Response to Intervention

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Comment by Jan O'Neill on October 22, 2009 at 7:51am

We're finding that visible progress monitoring--attaching names & photos of individual students--using goal setting/monitoring on "zones" is a HUGE factor in supporting differentiation at all levels. Teachers and students both grow in their confidence as learners, which spurs them to set higher goals for their learning. One of our clients said progress monitoring is the "secret sauce" for improving the achievement of all students. Of course, the key is to DO something different in the classroom so that those results improve, and the ability to do that, as a teacher, lies in the professional development process. I'd be interested in hearing others' experiences with SMART goals, progress monitoring, professional development that truly changes classroom practice.

Comment by Debra Harwell-Braun on September 2, 2009 at 5:16pm

I too am looking for a RTI model that addresses the needs of our gifted students who have flatlined academically. I don't feel the intervention process for these students has been addressed.

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Comment by Charles J on August 7, 2009 at 7:35am

Jan:
Good curriculum, instruction and assessment practices are essential for RtI to be done successfully. Without sound practices in these three areas, the effectiveness of interventions will be diminished. In fact, I often assert that you won't have adequate information to proceed with interventions until these facets are covered. The proposed IL Special Ed. guidelines will require that these elements are in sound condition (and proven) before a child can be determined eligibile for services. I'm sure you've heard it, but RtI is a all-ed initiative and is an excellent opportunity to make sure that we have all of our ducks in a row.

Another thing to consider is that if the impact of not being challenged is sub-par performance, then adding rigor, a.k.a. differentiating for accelerated learners, would be a legit RtI intervention. Again, even that intervention should come after the basic elements of curriculum, assessment and instruction have been aligned and proven.

This is a good question and I hear it often. I'm glad that you posted it.

Comment by Jan O'Neill on August 7, 2009 at 6:01am

I am working with a high poverty (99%) school in south Chicago that is implementing RtI along with the SMART Goals process. Getting left out are the students who need to be challenged beyond the existing curriculum. My concern is that the emphasis on RtI is reducing challenges to existing curriculum, instruction & assessment practices. I'd be interested in comments about this angle.

Comment by Debbie k. Moore on June 26, 2009 at 9:40am

Charles,
Thanks for the Colorado website. It really has some good information.
Thanks Again!
Debbie

Comment by Charles J on June 25, 2009 at 6:17pm

Debbie:

Three places to look for practical RtI implementation information.

District 11 in Colorado Springs is really a leader in the country. I surprised that more people don't know about them. Check them out at:

http://www.d11.org/rti/

Rolling Meadows High School also has very practical information for middle level and high schools. Their approach is much more comprehensive than most.

Finally, Empowered High Schools (EHS) is all about practical implementation. They provide the nuts and bolts that people often are searching for once they are "fired up" after hearing a DuFour presentation or reading one of their books. EHS is also working hard to get a dialogue going. I'm sure you've noticed that there isn't much going on right now. You can find more EHS material at:

www.empoweredhighschools.com


My advice is to start small and focus building the system between the interventions until their is readiness to make the resource decisions.

Best wishes,
Charles

Comment by Ann Mock on June 25, 2009 at 5:42pm

As a special education teacher, we work on sensory skills on a daily bases. It helps the students became more aware of different sensorys.

When I have a student that has a meltdown, I have a quiet corner that they can go to to calm themselves down. It is after that then they are ready to talk about what is going on in their lives. I work in a inner city school. Some of students didn't get enough sleep, breakfast, etc... It is important that you know your students well. It helps give you an upper hand at what may of set them off.

I became a special education teacher because I saw students being bullied/teased because of being different.

Comment by Alexis on June 25, 2009 at 11:13am

I would be interested to know how that goes Debbie. How do you support a child's sensory system in the school? I know that its a tough question, since your classrooms are full.

How do you handle when a child with special needs has a meltdown. what are some strategies you use to help them calm down and be attentive? What helped you decide to put your study and time into becoming a special education teacher?

I think it would be great to share.

Comment by Debbie k. Moore on June 15, 2009 at 8:12am

We are working through this at my school. I feel a little lost in this process. My biggest problem is time and resources to do the interventions. We recently completed a book study on the book by Rick Defour, "Whatever It Takes," The book has several RTI models. Defour says that schools really only have three questions to ask. #1 What do we want kids to learn? # 2 How will we know if they learned it? and #3 What are we going to do if they don't? I would really like to see what other schools are doing with this. I will be working with a group of teachers later this month to draft out our plan. I will share what we come up with.

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