Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools RTI: Following a Structured Problem-Solving Model

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but they’re not entitled to their own facts. The data is the data.” Dr. Maria Spiropulu, Physicist New York Times, 30 September 2003 (D. Overbye) Other dimensions? She’s in pursuit. F1, F4

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools 1. Identify & Verify the Scope of the Problem 2. Select Interventions That Address ‘Root Cause’ 3. Set Goals for Improvement 4. Monitor Student Progress & Evaluate Outcome

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools School-Based Intervention Teams: An Introduction

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Workshop Goals… In this workshop, you will learn:  About the history of the SBIT project  How pre-referral intervention teams can help schools to support ‘struggling learners’ in general-education classrooms  What specific roles are assigned to SBIT members  How to run an SBIT meeting that follows a structured problem-solving process  How to create a plan to start a pre- referral intervention team in your own school

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting Process Student Assessment Research-Based Interventions

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Teams of educators at a school are trained to work together as effective problem-solvers. SBIT Teams are made up of volunteers drawn from general- and special-education teachers and support staff. These teams use a structured meeting process to identify the underlying reasons that a student might be experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties The team helps the referring teacher to put together practical, classroom-friendly interventions to address those student problems. The School-Based Intervention Team (SBIT) Project: Definition

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools believe referring to SBIT is a sign of failure do not think that your team has any ideas that they haven’t already tried believe that an SBIT referral will mean a lot more work for them (vs. referring directly to Spec Ed) don’t want to ‘waste time’ on kids with poor motivation or behavior problems when ‘more deserving’ learners go unnoticed and unrewarded don’t want to put effort into learning a new initiative that may just fade away in a couple of years Teachers may be reluctant to refer students to your SBIT Team because they…

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools can engage in collegial conversations about better ways to help struggling learners learn instructional and behavior-management strategies that they can use with similar students in the future increase their teaching time are able to access more intervention resources and supports in the building than if they work alone feel less isolated when dealing with challenging kids have help in documenting their intervention efforts Teachers may be motivated to refer students to your SBIT Team because they…

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Difficult-To-Teach Students Experience greater difficulty with learning and retention of information May also have behavioral problems Fall along a continuum, with some students showing more severe needs than others

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Difficult-To-Teach Students: The Numbers One in ten children in schools is classified as Special Education 3-5% of students may qualify for ADHD In 1998, about 40% of 4 th grade youngsters fell below grade-level on a national reading test

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Difficult-To-Teach Students “An increasing body of evidence supports the need for students with disabilities to be directly taught the processes and concepts that nondisabled children tend to learn naturally through experiences.” --Office of Special Education Programs 21 st Annual Report to Congress (1999)

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Difficult-To-Teach Students: What Works (OSEP, 1999) Adequate range of examples to exemplify a concept or problem-solving strategy Models of proficient performance—e.g., step-by-step strategies Experiences where students explain how and why they make decisions Provide the student with:

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Difficult-To-Teach Students: What Works (Cont.) Frequent feedback on quality of performance and support so the student persists in activities Adequate practice and activities that are interesting and engaging Provide the student with:

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Go around the group and have each member briefly discuss a child with whom they worked this past year who was struggling academically and/or behaviorally. Select one of these students to serve as your group’s ‘practice case’ over the next two days as the group tries out the School-Based Intervention Team model. Small-Group Activity: Select a Student to Refer

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Core Elements SBIT has diverse representation including classroom teachers SBIT members have a relationship with the referring teacher based on equity and a collegial relationship The SBIT process is collaborative and confidential Parents are involved in the SBIT process. At a minimum, they are informed about the referral and meeting outcome.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Core Elements (Cont.) The SBIT process is defined and conducted in a structured problem- solving format The focus of SBIT is on the student within the classroom/school environment The referring teacher’s concerns are explored, defined, and prioritized The SBIT recommends interventions that have been documented to be effective in school settings

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Team Roles Coordinator Facilitator Recorder Time Keeper Case Liaison

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Team Roles Coordinator –The only non-rotating role –Makes sure referrals are complete and that a case liaison is assigned –Notifies SBIT members of days, times, and locations of meetings –Coordinates the assignment of substitutes for teachers attending the SBIT meeting

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Facilitator –Establishes and maintains a supportive atmosphere –Keeps the meeting agenda goal oriented –Pay special attention to process issues –Attempts to elicit an appropriate level of agreement throughout the process –Helps resolve conflicts in the group Team Roles

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Recorder –Keeps an accurate, concise record of the meeting using the meeting minutes form –Asks for clarification about key information –Assures all relevant information is obtained and recorded Team Roles

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Time Keeper –Monitors how far a team has progressed given the guidelines in the meeting minutes forms –Prompts the team to keep focused on the issue at hand –Helps the team come to closure when time is running out Team Roles

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Case Liaison –Supports the referring teacher throughout the process –Helps referring teacher complete the referral form –Consults with referring teacher about types of assessment techniques that might be useful Team Roles

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Case Liaison (con’t) –Assists the teacher in collecting information prior to the meeting –Consults with the teacher concerning interventions and assessment strategies planned during the SBIT meeting –Assesses the degree to which the interventions and assessment procedures were implemented as designed Team Roles

