I worked with used education majors in college to provide the screenings, but this is not a luxory all schools have.
Materials: How do we determine what the best screening materials are for our students? Do we use only one screening test, or multiple?
Analyzing the data: Once we have completed the screenings, what does the data tell us about our students? Where will we compile and house the data? Is there any software to help us analyze this data?
This Powerpoint presentation by Brian Miller is one of several sessions that were presented at the National SEA Conference on SLD Determination. It discusses an elementary school in Iowa that has implemented school-wide screening in reading. The school’s implementation plan is presented, along with a discussion of its successes and challenges. Hopefully this will give you some insight into how to setup a universal screening plan at your school or district.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Feb 17, 2009
President Obama signed the Economic Stimulus Bill today under which K-12 public schools will receive a substantial funding increase for FY2009 and FY2010. Two areas that stand to receive a significant funding boost are Title I and IDEA.
To see an estimate of the Title I and IDEA funding your district and state will receive as part of the Stimulus bill, follow the link below (prepared by Congressional Research Service).
http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/01/school-districts-will-benefit.shtml
You can also see guidance from the U.S. Department of Education on how to use Title I, Title III and CEIS funds for Response to Intervention, including progress monitoring and student achievement management software like Spectrum K12’s EXCEED/RTI by following the link below:
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/rtifiles/rti.pdf
Posted by Beth DuBose on Feb 16, 2009
The Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) has introduced the latest webinars in their Growing Knowledge Series. They are currently two webinars slated in February, four in March, two in August, and a three part series in October and November. Below you can view the content that is availabel in these webinars.
February 2009
Planning For Classroom Implementation Of AT
Once the IEP team has determined the need for assistive technology (AT), it is their responsibility to ensure that it is implemented correctly. Learn practical ways to ensure that students with disabilities receive appropriate AT devices and/or services. Attendees will receive a copy of the Assistive Technology Planner.
Using Technology To Provide Access To The Gen Ed Curriculum
Discover technology-based practices for teaching history and enhancing literacy and written language in inclusive classrooms. National experts offer practical ideas on how to help students with disabilities access the general curriculum. Attendees will receive Technology and Media for Accessing the Curriculum—Instructional Support for Students with Disabilities .
March 2009
Defining Roles For The Interaction Of Co-taught Teams
The roles for two teachers in a classroom can be confusing if there is not clarity in purpose, practice, and outcomes. Clarifying the roles of the general and special educator in the inclusive classroom ensures success for all students and underscores the importance of the co-taught environment.
Mentoring Co-Teachers For Successful Inclusion
The importance of co-teaching and collaboration in inclusive classrooms has reached new heights in recent years. Learn how to work more effectively as a cohesive team providing appropriate instruction for your diverse group of learners.
Gifted Differentiated Instruction In The Inclusive Classroom
Meeting the needs of students with gifts and talents presents a challenge to busy teachers. Increase your knowledge of effective differentiation tools for high-ability learners. From instructional management suggestions to evidence-based teaching strategies you can use, this webinar will provide you with resources to recognize and meet the needs of students with gifts and talents in the inclusive classroom.
Develop Your Program Using The National Gifted Ed Standards
What are the national standards for preparation of teachers of the gifted? What is the implication of accreditation standards in teacher preparation programs for Pre K-12 teachers, schools, and districts? This online seminar will address these questions and target P-12 program leaders in gifted education who plan and implement professional development activities for teachers at all levels of schooling.
August 2009
PBS Through Staff Development And Coaching
This online seminar will describe a district-wide staff development and coaching model designed by the Orange County Public Schools Behavior Intervention Team. Learn how this model guides schools to develop, implement, and monitor appropriately matched, evidence-based, data-driven behavioral interventions.
Utilizing RTI For Academic And Behavior Support
This online seminar provides school-based personnel with an overview of utilizing Response to Intervention (RTI) for academic and behavior support. Presenters will highlight the essential components of design, implementation, data collection, data-based decision making, progress monitoring, and service delivery.
October 2009
Introduction To RTI
Learn how to use research-based intervention to effectively individualize instruction, monitor student progress, and implement strategies to meet students’ specific needs. Cara Shores, co-author of Response to Intervention: A Practical Guide for Every Teacher, offers an overview of key concepts and guidelines of RTI that benefit all students. General and special education teachers and administrators will find this seminar very useful.
Implementation Of RTI At The School Level
Explore the components of quality instruction at each tier of a three-tiered RTI pyramid, including general education classroom services, needs-based instructional services, and special education services. Additional topics include scheduling options, progress monitoring, interventions, data-based decision making, factors that impact sustainability of reform, and the impact of RTI on special education services.
November 2009
Considerations When Using RTI In Diverse Schools
While RTI is a promising model for changing how educators support learning for all students, practitioners face additional challenges when implementing RTI with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Learn how to implement RTI with a deeper understanding about the needs and challenges practitioners may face in today’s diverse schools.
For more information, visit the Council of Exceptional Children
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 30, 2009
House Democrats offered a two-year an $825 billion stimulus package that they will now negotiate with the Senate in preparation to deliver a joint package to Obama by February 13th, 2009. The proposed package offers good news for education.
“As states begin tackling a projected $350 billion in budget shortfalls these investments will prevent cuts to critical education programs and services,” said Rep. David Obey, WI, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, in his release of Stimulus Package Details.
Here is a summary of the Economic Stimulus Package that the House passed that I got from the International Reading Association:
School Construction: $14 billion for K-12 for renovation and modernization, including technology upgrades and energy efficiency improvements. Also includes $100 million for school construction in communities that lack a local property tax base because they contain non-taxable federal lands such as military bases or Indian reservations, and $25 million to help charter schools build, obtain, and repair schools.
Education Technology: $1 billion for 21st century classrooms, including computer and science labs and teacher technology training.
IDEA Special Education: $13 billion for formula grants to increase the federal share of special education costs and prevent these mandatory costs from forcing states to cut other areas of education.
Title I Help for Disadvantaged Kids: $13 billion for grants to help disadvantaged kids in nearly every school district and more than half of all public schools reach high academic standards.
Statewide Data Systems: $250 million for competitive grants to states to design and develop data systems that analyze individual student data to find ways to improve student achievement, providing teachers and administrators with effective tools.
Education for Homeless Children and Youth: $66 million for formula grants to states to provide services to homeless children including meals and transportation when high unemployment and home foreclosures have created an influx of homeless kids.
Improving Teacher Quality: $300 million, including $200 million for competitive grants to school districts and states to provide financial incentives for teachers and principals who raise student achievement and close the achievement gaps in high-need schools and $100 million for competitive grants to states to address teacher shortages and modernize the teaching workforce.
Early Childhood Development
Child Care Development Block Grant: $2 billion to provide child care services for an additional 300,000 children in low-income families while their parents go to work. Today only one out of seven eligible children receives care.
Head Start: $2.1 billion to provide comprehensive development services to help 110,000 additional children succeed in school. Funds are distributed based on need. Only about half of all eligible preschoolers and less than 3 percent of eligible infants and toddlers participate in Head Start.
IDEA Infants and Families: $600 million for formula grants to help states serve children with disabilities age 2 and younger.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 21, 2009
With the inaguration of our new President, education has become a forerunner in issues that the new administration will be focusing on. “Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many,” Mr. Obama said in his inaugural address yesterday. “Everywhere we look, there is work to be done. ...We will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.” By including education in his inaguration speech, many educators feel President Obama will keep education one of his major goals.
