RTI Defined and Refined

1. RTI Defined and Refined A System for Implementing RTI to Set Student Goals, Track Progress and Close Gaps

2. The Vision Ultimately, 80% of student needs (across grade levels and at the school level) should be met in the general education classroom. This is called Tier I. This percentage includes primary intervention in the classroom (monitoring) which is considered an AIS service.

3. The Vision 10-15% of students may need small group supplemental instruction, in addition to classroom instruction. This is called Tier II. Research supports the effectiveness of groups of 3-5 students meeting daily for 15-30 minutes with a trained provider at the elementary level. This is also an AIS service in NYS.

4. The Vision 1-5% of students may need customized instruction, in very small groups that target specific skill areas in which the student demonstrates gaps. This is in addition to classroom instruction. Research supports the effectiveness of groups of 1-2 students meeting daily for 30 minutes with a highly skilled provider at the elementary level. This is also an AIS service in NYS.

5. A Systematic Approach - Decision Tree In order to be sure that Tiered Intervention Services are provided consistently (using data) and equitably across students, the use of a Decision Tree is highly recommended. The model we are using was adapted from McNab-Meco Elementary School which was a pilot school for the NYS Response to Intervention Technical Assistance Center. (nysrti.org).

6. A Systematic Approach - Schedule It is important to have a transparent, functional, and efficient schedule for all intervention providers, in order to most effectively provide services to students at each Tier. Student groups are reviewed and moved (according to data) on a quarterly basis.

7. A Systematic Approach - Documents After students are placed in Tiers and scheduled, the next step is for providers at each level to set student goals. We are implementing the use of Goal Setting Documents and Quarterly Progress Reports in order to set student goals and track progress towards them.

8. A Systematic Approach - PD Initial Professional Development for all teachers regarding the approach and all accompanying documents must be provided. It is also imperative to provide PD in the form of job-embedded coaching in order to implement this systematic approach. It takes about ONE YEAR to fully integrate this approach.

9. Quarterly Data Meetings - This Year Data Meetings are held quarterly to review student data, make decisions regarding student placement in Tiers, and document each conversation. The Decision Tree is used to help guide Data Meetings. A spreadsheet is used to house data and student notes, which can be kept historically.

10. Quarterly Data Meetings - For Next Year At the end of the school year, it will be determined and documented at which Tier students should begin the next year. Student groups are made according to End of Year data. This results in no lost time at the beginning of the next school year - intervention groups can start immediately.

11. Where Are We and Where We Will Go? The plan in year one is to: • Establish a transparent and efficient intervention schedule • Place students in tiers based on data • Introduce the Decision Tree • Introduce Quarterly Progress Reports with step-by-step training on how to set student goals • Introduce a Data Spreadsheet and start writing student goals

12. Where Are We and Where We Will Go? Going forward, the plan is to: • Work on setting student goals, use strategies to teach to those goals, and give assessments to measure progress towards the goals. • Determine whether or not interventions are working • Adjust student groupings based on data and how students are responding • Continue to document data and decisions made about students

13. Where Are We and Where We Will Go? The vision for June of year 1 is: • Students will be tiered for the beginning of next year (with a year’s worth of documentation on what has been tried) • An intervention schedule can be made - services can begin the first Monday of the school year! • Classroom teachers and interventionists alike will have increased their knowledge about how to determine what students need (based on data), strategies to target those needs, and methods of assessing progress.

14. Questions Thank you for your time. Please let us know if you have any questions at this time. Feel free to contact us in the future with questions or concerns. Trina Frederick and Roberta Stillin-Dowman St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES trina.frederick@sllboces.org rstillin@sllboces.org