DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE K-5 RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION PROGRAMSKate Esposito, Ph.D.

Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

It has become increasingly apparent to anyone who keeps up with "what's hot and what's not" in the education community that Response to Intervention (RTI) is on the move

(Horowitz, 2007)

Controversy exists

“Response to Intervention is emerging nationally as an effective strategy to support every student.”

(O’Connell, 2008)

Does RTI delay identification?

How are at -risk students identified?

What are most effective interventions/preventions?

How is responsiveness to instruction defined?

How long should interventions last?

RTI4success.org;US Office of Special Education

Response to intervention is defined as the change in behavior or performance as a

function of an intervention.

(Gresham, 1991)

EBIS Prevention and Planning Models

Primary Prevention:School-/Classroom-Wide Systems for

All Students,Staff, & Settings

Secondary Prevention:Specialized Group

Systems for Students with At-Risk Behavior

Tertiary Prevention:Specialized

IndividualizedSystems for Students

with High-Risk Behavior

~80% of Students

~15%

~5%

PBS Prevention Model

EBIS/RTI Planning Model

RTI is…

Multi-tiered prevention system

Integration of ongoing assessment & intervention

Goals are: Maximize student

achievement Reduce behavior

problems

Used to:

Identify at-risk learners

Monitor progression of individual students

Change course of action based on response

Identify specific learning disabilities

Haager, Klingner & Vaughn, 2007;RTI4success.org, 2008

It’s not just about identification anymore

Response to instruction and intervention

“a general education approach of high quality instruction, early intervention and prevention and behavioral strategies (CDE, 2008).”

core components of RTI

High Quality Classroom Instruction

Research-based instruction

Universal Screening Continuous Progress

Monitoring Research-based

interventions

Progress monitoring during instruction and intervention

Fidelity of program implementation

Staff development and collaboration

Parent involvement SLD determination

What does it really look like???

RTI Implementation

Set explicit guidelines for assessing student progress

Process to ensure programs/interventions are implemented with fidelity and consistency across curriculum

Model schools use teams to monitor progress

Start of year (school screening) Meet monthly to monitor students receiving

tier1 interventions Monthly for tier 2 interventions

Tier 1

General Ed strategies Curriculum driven thru

state standards Informal individual

intervention.

D.I. Primary intervention

pathway Constant monitoring

“All children can learn.”

Movement into Tier 2

Who isn’t this working for?

Moving from Level 1 to Level 2

Evidence based

Process driven

Tier 2 Support

Small group instruction

Intensity increased Need based

Indiv. progress monitored more freq. (1 x/monthly)

State adopted supplemental programs

Process driven???

Ongoing collaborative

Data Driven Process

Determine what secondary intervention might look like

Team Meetings

Is the intervention working? Yes…discontinue intervention

Yes…but continue intervention

No…revise existing intervention

No…change to individualized approach

Moving from Tier 2 to Tier 3 or Referral

Individualized intervention Parent involvement Separate classroom (?) Time line implemented

Targets specific skill deficits identified in Tiers 1 & 2

Target unmet= comprehensive evaluation and potential placement

Tier 3 = SpEd???????

RTI Teams determine special education referral.

After individualized intervention has proven to be unsuccessful

RTI is cited in IDEIA (2004) in relation to determination of SLD.

RTI is not mandated, rather it is an option

RTI as Identification Tool

Problem based approach

Reduction of overrepresentation of minority students

Timely systematic delivery of interventions

Paradigmatic Shift

Emphasizes quality instruction

Progress monitoring Questioning in teams Necessitates

collaboration Student centered

focus

Deficit model Assumes something

is “wrong” and the student needs to be “fixed”

Limits collaboration Limits interactional

understanding

RTI Model Traditional Model

Model RTI Teams

General education teacher Educational Specialists Support Staff

Reading specialists Behavioral specialists School Psychologists

Administrators Parents Student

Power of Collaboration

Team based interventions

Co-teaching Team Teaching PLC’s SLC’s

Fundamentals of PLC…

What do we want each student to learn?

How will we know when each student has learned it?

How will we respond when a student encounters challenge?

For your consideration…

Shared conference periods

Administrative buy-in & support

Professional development provided

Support Support Support