We have already seen a piece of this with the passing of the economic-stimulus package that was released on January 15th, giving $120 billion for education programs. We will all anxiously wait as we see how this money is spent, and what programs will benefit. It will definitely be interesting to see where this administration takes education. If Obama’s campaign reflects what we can expect, we should see more public and private entities getting envolved in education support, and more emphasis on the parent’s role in educating their child. These next four years will be interesting.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 14, 2009
Reading seems to be a primary focus for districts when first starting their Response to Intervention implementation. There are many resources available on interventions for reading, but what about math?
Well, a new resource for math in Response to Intervention is now available from the Center on Instruction: "A Summary of Nine Key Studies: Multi-Tier Intervention and Response to Interventions for Students Struggling in Mathematics"
This summary of nine studies provides information about evidence-based practices for Tier 2 interventions and how to use RTI in mathematics. This annotated bibliography identifies and describes the most current research available on the use of RTI to help students struggling to learn math.
This resource pertains Mathematics in grades 1-5. To get more information and access this resource, visit the Math resources on the Center of Instruction website.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Jan 12, 2009
The U.S. Department of Education has published a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Implementing Response to Intervention (RtI) Using Title I, Title III, and CEIS Funds – Key Issues for Decision-makers.”
On the October 21st post, Funding Support for Response to Intervention, we looked at what IDEA 2004 states can be used to fund Response to Intervention (RTI). Now the US Department of Education has published a 46 page document explaining how to use Title I, Title III and CEIS funds to pay for RTI. Please go to the US DOE website to view the document.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Dec 16, 2008
The National Center on Learning Disabilities developed a brief on what parents should expect with the Response to Intervention process and provides tips for parents. They provide information to parents on what RTI is and what to expect when attending a RTI meeting or receiving information from the school on RTI.
Questions are provided for parents on what they should ask of the school about their RTI process including:
They also provide standards that a school should be judged on of their level of parent involvement in RTI.
A video by Vicki Peterman on what is the role of the parent in the RTI process is also available.
This resource would be useful to parents who are looking for information about a tiered service-delivery model of RTI.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Dec 12, 2008
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has released guidance to provide states with information regarding the appropriate use of funds provided under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by local education agencies to develop and implement coordinated early intervening services (CEIS) for students who are not currently identified as needing special education.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Dec 10, 2008
The National Center on Response to Intervention, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office and Special Education Programs and managed by the American Institutes for Research in collaboration with researchers from Vanderbilt University and the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning, provides technical assistance (TA) support to each of the 50 states and 9 territories across the country. In collaboration with state RTI leadership teams and others, the Center has confirmed that 8 states will receive intensive TA supports that will help them to plan, implement and evaluate their RTI initiatives. The states receiving intensive TA are Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
The Center’s intensive TA help states to plan, implement, and evaluate their statewide RTI initiatives. In each of the intensive TA states, the Center is working directly with the state RTI leadership team to determine how the state and the Center will collaborate to achieve the state’s vision for RTI. For example, intensive TA supports can include helping the state develop and coordinate a statewide system for RTI professional development. Other examples of the Center’s intensive TA supports include assisting the state in developing model demonstration sites and establishing and monitoring state guidance for local district adoption of RTI tools and practices with fidelity.
Each intensive TA state has made strong commitments to RTI. These commitments include:
The Center and intensive TA states have established formal agreements that specify the terms for our collaboration. These agreements are for one year, with options for mutually agreed upon annual renewals until the end of the Center’s five years of operation in 2012.
Taken from The National Center on Response to Intervention’s report. The report provides a summary of each of the intensive states’ plan in using the intensive TA.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Dec 02, 2008
There are many researchers that feel that not only is the school curriculum important to a child’s development, but also the school environment. They feel schools should be a safe place where students feel comfortable expressing themselves and developing relationships. Some schools are moving away from the traditional model of individual classrooms to project based learning where students work in groups in creative ways to solve hard problems.
Edutopia has a great video of an interview with Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University. She speaks about the transition of schools and teaching methods into the 21st century, and making schools not only an academic learning environment, but also a social and emotional learning environment. She feels that this will allow students to become socially, emotionally and intellectually capable, and learn how to be part of a community. In her interview she talks about a remodel of a high school in New York. The high school was designed so students stayed with the same team of teachers for two years, similar to looping in elementary schools. Most of the work is done in groups and assessed using authentic measures. The school has seen a higher graduation rate since the transition to the new model. You can view the video below:
Edutopia also has an entire piece of their webiste dedicated to social and emotional learning, with additional videos, interviews and resources. It is a very interesting topic, and worth researching more.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 13, 2008
After a discussion in our webinar yesterday, I wanted to gather some information about Tiered instruction and how interventions are not supposed to replace the core instruction, but to supplement it. Atlas Initiative has a video on YouTube describing a 3 tiered model of intervention, and what is typically found at each of those three levels. In their explanation, they enforce that if a child is getting small group instruction in Tier 2, they should still be getting the core instruction from Tier 1 as well. Their example shows the student receiving 90 minutes of core reading instruction in Tier 1 with an additional 30 minute small group intervention for Tier 2.
The same is true for Tier 3. Even though the student is receiving individual targeted interventions, they should still be receiving the core instruction, and typically the additional Tier 2 instruction as well. An example of this would be a student receiving the 90 minutes of core instruction, a 30 minute small group reading intervention, and a 10 minute individual targeted intervention.
The Atlas Initiative also has many RTI resources and additional videos on their website. They provide additional information on tiered instruction, as well as universal screening progress monitoring and evidence-based instruction.
View the tiered instruction video on YouTube
Visit the Atlas Initiative website.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 10, 2008
Twice a year, Teacher Magazine publishes the Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook. This sourcebook provides educators with insights and models for effective teaching. The Fall 2008 issue is titled Different Students, Different Approaches: The power of differentiated instruction. With Response to Intervention becoming a strong educational model across the nation, differentiated instruction and how to provide differentiated instruction is more crucial to teachers and schools.
Teacher Magazine has published their sourcebook on their website as well. Below are the topics within the current issue. As you can see the sourcebook is a wealth of information for teachers who are looking to learn more about differentiated instruction.
Many teachers today are looking for ways to attend to students’ unique learning needs and give them as much individual support as possible.
Teacher book groups are gaining traction as a way to reflect on ideas and create change in schools.
New Teachers Look For Differentiation Help
Many new teachers need help adjusting to the growing diversity of today’s public schools, according to a new survey report.
An online program gives students multiple ways to collaborate and show their work.
Fla. Evidence Supports Staff Training
An independent audit of a Florida professional development program in literacy instruction offers the latest evidence that purposeful teacher training can lead to quantifiable gains in student learning.
Research to date on the impact of certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards has pretty much missed the point, concludes a report by 10 teachers who’ve earned the credential.
Who says staff development can’t be a form of subject-area scholarship?
Selected online resources on addressing diverse student-learning needs and styles.
Visitors to teachermagazine.org sound off on differentiated instruction, standardized tests, and the benefits of NCLB.
A co-teaching arrangement spurs improvement for both special education students and their mainstream peers.
How to make reading assignments as enriching as possible to all levels of students.
It’s one thing to teach kids. It’s a whole other thing to make sure what we’re teaching is of high quality.
