Growing & Glowing with RTI

1. Growing & Glowing with RTI Camden County Schools

2. Goals After attending this presentation, you should better understand how to: • implement a systemwide “Response to Intervention” Model which includes monitoring and evaluating data • set up a school intervention schedule and plan • Identify potential barriers and present solutions

3. RTI & Pyramid of Intervention Should Have a System Focus! • All parts of the process must work together. • Parts must be well-defined. “Automaticity occurs at Tier 1 & 2.” • Placement into interventions is a natural “step by step” progression. • The process must include constant assessment & monitoring. • The process must be focused upon an expectation of improvement and not punitive measures.

4. First Steps to Developing an RTI Model • Develop a system level intervention committee which includes stakeholders such as counselors, administrators, school psychologists, and central office administrators. • Define RTI-related terms (intervention, Tiers, screening, etc) and determine appropriate universal screening tools at the system level & school level for addressing academic and behavioral concerns. • Revisit SST process and forms. ..\..\FY07\SST Improvement Committee\Pyramid of Interventions Timeline.doc Must develop a common language!

5. What should the tiers look like? • After defining all of the RTI-related terms, it is important to focus upon the tiers and describe them thoroughly: • Participants • Programs/Strategies to be used • Grouping (1:3, individual) • Minimum time per day • Assessment tools and schedule (weekly; every 2 weeks) • Systemwide interventions • Interventionist (Who will deliver?) • Setting (Where will the intervention occur?) Recommendation: Define each tier separately then determine relationships. Some strategies may be used at more than one tier depending on how they are being used.

6. Interventions It is key to develop an intervention menu that falls within current staffing and budget parameters. “Work differently and smarter with what you have!”

7. Intervention Menu ..\Intervention Menu Worksheet.doc

8. Development of RTI/Pyramid of Intervention Resources • Pyramid of Intervention Electronic Folder • handbook • SST/CST Referral Forms • strategies • screening materials..\CCS PM Mathematics Fluency Resource Book Final.pdf • progress monitoring tools..\Reading Fluency Progress Monitoring Tool.xls • Handbook ..\POI Handbook with fluency 071807.doc • step by step process to be followed • description of each tier • screening materials • monitoring instructions at each tier • fluency norms • RTI forms • parent brochures for RTI/SST..\POI Parent Brochure printing copy.pdf • websites & resources

9. Communication of Expectations Following the development of the model, a systemwide training should be conducted to share the plan and step-by-step instructions. RTI - Administrators' Steps to Implementation.doc Important: The model presented serves as a starting point. Insertions and revisions should be noted during implementation.

10. Barriers to Consider • Current SST Folders • Personnel Resistance • Lack of Training & Resources • Perception of Special Education • Time (Connect all you can such as trainings, common planning, unit development, data evaluation, and whole faculty study groups!)

11. Transitioning… From System Level To School Level

12. St. Mary Elementary School’s RTI Model

13. Re-Thinking What We Do • Driving Questions: • When will interventions take place? • How/When will we take care of EIP? • Who will make the interventions? • Who is on the RTI team? • What kind of progress monitoring data will be collected? • Who will collect the data? • How often will data be collected?

14. Starting from Ground Zero • The daily schedule was re-worked by looking at the number of instructional minutes in the day. • By focusing the instructional day, it was possible to create a 50-minute daily intervention period. This would serve as a time for supplemental EIP Reading/Math, a Tier 2 time for students not in EIP, and an enrichment period for all others. We called this period “SEA Time” – Students Enriching Academics.

15. Solving EIP Problems • What about students who needed EIP Reading and Math? • SMES put these students in an augmented Reading and pullout Math (during the SEA time). • Students who needed one EIP class but were at Tier 2 in another area could still be served during SEA time.

16. An Opportunity Arises • Because of the creation of SEA Time and the need also have augmented EIP classes, it became clear that an effective way to organize reading classes would be to regroup. Students in the differentiated reading classes are evaluated and regrouped as needed each nine weeks based on Universal Screening scores.

17. Who Makes the Interventions? • For EIP students, the EIP teacher is the primary interventionist. • For students at Tier 2 not in EIP, the regular classroom teacher is the interventionist. • Some interventions are handled outside of the classroom, such as Instructional Extension and morning/afternoon interventions.

18. RTI Team Membership • One administrator • One counselor/instructional lead teacher • EIP teacher(s) • Grade level Reading teachers • Speech/Language pathologist • Other grade-level teachers as needed • Other specialists as needed

19. What Data is Collected? • Four main types of data are collected: • Universal Screening (Reading and Math). • Assessment for Learning. • Progress Monitoring for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students. • Pre/Post Tests for specific interventions.

20. Who Collects? • Teachers should be data managers rather than just data collectors. • Paraprofessionals are used to collect weekly progress monitoring data to be shared with the teacher and the RTI teams.

21. How Often Is Data Collected? • Universal Screening: Three times per year (August, December, March). • Assessment for Learning: Three times per year. • Progress Monitoring: Once per week.

22. Identifying Tier 2/3 Interventions • Teachers needed to know what interventions/strategies are research-based. • Interventions and strategies were prioritized in a loose hierarchy and data sources were identified for each. • Interventions for individual students at Tier 2 are chosen by the RTI team and the teachers responsible are notified.

23. Things to Consider • RTI teams are eligible for PLU credit as participation satisfies professional learning communities requirements. • If teachers are self-contained, differentiated reading classes are much easier to organize. • The list of Tier 2/3 interventions is a loose hierarchy -- what is important is that everyone understands what intervention is being made, what data is being collected, and who is responsible.

24. More Considerations… • Because many of the students at SMES do not ride the bus, morning/afternoon interventions were less effective than those taking place during the school day.

25. Next Steps… • Define RTI-related terms (intervention, Tiers, screening, etc) and determine appropriate universal screening tools and common interventions at the system level for academic and behavioral concerns. • Each school must • develop a problem solving format. • establish an RTI team. • develop an intervention schedule for each grade level or a common time among the entire school. • develop a means of assessing and monitoring academic and behavioral data. • develop an intervention menu to address common concerns across the school population.

26. Contacts Mr. Tom McClendon, Principal St. Marys Elementary School Email:tmcclendon@camden.k12.ga.us Phone: 912/882-4839 Dr. Rebecca Gillette Director of Elementary Instruction Camden County Schools Email: rgillette@camden.k12.ga.us Phone: 912/729-5687