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools School-Based Intervention Teams: Express Meeting & Related Resources

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Express Initial Meeting Minutes Form: Cover Sheet

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Introductory Script

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Welcome to this initial School-Based Intervention Team meeting. We are meeting with you today to discuss concerns that you have about a student, _________________. The purpose of this meeting is for us all to work together to come up with practical ideas to help this student to be more successful in school. I am the facilitator for today’s meeting. The person taking notes during the meeting will be _________________. The case liaison for this student is ___________. The time keeper for the meeting is __________________. SBIT Introductory Script

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools You can expect this meeting to last about ____ minutes. By the time you leave, we should have a complete student intervention plan put together to help address your concerns. Our team and you have a lot to do today and only limited time in which to do it. To help us to work efficiently and not waste your time, we will follow a structured problem-solving model that goes through several stages. SBIT Introductory Script (Cont.)

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Together, our team and you will: – Assess your major concerns about the student – Help you to pick the one or two most important student concerns for us to work on today – Set specific student goals for improvement – Design an intervention plan with strategies to help that student improve, and – Decide how to share information about this plan with the student’s parent(s) SBIT Introductory Script (Cont.)

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools As the student’s teacher, you are the most important participant in this meeting. Please let us know at any time if you disagree with, or have questions about, our suggestions. Our meeting will not be a success unless you feel that the intervention ideas that we offer will address the student’s difficulties and are feasible for you to do. SBIT Introductory Script (Cont.)

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Our meeting notes will document the student’s referral concerns and the intervention plan that we come up with. These notes may be shared with others who are not here today, including child’s parent(s) and the building administrator. However, we ask that everyone here keep the conversations that take place at this meeting confidential. Do you have any questions? SBIT Introductory Script (Cont.)

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools School-Based Intervention Teams: QuickGuide

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT QuickGuide

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths and Talents Step 3: Review Baseline Data Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns Step 5: Set Goals Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan Step 7: Method of Monitoring Student Progress Step 8: Plan How to Share Information with the Student’s Parent(s) Step 9: Review the Intervention and Monitoring Plans SBIT Consultative Process

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns 5-10 Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns: GOALS Allow the teacher to discuss major referral concerns Review relevant background information, including: Curriculum-based assessment (for academic concerns) Direct observation data (for academic /behavioral concerns) Teacher Behavior Report Cards (for academic/ behavioral concerns) Archival information from student cumulative folder, etc. (for academic /behavioral concerns)

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns: SAMPLE QUESTIONS Given the information in the referral form, what are specific difficulties that you would like to address today? How is this student problem interfering with the student’s school performance? What concern(s) led you to refer the student to this Team? What information have we already collected that can shed some light on the identified concern?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 1: Assess Teacher Concerns The SBIT Team is ready to move on when… Team members have a good understanding of teacher concerns, and have reviewed relevant background and baseline information on the student.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths & Talents 5 Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths & Talents: GOALS Discuss and record the student’s strengths and talents, as well as those incentives that motivate the student. This information can be valuable during intervention planning to identify strategies that the student will be motivated to participate in.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths & Talents: SAMPLE QUESTIONS What rewards or incentives have you noted in school that this child seems to look forward to? What are some things that this student does well or enjoys doing around the classroom? Please tell us a few of the student’s strengths, talents, or positive qualities that might be useful in designing interventions for him or her. What are hobbies or topics of interest for this student?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 2: Inventory Student Strengths & Talents The SBIT Team is ready to move on when… The team has identified personal strengths, talents, and/or rewards that are likely to motivate the student if integrated into an intervention.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 3: Review Baseline Data 5 Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 3: Review Baseline Data: GOALS Review any baseline data or background information that might be important in understanding the student’s academic or behavioral concerns

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 3: Review Baseline Data

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 3: Review Baseline Data : SAMPLE QUESTIONS What curriculum-based data have we collected on this student’s academic skills? What Daily Behavior Report Card data do we have on this student? What is the student’s attendance record? What disciplinary office referrals does this student have?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 3: Review Baseline Data The SBIT Team is ready to move on when… All key background information and baseline data have been reviewed.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns 5-10 Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns: GOALS Define the top 1-2 teacher concerns in easily observable, measurable terms. For behavioral concerns, understand the dimensions of the problem (e.g., frequency, duration, and/or intensity) For academic concerns, identify the presence of underlying academic skill deficits, mismatch between student skills and classroom instruction, etc. For each teacher concern, decide on what functions may help to explain why the student displays the target concerns.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Lacks necessary skills Has limited motivation Seeks attention from adults Seeks attention from peers Reacting to teasing/bullying Tries to escape from work demands of setting Seeks access to privileges, rewards Reason/Function for Student’s Presenting Problem(s) in BEHAVIOR…

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Lacks necessary skills Has limited motivation Struggling academically in current instructional placement Needs drill & practice Reason/Function for Student’s Presenting Problem(s) in ACADEMICS…