One way to help advanced students move ahead and learn at their own level.
Creative Writing in Science Class
Making up their own stories helps students learn material in fresh ways.
Q&A: Helping African-American Males
Ideas for boosting acheivement for an at-risk group.
Carol Ann Tomlinson explains how differentiated instruction works and why we need it now.
The "reponse to intervention" framework is helping teachers in Iowa better understand and address students learning needs.
A renowned professional development program helps teachers use writing as a tool for classroom discovery.
A Chicago mentoring program helps new teachers build connections with disadvantaged students.
A selection of workshops, seminars, and conferences from September 2008 through March 2009.
A selection of books on differentiated instruction published within the last year.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Nov 04, 2008
The RTI Action Network has posted a video to YouTube about implementing an RTI model at the secondary level. The video is an interview with Jay Engeln, a high school principal implementing RTI at his school. Mr. Engeln goes though the challenges that high schools will face when trying to implement RTI. He sees the biggest challenge as getting everyone past the idea that they are trying to implement an elementary program at the high school level.
The second big challenge is time. Due to the difference in schedules that high schools have compared to elementary schools, it is not as easy to find time to schedule the Student Support Team meetings. He also recognizes that there will be possible push back from staff on how will they find the time to collect the data that they need to successfully implement RTI at their school. He feels these challenges can be overcome by researching and sharing best practices and models that have worked in other high schools. If you can show data to staff members on how RTI as positively impacted all students, you will receive a higher level of buy-in from the staff. Mr. Engeln mentions data that he has seen in successful high school RTI programs where the enrollment into Honors and AP level classes have increased, and discipline problems have decreased.
Jay Engeln feels that collaboration is most important in implementing RTI becasue they staff shoudl be sharing data and information to help everyone move the child forward successfully.
View the interview with Jay Engeln.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Oct 23, 2008
The IRIS Center for Training Enhancements, a development of the Peabody School of Vanderbilt University, has created a video series on Response to Intervention. Their latest installment, RTI: Considerations for School Leaders, talks about what principals need to consider when creating and implementing their RTI process. In this module, a short, illustrated video is used together with a multi-page, step-by-step presentation to highlight the numerous components involved in an effective, school-wide RTI adoption.
The video follows the journey of fictional principal, Mr. Rodney Irwin, as he goes through the process of implementing an RTI process in his school. The module offers 
some fundamental questions for principals to consider prior to RTI implementation. The questions are followed by "answers" and detailed explanations of the many steps a principal must take to ensure successful RTI adoption. In addition, suggestions and strategies are provided to assist those principals looking to implement RTI in their own buildings.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Oct 21, 2008
Once a district has decided to implement RTI, and created an action plan, the next big question to consider is “How are we going to pay for this?” IDEA 2004 states that “An LEA may use up to 15% of IDEA funds to develop and implement coordinated, early intervening services for students who have not been identified as needing special education or related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education environment.” Under certain specific conditions Title I and Title III funds may be used for professional development of non-special ed staff as well as for RTI related activities.
According to IDEA 2004, school districts:
♦ Can use up to 15% of Federal Part B funding to provide: • Professional development • Education evaluations, services, and supports • Behavioral evaluations, services, and supports ♦ Who use the 15% of Federal Part B must annually report to their state education agencies (SEA): • The number of students who received early intervening services • The number of students who received early intervening services and subsequently received special education services ♦ Must use the full 15% of Federal Part B funding if minority students are overrepresented in their special education programs
In addition to using early intervening funds to implement RTI, districts and principals need to think creatively about how to fund RTI implementation. For instance, they may consider a variety of sources for funding RTI:
REAP (Rural Education Achievement Program Initiative) – These funds target small rural districts. Eligible school districts are allowed to combine the funding under several Titles and can use these funds for any authorized activity. If your school is eligible, these funds can be combined into Title II A or Title V to support RTI.
Transferability – These funds target larger urban districts. Eligible school districts are allowed to combine some of the federal funding under several Titles and use these funds for any authorized activity. If your school is eligible, these funds can be combined into Title II A or Title V and used to support RTI.
Program Improvement Funds – Schools and districts in program improvement may receive additional funds to help them make Adequate Yearly Progress. You may be able to use these additional program improvement dollars to support RTI.
Small Rural Schools Achievement Program Funds through REAP – Eligible schools can apply for these additional funds through the U.S. Department of Education. These funds can be used for authorized activities under the Title programs and can support any of the supplemental activities under the federal programs, including RTI.
General Funds – Another avenue for funding RTI is your district’s general funds. If your school staff really believes the RTI process will make a difference, you should consider collecting the data and showing how it will improve student achievement, approach your school board, and request funds to sustain it.
Pool Your Resources – Federal regulations allow school districts to pool their resources to share services among several schools. One district would simply agree to be the fiscal agent and the funds would flow through that district to pay for the shared activities. A district could pool their funds to support professional development on RTI or hire another reading or math specialist to work with identified students. Another viable option would be to share resources through a regional educational association/agency.
For more information, visit the IRIS Center.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Oct 13, 2008
Technology and Learning magazine featured Encore in their September Back to School issue. It talked about the four Texas districts that have recently purchased Encore, and provides a screen shot of the product. We are very excited to be featured in the issue!
You can see the entire September issue of Technology and Learning Magazine here. Encore is on page 30.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Oct 10, 2008
I came across a great video on You Tube that can provide those districts that are just starting to develop their RTI process with some great information on how PA has implemented their process. The video takes the viewer through the key components of RTI and how they are being addressed in PA. They show you how they have a team of people going into the classroom to do Universal Screenings through DIBELS. They discuss what they have identified as their 3-Tier model, and how it is being implemented in the schools. You get to see the small group interventions in action. You also get to hear and see what is discussed among the intervention team. They show teachers working with students and doing progress monitoring. There are interviews with everyone from the Superintendent to the students, including how the Special Education and General Education departments are working together to have a successful RTI program.
Of course, the specifics that they have developed for their RTI process meets their needs in PA, but might not meet the needs of every district. But, the basic overview infomation is what we are seeing across the nation. This video is a great real-life scenario video that can provide districts with a great starting place when developing their own Response to Intervention model.
Visit You Tube to view the video
Posted by Beth DuBose on Oct 07, 2008
While standardized assessment may not be needed to determine eligibility for special education programs diagnosis of learning disabilities, it can still provide educators with important information for students’ programs, even with the RTI model of eligibility. .
Ann Logsdon gave a great description on how assessments can tell us about how students learn:
First, intelligence testing provides important details on how students process information and how they learn. This information can be used by regular and special education teachers to develop specially designed instruction that truly taps their strengths and encourages skill development in their areas of weakness.
Second, standardized achievement testing can offer a larger view of how the student is learning as compared to others his age across the nation. This serves as critical guidance to ensure students make ongoing progress and move toward their long-term educational and career goals. Achievement testing can also provide diagnostic information that enables teachers to identify specific areas of strength and weakness. This helps teachers refine instructional processes.
