RtI: Changing the Way We Think About Kids

1. RtI: Changing the Way We Think About Kids

2. Presenter Information Cindy Arkebauer 3-6 Teacher Facilitator / Trainer cindy.arkebauer@risd41.org 309-787-2298

3. Our School’s Background • 250 students • No Title I Funding • Middle Class Neighborhood • Working Families • Little Discipline Issues • A Lot of Academic Issues • NEW Principal • Mainly Single Section Grades

4. Looking at RtI • What is it? • Why do we have it? Reestablishment of IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act • What works, what doesn’t? • Changing the way we think about students - Sara

5. RtI - Why do we NEED it? NCLB being reevaluated: • Flexing how you make AYP • Evidence of effective instruction • Growth rates will be added - RtI • Must be data driven • Current special ed laws will go away, be an “item” under revised NCLB

6. By 2010 - 2011 school year… Need documentation to show what support and interventions are given before referring someone for special education services. • Amount of time of intervention • Program / strategy / intervention • Focus - Ex: Fluency

7. But by…January of 2009 You must have a plan filed with the State of Illinois • Has a three tiered model of school supports • Utilizes a problem-solving method for decision-making • Uses an integrated data system that informs instruction

8. What we must all believe: • NCLB • Spread out services • Time on task • Quality of instruction / interventions • Data, data, data • Response to intervention is critical

9. Core Components of a School or District’s RtI Plan • Academic Instruction • Learning Supports • Leadership

10. Using RTI • Define the Problem • Analyze the causes • Research / develop and implement interventions • Study the results • Repeat process

11. Steps in the Process Problem Identification - What needs to be fixed? What is the current level of achievement? What are the benchmarks? How are peers performing? Are their gaps with race or ses?

12. Process Continued… Problem Analysis - Brainstorm solutions after looking at data Look at or use indicators Develop appropriate assessments

13. Process Continued… Intervention Development Using data, develop an intervention to meet the needs of students weaknesses Support is available

14. Process continued… Response to Intervention Frequently collect data Data teams Progress Monitoring What is the response? Good, not so good, ugly

15. Good, Not So Good, Ugly • Good - achievement gap is closing quickly, interventions are working, keep using them • Not so good - gap is closing but not fast enough, would other interventions work better? • Ugly - gap widens, change approach / intervention

16. 70% 9% 80% / 95% 90%

17. Important Thing to Remember RtI is a Regular Ed Initiative !!

18. Tier 1 • Core curriculum must be effective • 80% / 95% • Race / SES • How do you determine effective? data, data, data “In God we trust, all others bring data!” G. Batsche

19. Implementation • Understand the need - data • Get EVERYONE involved • CONSISTENT implementation • Slope goes up

20. Interventions Tier 2 • 1st - TIME, TIME, TIME • 2nd - Curriculum What does the student NEED? • 3rd - Personnel Who or Where will it be provided?

21. Finding Time, You Ask? • Differentiate instruction • Stagger instruction • Cross grade instruction • Skill-based instruction • Teaching critical material for success • After school • Home

22. After School Programs Only work if: • Instructionally focused - academically engaged time • Materials used need to be the same as the ones used in daily instruction • Ideal Setting - Teachers who teach the student during the day should teach the after school class

23. Curriculum • Focus on essential skills • Usually can conquer with more exposure and more specific focus of current instructional materials • 70% of Tier 2 students need to become proficient at this level

24. Personnel • Everyone can and should be utilized • Who does what is important • Identified needs first so there is no waste of time and effort • Student performance is #1 priority ignore: labels, locations and staff needs • School can not effectively deliver intensive services to more than 7% of the population

25. 1st Year of Implementation

26. Aim 90% of our students will meet or exceed on the ISAT

27. Goals • Teachers will use differentiated teaching methods • Students will improve comprehension, short answer and extended response answers, academic achievement, and test scores • Parents will encourage students to read more at home as well as attend In educational nights at school to become more informed

28. Objectives • Teach to the Power Standards • Teachers will build specific strategies • Use best practices • Be patient with slow learners • Use frequent assessments to drive instruction • Use research-based best practices

29. Keys to Success • Data Teams • Flexible Grouping • Identify “at-risk”, now “at-promise” students

30. RtI - Sustaining the Effort • Consensus Issues beliefs, policies, procedures • Infrastructure problem solving process, data, decision rules, interventions that are tried and true, support • Implementation Issues - System “Fit”

32. Matrix of Reading Interventions

37. 2nd year of Implementation

38. Where do we stand? • Looked at ISAT, I.T.B.S. DIBELS, AIMS Math - analyze trends • Brainstormed what we needed • New AIM Target - Successful RtI Implementation • Priority Matrix • Force Field • Progress Monitoring

40. Curriculum-Based Measurements • Can be used for reading, math, spelling and writing • Brief timed assessments • Can be taken from current curriculum • Can be given / corrected quickly • Do they really give good feedback?

41. CBM Sites • www.interventioncentral.org • www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/cbmwarehouse.php

42. Things to keep in mind when creating / updating your RtI Plan

43. For RtI to be Successful All personnel must have an understanding of: • National, state, district policies regarding RtI • Link between NCLB, IDEA, AYP and RtI • Beliefs, knowledge and skills that support implementation of RtI • The importance of progress monitoring / data teams / collection

44. For RtI to be Successful • Tier 1 - Initial Core Class Instruction MUST be effective • Tier 2 - Small Group Interventions • Tier 3 - Intensive Interventions

45. For RtI to be Successful • Title I as a Tier 2 intervention needs to work directly with core instruction teacher with what they are working on in the classroom. • Same strategies, same terminology, same programs

46. For RtI to be Successful • Limit implementation to the resources you have- • Do small plan well v.s. large plan poorly

47. For RtI to be Successful • Assessment needs to be part of ongoing instruction - CARS / 6MS • Assessment needs to be short, meaningful, focused - Running Records / Comp Check • Assessment needs to drive purposeful instruction - Data Teams

48. For RtI to be Successful • Researched-based intervention really means you have data to back up the improvement • As long as the slope goes up, you can count what your doing as an intervention

49. For RtI to be Successful • Staff members put up mental roadblock if they have the attitude that the smart kids get neglected. • Rich get richer, poor get poorer… • Reality: Everyone must finish the race at the same time, one drives a Porsche, one drives a tractor but they both need to cross the line at the same time…

50. For RtI to be Successful The number of minutes a student is actively engaged with quality curriculum DIRECTLY correlates to their achievement.