CENTENNIAL PUBLIC SCHOOL RtI 101 Slides adapted from the NE RtI Consortium

Overview  Introduce RtI  Discuss beliefs & goals of RtI  Discuss differences between SAT & RtI  Discuss types of assessment within the RtI model  Discuss types of reading interventions  Discuss district Stanford-10 and NESA scores

Response to Intervention “RtI is the practice of providing high quality instruction and intervention matched to student needs, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals and applying child response data to important educational decisions.” National Association of State Directors of Special Education, 2005

What RTI IS  A systematic problem solving model for planning core supports for ALL students and intervention supports for those who need them (a continuum of supports)  Using high-quality data to make decisions at the district, school, classroom, group, and individual student levels. Decisions relate to curriculum, instructional practices, professional development needs, individual student needs, etc.  Ensuring effective instruction/intervention matched to student needs/instructional level based on data  A systems change for both general and special education that requires critical examination of current practices and willingness to adjust/change practices based on data

Ask Yourself… The question is NOT: What about the learner is causing a performance deficit? The question is NOW: What about the interaction of the curriculum, instruction, learner and learning environment should be changed so that the child will learn?

Core RTI Beliefs  ALL means ALL – all children can learn, not just all children can be taught  Intervention, doing something different, is the responsibility of ALL staff  Student performance is influenced most by the quality of the interventions/instruction we deliver and how well we deliver them  Decisions are best made based on data  Expectations for student performance should be dependent on a student’s response to intervention, not on a “score” that “attempts to measure” what they are “capable” of doing  We are ALL willing to change as the data-need indicate  What we’ve been doing is not working for ALL students

RTI Goals The Primary Goal of RTI is:  Prevention of academic/behavior problems  Attend to skill gaps early  Provide interventions/instruction early  Close skill gaps to prevent failure  Nonresponse to intervention is never the endpoint! We conduct continuous problem solving to improve student outcomes. It also is a process that can be used for:  Determination of eligibility as a student with a specific learning disability (SLD)  Pattern of response to interventions and significant resources necessary for student progress may result in referral to special education  Student intervention response data are considered for SLD eligibility

Rule 51- Nebraska  SLD Verification Guidelines  “ School districts should develop a plan for the implementation of RTI for Reading for Kindergarten through Grade 6 by August 2012 ” (p. 159).  Until RTI is implemented with fidelity, the use of a severe discrepancy model remains appropriate for verification of SLD.

Why are RTI and Early Intervention Important?  Children come to school with varying early literacy experiences  Children who are at risk of reading difficulties can be identified as early as preschool  Without intervention 90% of struggling first graders will still be struggling at the end of elementary school  Struggling readers have a higher risk of academic failure and school dropout  Without intervention 74% of students who are poor readers in 3rd grade will be poor readers in 9th grade  Poor readers are less motivated to read  We have documented the power of early intervention to improve academic and behavioral outcomes for students Al Otaiba & Torgesen, 2007; Hart & Risley, 1995; Felton & Pepper, 1995; Francis, et al., 1996; Juel, 1988; Shaywitz, et al., 1999; Morgan et al., 2008; Torgesen and Burgess, 1998; Wanzek & Vaughn, 2007

Essential Pieces of RtI Team Leadership Parental Involvement Scientifically or Research- Based Instruction or Intervention Universal Screening Assessment Planned Service Delivery Intervention Delivery Fidelity Of Instruction Specific Learning Disability Verification Individual Progress Monitoring

11 Academic SystemsBehavioral Systems 5-10% 10-15% Intensive, Individual Interventions Individual Students Assessment-based High Intensity Of longer duration Intensive, Individual Interventions Individual Students Assessment-based Intense, durable procedures Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) High efficiency Rapid response Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) High efficiency Rapid response 75-85% Universal Interventions All students Preventive, proactive Universal Interventions All settings, all students Preventive, proactive A Smart System Structure School-Wide System for Student Success

What is an Intervention?  Instruction that supplements and intensifies classroom curriculum/instruction to meet student needs  Academic or Behavioral  Standard Protocol or Individualized  All interventions should have plan of implementation, criteria for successful response, and assessment to monitor progress  Interventions should be evidence-based—meaning they have been reviewed to determine whether they produce positive educational results in a predictable manner.

Intervention Data

What RTI IS NOT  Simply revamping the SAT process  What we’ve already been doing, just with a different name  Pulling kids for extra help  Something you “do” to children (e.g., we RTI’d that kid)  All about finding the “non-responders”  Special education initiative

Typical SAT Referral DrivenMulti-Tier RTI Framework Often still Wait to Fail; Focus only on intervention – no examination of the effectiveness of core instruction Prevention-driven through Universal Screening (Benchmarking); Teams must first examine and ensure effective core instruction Highly teacher dependent, some under- refer, some over-refer Not dependent on referral; students not benefiting automatically receive support Often teams focused on “within” child issues Roles and functions change to Tools, Training, Support Still seen as ‘hoop’ to SE eligibility (2 Tiers)Focus on effective interventions in a 3-Tier model Solutions are 1-at-a-time, Process time- consuming and cumbersome Solutions come first to groups, and from better Tools, Training, and Support Doesn’t always follow systematic problem solving to select & evaluate interventions Focus in Tier 3 is use of systematic problem solving process Has not always employed research-based interventions Strong emphasis on research-based interventions SAT and RTI

RtI in 3 Sentences  RTI is a curriculum-based method of analyzing student academic or behavioral progress.  Because RTI is curriculum-based, the assessment tools and interventions are tied to what is being taught.  The success of the RTI system is based on solid research-based instruction and intervention, good data collection from frequent progress monitoring, and a well-defined decision-making process.  John Quiring, ESU 6

Purposes for Assessment  Screener  Provides information about which students are meeting or exceeding benchmark and which students are at risk  Centennial uses DIBELS Next for the universal screener  Diagnostic  Provides in-depth information about a student’s skills and instructional needs  Progress Monitor  Provides information about whether a student is making adequate progress and if the current instruction or intervention is effective for them  Centennial uses DIBELS Next and/or Reading Mastery checkouts  Outcome Measure  Provides a bottom-line evaluation of the effectiveness of the reading program  Centennial uses the Stanford assessment

Screener -provides information about which students are meeting or exceeding benchmark and which students are at risk  DIBELS Next  3 x’s per year  BOY – MOY – EOY

Outcome Measure -provides a bottom-line evaluation of the effectiveness of the reading programs  Stanford-10 Online (SAT-10)  First 2 wks of May 