Standardized assessments can provide us with a baseline for each of our students so we can make sure that each and every one of our students moves forward. Without this baseline, we do not know where our students stand, and how we will need to modify instruction to ensure the students make progress. Districts are using numerous universal screening methods to determine where their students are struggling. Progress monitoring methods are determining whether or not students are making gains and if interventions are working. These assessments are crucial to the Response to Intervention process. Because we are moving away from a discrepancy model does not mean that assessments are not important in providing us with important insight into how our students learn. We should not dismiss assessments; we just need to use them as tool in providing information instead of providing a determination of eligibility.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Oct 01, 2008
Ten questions to ask when choosing high quality Tier 1 RTI curriculum
One entry within CEC’s RTI blog talks about how choosing the right curriculum for Tier 1 is highly important in providing a comprehensive core curriculum to all students. They provided ten questions that we should ask ourselves to make sure we are selecting high quality curriculum to use during Tier 1 instruction:
1. Is it comprehensive? A good curriculum cannot just focus on academics, but must address the whole child by setting goals for children’s growth in every area.
2. Is learning integrated? Children learn through everything they do, not just when the teacher sits down to instruct. The curriculum should include opportunities to learn throughout the day (e.g., play, transitions, and project work).
3. Are a variety of instructional approaches used? Because there is no one way to teach or learn, teachers must use a variety of approaches including explicit instruction, child discovery, and small and large groups.
4. Is the curriculum developmentally appropriate? Is it appropriate for the children’s ages, cultures, and individual needs and interests?
5. Is the curriculum based on accepted early childhood research and theory?
6. Is there evidence that the curriculum works? Has the curriculum’s effectiveness been documented through research?
7. Are there clear goals for learning that reflect child development theory, state early learning standards, and recommended practices?
8. Does the curriculum actively involve all children? All children should be interested and actively engaged in exploration, experimentation, and problem solving.
9. Are families expected to participate? Parents are encouraged to consider and fill many roles in planning, implementing, and evaluating the early childhood program.
10. Do professionals have a variety of ongoing professional opportunities to expand their knowledge and skills to implement the curriculum effectively?
The author adapted these questions from the Recognition and Response framework.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 29, 2008
Middle and high schools might need to start looking at teacher to student ratios to increase test scores
The Washington Post had an interesting article on how a teacher’s load can affect students’ performance. The author discussed how when principal’s are given the power over their staffing funds, that they tend to concentrate on decreasing the teacher to student ratio, or what he refers to as total student loads per teacher (TSL). Principals are doing this because they find that when teacher’s caseloads decrease, test scores increase. When I read this first part of the article, I was thinking: What is the big surprise? This makes sense to me; less paperwork, less papers to grade, less behaviors to monitor. I know when I was working as a reading interventionist, our principal always concentrated on keeping class sizes low. But that was elementary level, and this article discussed middle and high levels. Apparently teacher to student ratio is looked at in the elementary level quite frequently because you can directly see how many students a teacher has all day. But within one school day a teacher at the middle or high levels could have 7 to 8 periods of students a day. That could be around 200 students! I never worked at these levels, so having that many papers or tests to grade is unimaginable to me, but I know most teachers do this every day. The author mentions that most schools do not track these TSL levels at middle and high schools, but it is starting to become a factor in most large school districts. The article talks about a book that will be coming out that looks at large, urban school districts and how TSL is effecting them. The book by management expert William G. Ouchi should be out within the next year, and it will be interesting to read his findings.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 25, 2008
Webinar conducted by the National Center on Response to Intervention with link to view the recording.
The National Center on Response to Intervention hosted a webinar on September 23 on “Planning for the Implementation of RTI: Examples from the MP3 Model Demonstration Project.” This webinar provided state educational agencies with a description of the process the Monitoring the Progress of Pennsylvania’s Pupils (MP3) project used to diagnose schools’ readiness to implement RTI and assess their professional development needs. In addition, this webinar discussed the professional development provided by MP3 to the schools and described the project’s initial findings. You can view the presentation and recording. You can also ask Dr. Shapiro any questions you might still have! He will be available to answer your questions until Tuesday, September 30. Click here to ask a question or view the recording.
Edward S. Shapiro, Ph.D., the Director of Lehigh (PA) University’s Center for Promoting Research to Practice, presented this webinar. Lehigh University is a partner with the National Center on Response to Intervention. Dr. Shapiro’s work focuses on outcomes of Response to Intervention models for service delivery and assessment and intervention for academic skills problems. Dr. Shapiro is co-principal investigator of the Model Demonstration Project (MP3), which is a joint partnership between Lehigh University, University of Pittsburgh, and the Pennsylvania Training & Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.
Visit the National Center on Response to Intervention
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 23, 2008
RTI webinar presented by District Administration
Today I attended the RTI webinar that District Administration conducted and we sponsored. The speakers for the webinar had some of the highest credentials I have seen for any RTI webinar that I have come across: Alexa Posny, Kansas Commissioner of Education and former Director of the Office of Special Education at the US Department of Ed; Mark Shinn, Professor of School Psychology, National Louis University, Skokie, IL; and Christy Chambers, past president of the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE). There were a lot of great points made throughout the webinar. Mark Shinn discussed what RTI is, and how a district needs to build a common vision to have a successful RTI process. He discussed how RTI is supposed to help in providing services when students need them. You should not wait for a student to fail in Tier 2 before moving them into Tier 3. You should also use the most powerful interventions you can, and provided examples of websites that recommend research based intervention in both reading and behavior. He also discussed misunderstandings about RTI. These included:
Christy Chambers discussed resources to help in the implementation of RTI, such as our RTI survey and CASE/NASDSE’s blueprints. I unfortunately missed Alexa’s portion of the presentation, but the webinar is archived on District Administration’s website. At the end of the webinar they took questions from education staff that are actually going through implementing a RTI process.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 22, 2008
Podcast from past International Reading Association president, Dr. Richard Allington, provides insight into RTI.
If you’re looking for some insight into RtI, there’s an excellent podcast available at the International Reading Association’s website. The speaker is Dr. Richard Allington, a past president of the IRA and an author of numerous books.
Among the insights in this podcast:
RtI does not necessarily mean a three-tier model
Not all RtI curriculum is appropriate for all reading problems
I especially appreciated two points he made. First, in order for an RtI curriculum to be useful in solving the problem of a student being behind, it has to deliver more than a year of progress in one year. It doesn’t help (not much, at least) to take a student who is two years behind and learning 5 months worth of skills each year, and put that student in an intervention program that gets them to learn seven months worth of skills a year. Slowing the rate at which students fall behind is not the goal. The goal is for them to catch up. Second, students are rarely the problem. If a program doesn’t work, it’s probably because the program isn’t suited for that student.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 17, 2008
Lack of teacher training was identified as the biggest obstacle to implementing RTI.
This year we asked districts what they felt was the biggest obstacle to implementing RTI. According to our RTI Survey results, they felt their biggest obstacle was lack of staff training. They even stated that a majority of districts have trained fewer than one-quarter of staff! Adequate professional development is crucial to the fidelity of the implementation of a Response to Intervention process. Implementation teams need to be trained on the process for the district, how to facilitate meetings, and measure intervention effectiveness. Teachers need to be trained on how to provide interventions, perform universal screenings and progress monitoring assessments, and modifying instruction to meet the students’ needs. I know it is hard to find the time to provide professional development with the minimal amount of professional development days available. For those of you that are looking for some free resources to provide some background on RTI, I have a listed a few here:
The International Reading Association has a Powerpoint available on RTI
Self-Assessment of RTI Planning available from RTI in Action
The School Association of Special Education in DuPage County has many presentations that were conducted at workshops throughout the 2007-2008 school year. * My only suggestion is to look at these from a starting point because they are Illinois specific, but they do provide great general insight into the RTI process.