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns: SAMPLE QUESTIONS What are the top one or two problems that you would like us to concentrate on today? (Academic) What can you tell us about the student’s current skill levels, homework and classwork completion, attention to task, general motivation? (Behavioral) How long does each behavioral outburst last? About how frequently do episodes occur? How severe are the behaviors that you are seeing? (Behavioral) What kinds of things happen in the room just before the student has an outburst? What do you and other students in the room do during each outburst?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 4: Select Target Teacher Concerns The SBIT Team is ready to move on when… One or two primary teacher concerns have been established and stated in measurable terms (as behavioral and/or academic difficulties). The referring teacher agrees with the selection and definition of the top 1-2 problems. The team and teacher agree on possible functions that explain why the academic/behavioral concern is taking place.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 5: Set Observable, Measurable Goals 5-10 Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 5: Set Observable Goals: GOALS The team should estimate goals for improvement based on the time that will elapse between the initial and follow-up meeting For each of the academic or behavioral referral concerns: Select at least two ways to monitor student progress. set ambitious but realistic goals for improvement.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 5: Set Observable, Measurable, Realistic Goals for Change (Academic)

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 5: Set Observable, Measurable, Realistic Goals for Change (Behavior)

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 5: Set Observable Goals: SAMPLE QUESTIONS Does the monitoring information really measure the teacher’s referral concern? Who will collect the monitoring information? How frequently should data be collected? How reliable/trustworthy is the information to be collected? Who on the SBIT Team or in the building is available to monitor this student with: curriculum-based assessment? direct observation?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 5: Set Observable Goals The SBIT Team is ready to move on when… Ambitious but realistic student goals for improvement have been set. At least two measures have been identified to track each referral concern. The referring teacher agrees that both the goals for change and the measures selected are appropriate for this student case.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan: GOALS Select at least one intervention that addresses each selected referral concern. Spell out the particulars of the intervention as a series of specific teacher-friendly steps Note any important additional information about the intervention (e.g., when, where, what specialized materials are needed, etc.) Review the intervention(s) with the teacher to ensure that the plan is acceptable.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan: SAMPLE QUESTIONS What intervention ideas would best meet this student’s needs? What is it about this particular intervention that makes it likely to improve the student’s behavior or academic functioning in the area(s) identified? Is there specialized training or materials that you feel are needed to carry out this intervention? How can our Team assist you [the referring teacher] with the intervention?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 6: Design an Intervention Plan The SBIT Team is ready to move on when… The referring teacher and team members agree that the intervention: directly addresses the identified concern(s). is judged by the teacher to be acceptable, sensible, and achievable. appears likely to achieve the desired goal. is realistic, given the resources committed. can be expected to achieve the stated goal within the timeline selected.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 7: Method of Monitoring Progress 5 Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 7: Method of Monitoring Progress: GOALS Determine who will do progress-monitoring how frequently monitoring will take place

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 7: Method of Monitoring Progress

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 7: Method of Progress-Monitoring: SAMPLE QUESTIONS How often will we collect data on this student to document progress? Who will be responsible for collecting and analyzing the data?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 7: Method of Progress-Monitoring The SBIT Team is ready to move on when it has… selected methods to monitor progress that are sensitive to short-term student gain has assigned responsibility to specific staff members to collect the monitoring data

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 8: Plan How To Share Meeting Info With Parent(s) 5 Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 8: Plan to Share Info With Parent: GOALS Agree on who will contact the parent(s) to share the student’s intervention plan and invite the parent(s) to a future SBIT meeting.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 8: Plan to Share Meeting Info With Student’s Parents

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 8: Plan to Share Info With Parent : SAMPLE QUESTIONS What specific details about the intervention would be of greatest interest to the parent(s)?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 8: Plan to Share Info With Parent The SBIT Team is ready to move on when… At least one team member (who could be the referring teacher) has taken responsibility to contact the parent to share information about the student’s intervention plan and future SBIT meeting times and dates.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools Step 9: Review the Intervention & Monitoring Plans 5 Minutes

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 9: Review Meeting Plans: GOALS Review main points of the intervention and monitoring plans with referring teacher, other team members. (Case Liaison) Schedule a time within next week to meet with the referring teacher to review the intervention plan; offer any needed assistance; ensure that the intervention is being put into place as planned. Schedule a follow-up meeting (usually within 6-8 weeks of the initial SBIT meeting). After the referring teacher leaves the meeting, complete the SBIT Team Meeting Debriefing Form, debrief as a team about the meeting process and content.

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting: Step 9: Review Intervention & Monitoring Plans

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 9 : Review Meeting Plans : SAMPLE QUESTIONS Do the referring teacher and other members of our team know what their responsibilities are in carrying out the intervention and monitoring plans for this student? Is our team able to support the teacher in identifying the most important referral concerns? Did our team help the teacher to assemble a good intervention plan that is feasible and can be carried out with currently available resources?

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Meeting Debriefing Form

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Initial Meeting QuickGuide… Step 7: Review Meeting Plans The SBIT Team is ready to adjourn!

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Referral Form: Page 1

Jim Wright, Syracuse City Schools SBIT Referral Form: Page 2