As I drove to work today, preparing for a professional development day, I realized one thing...... very few people work on Columbus Day! Today I was scheduled to present on Response to Intervention, with the goal being that staff would be able to fully understand the model and gain new ideas when implementing the model in their classroom.
In addition to discussing the RTI Model, I also modeled a guided reading lesson with a group of staff members as my guinea pigs - demonstrating the importance of taking anecdotal notes on all students during this time period.
The above graphic truly says it all, and if you want RTI to work in your classroom or school this needs to be your mantra. The purpose of RTI (also known as Response to Intervention) is a means for providing additional supports for students who are struggling within your class. Through implementation of individualized support and different teaching strategies, the goal is for the student to find success and be able to eventually receive less support. However, if the student is not showing progress they will receive additional supports until a determination is made as to whether or not a referral should be made to child study team.
For those unfamiliar with the RTI Model, it is broken down into three tiers:
Tier 1 - Tier 1 is representative of most of the students in your classroom. These students understand your instruction and although they might need support here and there, it is not something that would concern you as the classroom teacher. This tier would consist of 80%-85% of your students.
Tier 2 - I describe Tier 2 students as my lowest guided reading group. This is that one group of students that although you meet with all of your groups 2-3 times a week, you meet with this one group 4-5 times per week. The reason being, that without your additional support and reminders of remaining on task they would not get any of their work done. This tier would consist of 15% - 20% of your students.
Tier 3 - When working with a Tier 3 student you are working with them in a group by themselves or maybe one other student. The student is not responsive to whole group instruction and does not seem to show improvement through small group instruction.
RTI is a means of providing interventions in hopes that the student would not have to be classified. As educators it is our responsibility to ensure that parents are aware that we have different strategies to work with their students who are struggling. Educating parents on the resources available within the school can help those who are advocating for their student. When the RTI team meets every 8-10 weeks, I have always found it beneficial (if not essential) to have a special education teacher present to review the data and offer additional suggestions/insight on the interventions recommended.
When reviewing the data, students should be placed in tiers based on multiple measures (Benchmark Tests, State Tests, Teacher Recommendation, Grades....). It is also important to remember that in any one of your classes you might not have any students that fall into the Tier 2 or Tier 3 category. This doesn't mean that you wouldn't offer all of your students small group or individual services through your daily classroom structure, but you would not be taking them through the RTI model.
A critical component of implementing RTI correctly (or any program for that matter) is documenting the interventions established and identifying whether or not they have been successful. I discussed my personal preferences for documentation in my 10/13/2013 post:
In conclusion, I believe that Christopher Columbus would have been a Tier 1 student who received "challenge" activities - evidenced by his adventurous sailing of the Deep Blue Seas.
Happy Columbus Day Everyone!
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