NASDSE has written an article on the suggestions for professional development that they feel are necessary for a successful RTI implementation.
The RTI Action Network provides many different forums for RTI professional development from live chats to national online forums, videos and podcasts to webinars.
The Council of Administrators of Special Education and NASDSE created RTI Implementation Blueprints for both the school level and the district level.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 15, 2008
Two recent articles show how a small district of 900 can have the same success with RTI as districts with over 300,000 students.
Response to Intervention is starting to be implemented in most districts across the country. Yet, some districts may not feel that RTI will benefit their size or demographics. I recently read two separate articles showing how RTI has been successful in school districts. One article looked at a small school district of 900 students in Iowa. The other at Miami-Dade Schools in Florida with over 350,000 students. Obviously two very different school districts in both size and demographics. But despite their differences, both school districts are seeing great success so far in their implementation of RTI.
The teachers in Lynnville-Sully, IA knew they had struggling students but they did not know what to do once they identified them. The teachers would miss half of the school year before they found a way to reach the students. Acting on their concerns, the schools developed and implemented an RTI program in 2006. Since then the Heartland Area Education Agency (AEA), which includes Lynnville-Sully, has been cited often in research on RTI. The article goes on to describe how the AEA goes about implementing RTI within the schools and districts it serves. It gives great insight into some road bumps you might encounter along the way.
To read the full article, click here.
The other article can be found in Spectrum K12’s special report, Achievement Today, within District Administration. In 2004, Miami-Dade adopted RTI throughout the district. They knew that they would need to make changes within the district to be able to implement RTI successfully. One key item they made sure that they had was buy-in from the district cabinet. Their cabinet immediately saw the potential success that RTI could bring to their students. The district also knew that some individuals would need to take a more prominent role in RTI. This was the school psychologist who became the intervention team leader at the schools. For the past 4 years, Miami-Dade has continued to adjust and fine-tune their RTI process. Since the intiation of their implementation of RTI in 2004, Miami-Dade has seen the number of "F" grade schools decrease by half.
To download the Achievement Today special report, register here.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 11, 2008
The line between general and special education is starting to dissolve as special education funds are being allocated to Response To Intervention initiatives.
An article in Education Week discusses how special education funds are being allocated to RTI initiatives. We have started to see a shift already from a distinc separation of general and special education to a more collaborative effort between the groups. Our latest RTI national survey showed that 56% of districts surveyed indicated that they are working in a collaborative effort on RTI. At a conference last month, state special ed directors and federal officials met to learn more about using special education funds to pay for Response to Intervention services. Many ideas were shared among the group on how to work in collaborative efforts within their districts. Even with the increased enthusiasm of educataors to work together, some are worried that the rules on special educatino funding for RTI are too complex and will cause increased paperwork. When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was reauthorized in 2004, the law allowed states to take up to 15 percent of the money they receive from the federal government for special education and use it for what was deemed “coordinated, comprehensive early-intervening services.” Early-intervening services are for children of all ages, but tend to primarily focus on K-3. If a district uses the 15% to put toward early-intervening services, they must make up the difference in the special education budget thorugh another source, such as a grant. Some states are required to use the 15% if they show a disproportionality of students in special education. If a state shows disproportionality of a certain racil or ethnic group, the funds must be spent "particularly, but not exclusively" on that racial or ethnic group. This is a very basic overview of some of the rules surrounding early-intervening services and special education funding, and even these few rules are confusing. I can understand why so many districts are frustrated to the point that they are not considering using the 15% funds. I feel better guidelines need to be created for districts to properly use this funding to benefit the greatest number of students possible. It would be interesting to hear any stories of how your districts are coping with the decision on using 15% of your special education dollars to fund RTI. Or any suggestions on how your general and special education teams could collaborate.
To read the full article, click here.
To read the full RTI survey and it’s results, click here.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 10, 2008
GA State Superintendent of Schools, Kathy Cox, won the $1 million prize on “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”
I was in Atlanta over the weekend, and heard the buzz about the State Superintendent of Schools winning on a popular game show. Prior to the show airing, many people were criticizing GA State Superintendent of Schools, Kathy Cox, for risking her reputation by going on the game show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" Well, Superintendent Cox came away as the first $1 million winner on the show, showing students that it is still cool to be smart. I found an article in The New York Times about her success. My favorite piece of the article states that Superintendent Cox could have stopped at $500,000, but decided she had to continue on to the million dollar question because she could not bring herself to state to students watching that she was "dropping out." She will be giving her winnings back to the GA state schools, primarily to the GA schools for the deaf and blind.
To read the entire article, click here.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 09, 2008
Common myths surrounding the implementation of RTI.
I was sent this article after my posts on RTI implementation. These myths were originally written by Bill East, the Executive Director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). The article is posted on the RTI Action Network. I found I have heard individuals say exactly what these myths are stating are incorrect, so I thought this would be great information to pass along.
Myth # 1: The outcome and intent of RTI is identification, and therefore special education remains its own entity that "occurs" subsequent to "trying RTI." There are two overarching goals of RTI. The first is to deliver evidence-based interventions and the second is to use students’ response to those interventions as a basis for determining instructional needs and intensity. Special education eligibility decisions can be a product of these efforts, but is not the primary goal. Using RTI as the data base for making that decision, special education services (i.e., what does this student need?) are determined by the student’s rate of response to intervention and the size of the gap that exists between the student and the benchmark. As a result, identification is not about the student’s label, but rather about determining what interventions are most helpful in closing the gap in a timely manner. Special education services can be a means to providing effective intervention services for students, but are inherently linked to instructional efforts that occurred in general education. The delivery of special education programs is part of an integrated service delivery system that is pictured as a circle (recycling on itself until success is found), not as a straight line, where special education programs are the last thing on the line (and sometimes a goal, or end in itself). The major issues in RTI involve the need to enhance the range and diversity of academic and behavioral interventions in general education (Tier I) and to increase the impact of supplemental interventions in Tiers II and III, not how to make eligibility decisions that divorce special education from general education.
Myth # 2: Tier 3 (or the last tier in a tiered model) is only special education. Tier 3 is the most intense level of intervention provided to students in general education. A student who does not respond to these intense interventions MAY qualify for special education services when it has been demonstrated that either the intensity or type of intervention required to improve student performance either exceeds the resources in general education or are not available in general education settings. Tier 3 in the conceptual model advocated by NASDSE and many other professionals is INTENSIVE INSTRUCTION, which may or may not include special education services. If Tier 3 is defined exclusively as special education, it is possible that additional intensive instructional programs would be set up OUTSIDE of the triangle model, which defeats the purpose of having the model for delivering services to all students.
Myth # 3: The major focus of RTI should be identifying students with Specific Learning Disabilities (LD). RTI can be used to “get rid of” those students who are not really LD, but who were simply not achieving for other reasons. If the primary focus of RTI is simply eliminating students who are not deserving of special education, there is a risk of missing the huge benefit RTI provides in prevention of disability. IDEA 2004 is clear in indicating that no single criterion can be used for special education eligibility, and most definitions of LD view response to appropriate instruction as necessary, but not sufficient. Data collected during RTI implementation can be used as one source of information when making eligibility decisions, but identification is an end product of RTI, not the primary purpose. In some states, RTI is viewed as part of the identification criteria for all students considered for special education, not just LD, which is consistent with the IDEA 2004 statute.
Myth # 4: RTI is only prereferral. RTI is more than prereferal services; it is a comprehensive service delivery system that requires significant changes in how a school serves all students. When thought of as a prereferral system, it remains the province of special education and the desired integration of general education and special education services around the goal of enhanced outcomes for all students will not be achieved.
Myth # 5: Comprehensive evaluations do not change with RTI, so districts should continue to do traditional assessments. RTI changes in the nature of the comprehensive evaluation away from testing for eligibility to an organization of data already collected on the student’s instructional progress for planning increasingly intense interventions. The draft regulations indicated that districts could choose RTI or a discrepancy model, but there is no point in a discrepancy model if RTI is in place.
Myth # 6: The research base for RTI is limited to beginning reading. There are no research studies comparing RTI to traditional special education services. A substantial body of research exists to demonstrate the impact of an RTI model on the current system (e.g., referral rates, risk indices) as well as student variables (e.g., achievement). Fewer studies exist on the long-term outcomes for students from both “models.” Regardless, there will probably never be research comparing different ways of reforming service delivery systems in schools because the question is not of great interest. The research base on beginning reading is substantial, but the research base on the use of problem solving models for students at risk for or with behavior problems is just as substantial. Analyses of outcomes in RTI implementations have improved outcomes in all students and shown reductions in referrals for special education. Although there is less research in math and in secondary schools, it is not correct to indicate that there is no research. There are large-scale implementations of RTI in real schools that involve multiple grade levels and reading, math, and behavior. The problem is one of scaling, which is a different research question than one invoked when we ask whether practices like RTI are effective or implementable.
Myth # 7: No contemporary research including student outcome data are available. In fact, there is research with student outcome data from a variety of models and the real question is why resources have not been devoted to organizing these data.
Myth # 8: The over-riding RTI model is the 3-tier, general ed/remedial ed/special ed model, so states should adopt it. This model exists, but is one of several frameworks for RTI. States should work with their stakeholders to decide what is best for them.
Myth # 9: Tier 2 is short-term, not the 10-30 weeks that exists in many RTI models. There is no formula for how long any intervention should last, especially if the student is making progress. The idea that the problem must be significantly impacted in 4-6 weeks, or special education is the route to go, implies that current implementations of special education are associated with improved outcomes, which may not be correct.
Myth # 10: Because of “time to disposition” issues with longer Tier 2 interventions, the special education identification process will not fit into the RTI framework. The evaluation timeline does not start until the referral is made and/or consent is obtained—depending on the state and consistent with the statute.
Myth # 11: Move slowly because the status quo is not that bad. Some tweaking is needed, but RTI can support the “traditional but tweaked” model.
RTI is a dramatic redesign of general and special education; both need to change and the entire system needs reform if schools are going to make AYP targets and meet the needs of all students. Tweaking will not be sufficient.
————————————————————————————————————————
To learn more about NASDSE’s resources on Response to Intervention, visit the NASDSE Web site.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 08, 2008
Ten tips for teachers of struggling readers
Reading may be the most important skill for children to learn. Yet, research shows that 26% of twelfth grade students cannot read. What can we do to reach struggling students early? Below are some tips to consider when developing your reading program for this school year:
1. Classroom Expectations
Management and behavior issues can cause a great disruption to instruction, especially during small group instruction. Make sure your students are aware of the expectations in your classroom. Have them posted somewhere that can be easily seen by all students. You can even involve your students in the creation of your expectations.
2. Small Group Instruction
You will have a variety of reading levels throughout your classroom. Working in small groups will allow you to work on specific strategies and skills that each student needs.
3. Universal Screening
Within the first few weeks of school, teachers should assess each of their student’s current levels in reading. By doing this, you will learn the dynamics of your classroom, and have a baseline to show a student’s progress throughout the school year.
4. Progress Monitoring
Once you have a baseline for your students, you should monitor their progress on a regular basis. This will provide you with important information on how a student’s reading skills are improving, and if you need to change your focus on your small group instruction.
5. Motivate Reluctant Readers
You will have a variety of personalities within your classroom. You will need to explore both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to encourage any reluctant readers. Positive reinforcement is always one of the best ways to encourage a struggling reader.
6. Mentor Program
Establish a mentor program with older students that can work with your struggling readers to provide guidance as they work on specific skills needed to improve their reading fluency and comprehension.
7. Encourage Independent Reading
No matter what their ages, children benefit from independent reading. Create independent reading plans for your class to develop reading skills, goal setting and motivation.
8. Build your Classroom Library
Filling your classroom library with books that are interesting to your students will encourage them read and share what they learn with their classmates.
9. Take Home Books
School and classroom libraries can provide books to those students that may not have access to them otherwise. Whether you encourage your students to check books out of the school library or send them home with a book from your classroom, students should be provided the opportunity to continue reading at home.
10. Home Support
Ongoing support should occur at home to ensure that children retain their reading skills. Research indicates that skills will be lost if not encouraged to practice at home and students that continue to read at home usually improve and retain skills taught in school.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 04, 2008
Margaret Honey shares lessons learned from nearly 25 years of educational technology policy.
I came across this article today, and Margaret Honey has some great insight into where educational technology is and where it needs to move for the future. She talks about a shift in paradigm in educational technology. In the past, technology in schools was used primarily as a replacement for traditional teaching. Educators mainly used it for drill and skill practice. Now we are starting to see the view of educational technology shift towards reconstructing teaching and learning. Technology is being used to enhance students learning, and even transforming traditional teaching practices. There are even new literacies in education. No longer do students need to just learn reading, writing and math but also how to navigate the internet, use word processing programs, and online social networking.
I am proud to say that Spectrum K12 School Solutions also realized this shift in educational technology. Our new product, EXCEED, will transform traditional teaching methods and enhance the productivity of every member of the district. No longer will districts expect technology to just replace what they are doing by hand, but to revitilize it.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Sep 02, 2008
The Essential Top 10 Concepts for Technology Integration in the 21st Century. An article by Gerald Bailey of the College of Education at Kansas State University published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
Bailey states that while technology is rapidly changing, a small number of administrators consider themselves technology leaders. Yet these individuals are making the technology decisions for their districts. This article provides the top ten concepts or "buttons" that administrators need to look at to become a technology leader. Within each button, Bailey provides a set of basic questions or instructions to help you think about administrators and their leadership roles in technology as well as some background information.
The ten buttons of technology integration are:
These 10 concepts will help you in developing a 21st century learning environment within your district.
Bailey, Gerald D. , "What Technology Leaders Need to Know: The Essential Top 10 Concepts for Technology Integration in the 21st Century." Learning and Leading with Technology, 1997, 25(1), 57-62.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 29, 2008
Now that you have a Response to Intervention process in place, how will you ensure that it is being delivered appropriately?
Once you have your RTI process in place, you will need to make sure that everything you have developed is being followed throughout the district. Below are some things to consider to make sure you can track the fidelity of your process.
Who will observe the interventions as they are conducted?
How will the team decide if an intervention has been effective?
How will the team track the effectiveness of the interventions?
How will the district gather data to create the essential reports?
How will the district ensure a solid, consistent process is followed?
Everyone thinks about what their process is going to be, but typically do not think about how to ensure that it is being followed though until the process is already put in place. The fidelity of your process is extremely important. Without it, not only will your data be inaccurate, but if everyone is not following the process appropriately, it could be hindering the most important reason for RTI: the student’s learning.
To learn more about tracking fidelity of the Response to Intervention process, click here.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 28, 2008
The Response to Intervention process may be new to some district staff members. Learn what titles might be included in your process, and their possible responsibilities.
Some of your intervention team members may be familiar with goal writing and progress monitoring. But many individuals you will want to have on your team may have never been involved in a process such as RTI. Below are some frequent titles we see on intervention teams, and what their role and responsibilities might be.
General Education Teacher
Parent
Psychologist
Principal
Special Education Teacher
Intervention Team
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 26, 2008
Tools a district will need to consider to effectively carry out their RTI process.
Yesterday we discussed items to consider when developing an RTI process. Today we look at what tools your district might need when carrying out that process.
What Universal Screening programs will your district use?
There are many tools you can select from that will allow you to do Universal Screening. Some district are using state-wide assessments, but there has been discussions that suggest schools use tools other than state-wide assessments for Universal Screening, mainly because most states only do state-wide assessments once a year, and you may want to screen students more than once in a school year. You can also consider multiple tools that your schools can select from. This is beneficial because one tool may work well for 1st graders, but it may not be appropriate for high school students.
What type of Progress Monitoring program(s) will be used?
Again, there are many tools to choose from in all formats: from paper charts to sophisticated software programs. (See EXCEED/RTI’s Progress Monitoring feature).
What types of behavioral and instructional supports are needed? What type of training will your staff need?
Your district will probably be implementing new interventions. To ensure the fidelity of the intervention and instruction, your staff will need training, materials and staff support. There will need to be a process in place to train your staff on any new instructional programs, and a process in how they go about seeking help
Will there be forms for the Intervention Team?
Many district want to make sure and document their Intervention Team meetings as well as the goals and interventions assigned to each child. One way to do this is through forms. There can be district specific or school specific forms. From my experience I would suggest using district forms. We had school specific forms, and when the district wanted to gather data on each of the schools, the forms they received all looked different, and they had to spend time finding the data they needed on each form rather than knowing exactly where to look on each one.
What type of software program will be used to track the process?
There are software program, such as EXCEED/RTI, that can house and track all the meeting information, as well as indicate whether or not a student’s progress is moving towards their goal. EXCEED/RTI provides one seamless, integrated tool to manage and measure the day-to-day activities, meetings, research based interventions and outcomes used to help all students achieve academic success. Click here to learn more
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 25, 2008
Questions to consider when developing your Response to Intervention process
As your district looks at developing a Response to Intervention process, there are many items to consider. Over the next few days we will look at key decisions that need to be made when implementing RTI.
First and foremost, your district will need to decide what process works best for YOUR school district. There are many examples out there of what other districts are doing, but they might not be the best fit for your district. Below are some key questions that a district must consider when developing their RTI process:
When will your Universal Screenings take place?
This can vary depending on the district or schools need. Some schools decide to screen once at the beginning of the school year. Others screen in the fall, winter and spring.
How/when will students be referred to the Interventions team?
Some districts have created forms to refer students. Others have software programs, like EXCEED/RTI, which allows a teacher to indicate a meeting is needed and appropriate parties are automatically notified. Also, when the Intervention team becomes involved can vary depending on district/school. Some schools have decided to include the team on all intervention decisions, while others only bring them in on Tier 3.
Who will make up the Intervention team?
I have seen many different titles across states and districts make up the intervention teams. Everything from guidance counselor to psychologist, general ed to special ed teachers. You will need to decide for your district or school who will bring the best skills to make these important educational decisions for the students.
When will Intervention team meetings be held?
This will more than likely vary by school and when teachers are able to easily meet together. When I was in the school districts, we decided that our intervention meetings would be only on Tuesday’s during the child’s teacher’s planning period. This way, all the individuals that made up the intervention team knew not to schedule any other meetings on Tuesdays. I have seen some districts only meet before or after school. Scheduling is always a difficult task, but it is important to set some ground rules about when to hold meetings so everyone’s schedules are not so scattered.
How long will the interventions run?
Of course this will vary depending on the student and intervention, but putting some boundaries on timelines will help guide your intervention team.
When will the team decide to change or intensify the intervention?
Again, some boundaries on how long to wait before deciding if an intervention is working will help in guiding your teams.
How will the Interventions team refer students to other programs is needed?
Your district might already have a process to refer students to other programs such as 504 or Special Education. But some of the members of your intervention team may have never had to refer a student. Making sure everyone knows this process will ensure a smooth referral transition.
How will your RtI program roll out? What is the timeline?
Depending on the size of your district, it might be easier to roll out your intervention program to a few schools at a time. This way you can test your process and make adjustments as needed. If you are a smaller school district, it might make sense to roll it out to everyone at the same time. Response to Intervention implementations do not happen overnight, so make sure to give your district enough time to have a successful implementation.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 20, 2008
An example of how a district can implement a three-tiered Response to Intervention model.
When a district is considering implementing a Response to Intervention program, they need to understand what RTI will mean to their district, and the possibility of changes to current processes. A good RTI program should be developed to guide districts in proactive early intervention, constructing interventions that will yield results, reduce disproportionality and over identification, evaluate the instruction, and help all students. To do this, a Response to Intervention program is broken into multi-tiered instruction. There can be 2, 3, 4 or even 5 tiers in a district’s RTI plan, but we have found the majority of districts to use a 3 tier model, and this is the model we will look at today.
Yesterday we talked about universal screening, and how the scores can help indicate which students might need instructional interventions. The scores can also indicate to teachers which skills overall need extra attention within the classroom. Tier 1 encompasses whole group classroom instruction. Let us take a typical real life classroom situation. Ms. Jones teaches 3rd grade, and currently her class is studying the multiplication tables. She realizes that as a whole, her class of 21 students is struggling with this skill. She decides to modify her lessons to include additional practice through whole class and partner games. From this additional and/or modified instruction, most of her students are progressing appropriately, but she still has 6 students that are struggling with this skill.
Ms. Jones has decided to move these 6 students into Tier 2 of her district’s RTI process. Tier 2 involves small group instruction that provides short-term targeted interventions. So while the rest of the class is working at their seats, she pulls these 6 students to provide more targeted practice on the multiplication tables. She might use flash cards with these students, and finds that 5 of the students in the small group are responding well to the small group instruction, but she still has 1 student that is still not grasping the skill.
Ms. Jones has now provided whole class instruction and intervention, as well as small group interventions to her students, but still has 1 student not making appropriate progress. She has decided to move this student to Tier 3, and refers the student to the intervention team. The intervention team is made up of a group of staff members at the school that can provide educated decisions on interventions for the student based on their need. The team will look at the previous interventions the teacher used, as well as the universal screening scores to determine an intervention and goal for the student. Once the team has created that personalized learning plan, the teacher will now start to provide that intense, individualized intervention and monitor the student’s progress. The team will meet back in a few weeks and decide to continue with the intervention, modify the intervention, or refer the student to another program such as special education.
This is one example of how a district might define the tiers within their RTI process. We have seen many different ways of developing these tiers, and your tiers should follow the needs of your district. Below you can an example of a three-tiered process.
Other Tiered Model examples:
Mississippi Three-Tier Model
Utah Three-Tier Model
Texas Three-Tier Model
National Center on RTI Tiered Instruction Examples
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 19, 2008
What are the main components of RTI, and how can districts implement them.
During the RTI: Strategies for Success webinar we conducted last year, we discussed the background of Response to Intervention and topics districts would need to consider when implementing a RTI program.
First of all, what is Response to Intervention (RTI), and why has it become a frontrunner in district policy? Many districts are still struggling with these questions as they look at planning a RTI program for their district.
In answering the first question, what is RTI, we need to look at what the practice of an RTI program would include:
High-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need: How can we accomplish this? Districts will need to train teachers on the intervention programs they plan on implementing. If the staff members do not know how to provide the intervention, how can quality instruction be ensured? Staff members will need to be observed and given feedback to make sure the interventions are delivered appropriately. Once a plan is in place to ensure the fidelity of instruction, the interventions will need to be appropriately matched to the need of the student. One way districts can do this is by tracking the effectiveness of the interventions in relation to need. Once districts can see a trend in which interventions are more effective, teams can start to match those interventions to specific needs of the students.
Progress monitoring is an integral part of Response to Intervention. Prior to tracking progress, students will need a baseline score. Most districts are doing universal screenings 2-3 times a year to gather their baseline data. Once they have the scores, they can see how each student compares to the average of the students within their grade level. This can give staff members an early indicator of students that may need interventions. Once the intervention team indicates a goal for a student, the teacher will now need to monitor the student’s progress to ensure that the intervention is effectively helping the student. Progress monitoring can provide insight into any progress the student is making, and can also indicate if an intervention needs to be modified or changed if the student is not making progress.
The data gathered from universal screenings and progress monitoring can help team members make important educational decisions for a student. This data can indicate that a student is making great progress, and might be moved to a less intense intervention, or not need them at all. Or the data could indicate little progress achieved, and the team might make the decision to refer a student to special education.
Knowing the main components of Response to Intervention can help a district that is just starting to make decisions about their RTI program. Districts need to think about how to ensure high-quality instruction, how to track intervention effectiveness, what universal screening and progress monitoring tools will be used, and how will a team decide when to refer a student to special education.
Read how EXCEED/RTI can help in tracking the fidelity of how interventions are implemented.
Read how EXCEED/RTI can help in student-centric progress monitoring.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 18, 2008
Many districts are still creating their Response to Intervention program. See how your district compares to other districts around the country.
As a new school year starts, many school districts will be implementing a Response to Intervention (RTI) program. But many school districts are still struggling in how to setup an appropriate RTI program to meet their districts’ needs. This week we will discuss some tips to help your district in implementing an RTI program.
First of all, if you feel like your district is not as far along in implementing an RTI program, you may be surprised. Spectrum K12 and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) teamed up to conduct a survey of district implementations throughout the United States. We found that school districts across the country are in many different stages of implementation. In fact, the majority of the districts are still in the piloting or planning stage. The 2009-2010 school year seems to be the target for most districts to be fully implemented with their RTI program.
How does your district measure up against the rest of the country? Download the full Response to Intervention Survey Report to find out.
Tomorrow-we will look at strategies to begin planning your RTI program.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 15, 2008
Posted by Machele Stefhon, a 16 year veteran of education as a special education teacher and administrator.
Advice for the first year teacher
From the time you are hired, you need to know there will be paperwork and preparation. In today’s business environment, the school district will have quite a bit of forms and materials for you. From the simple IT permission form to the selection of health insurance. All of these items will help make for a smooth transition as you approach the first day with kids.
Many of the school districts will have an official new teacher orientation which may be anything from 1 day to 1 week. This can vary from knowing how to work within a school to knowing the curriculum that needs to be taught. The amount of preparation will vary on what level of competency the individual has. Besides knowing your physical environment, you will want to know your colleagues. Although the contract will specify specific work days, there will be more days needed to get ready. Getting in to the classroom, getting the textbooks, finding out what the routine will be all are things that are better known sooner as opposed to later.
If the school district has a mentor/induction program, you will have a professional assigned to you so you can have that very personal contact. This is mandated in some states and is more voluntary in others. They should help in your growth so you can survive the stresses yet to come. The staff development offered will be beneficial, but when you sit down in the evening with a pile of papers to grade, you might think that another interference is going to make you quit.
Your first year will be hectic, difficult, frustrating, and hopefully the best experience you will have. It will be more work than you ever dreamed, but you have to continue to remember why you got in to the profession. Students expect and at some age groups demand that you are on top of your game every day, every period, every class.
Good luck with this most important of jobs. It will be tiring but rewarding. You made it and now you get to practice the most satisfying and frustrating job that requires a college education. Teaching is so much more than standing in front of the class. Be prepared and be flexible.
Posted by Beth DuBose on Aug 13, 2008
Posted by Machele Stefhon, a 16 year veteran of education as a special education teacher and administrator.
A list of great resource books to help new and veteran teachers start off a great year.
Today, I wanted to provide you with some great books to help to start off with a great school year:
First Six Weeks of School By Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete
Geared toward K-6 educators. Learn how to structure the first six weeks of school to lay the groundwork for a productive year of learning. Discover how taking the time to build a solid foundation in the early weeks of school can pay off all year long in increased student motivation, cooperation, responsibility, and self-control. Includes daily lesson plans and guidelines for the start of school.
The Power of Our Words:Teacher Language that Helps Children Learn By Paula Denton, EdD
This book, by an author with more than twenty years of experience teaching children and educators, will help you recognize the influence your words have on the children you teach. It will show you how to use language more skillfully, building a classroom where students feel safe, respected, appreciated, and excited about learning.
The First Days of School by Harry and Rosemary Wong
This book focuses on classroom management and lesson mastery. The book walks a teacher, either novice or veteran, through the most effective ways to begin a school year and continue to become an effective teacher.
New Teacher Induction: How to Train, Support, and Retain New Teachers by Annette Breaux & Harry Wong
This book blends first hand knowledge into workable solutions for easy implementation. Written for school and district administrators, principals, school board members, and anyone in a decision making capacity, New Teacher Induction will show you how to set up a support program step-by-step.
First Year Teacher’s Survival Guide: Ready-To-Use Strategies, Tools & Activities For Meeting The Challenges Of Each School Day by Julia G. Thompson
This book gives new teachers a wide variety of tested strategies, activities, and tools for creating a positive and dynamic learning environment while meeting the challenges of each school day. Packed with valuable tips, the book helps new teachers with everything from becoming effective team players and connecting with students to handling behavior problems and working within diverse classrooms.
Teaching Strategies: A Guide to Effective Instruction by Donald Orlich, Robert Harder, Richard Callahan, Michael S. Trevisan, Abbie H. Brown
An introductory core text known for its practical, applied help with commonly used classroom teaching strategies and tactics. Accommodating both traditional and non-traditional education students as well as site-based teacher education programs, the text focuses on topics such as lesson-planning, questioning, and small-group and cooperative-learning strategies.
Fred Jones Tools for Teaching by Fredric H. Jones
In Tools for Teaching, Dr. Jones describes the skills by which exceptional teachers make the classroom a place of success and enjoyment for both themselves and their students. Tools for Teaching integrates the management of discipline, instruction and motivation into a system that allows you to reduce the stress of teaching by preventing most management headaches. Dr. Jones helps you reduce student disruptions, backtalk, helpless hand-raising and dawdling while helping you increase responsible behavior, motivation and independent learning. These skills are made accessible by practical, down-to-earth language and many examples and illustrations.