1. A presentation to Washington Teachers’ Conference
RtI 2.0 How do we create conditions that lead to meaningful change for our kids and why does it matter?
Here are a couple of great RtI 1.0 resources.
A presentation to Washington Teachers’ Conference
November 5th, 2016
By: Erich Bolz, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Pasco School District

2. Entry
Using your graphic organizer and your neighbor, develop a working definition for Response to Intervention (RtI) inclusive of academic and behavioral supports…
If you have time after developing a working definition, discuss how the current initiatives of TPEP, Washington State Learning Standards and the Smarter Balanced Assessment provide opportunities and challenges for RtI in general.
A video on RtI and new standards. (RtI and the CCSS)

3. Learning Targets
Participants will emerge with a common definition and resources for implementing traditional school-based Response to Intervention (RtI)
More importantly, participants will begin to grapple with the real barriers to student learning and what must be done beyond implementing school-based RtI to ensure real, meaningful benefits for students with challenges
Most importantly, we’ll set the moral purpose (“the why”) for this work

4. Is School Enough?

5. Insanity…
"Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
A child spends approximately 9 percent of her first 18 years in school
Discussion: Do all children learn at the same rates? What are some of the reasons for this?
Assuming all day K, a 6.5 hour school day equates to 15,210 hours logged in school over 13 years. This figure assumes perfect attendance! What percentage of a school year is actually instructional time? A child is alive 157,680 hours from birth to not including leap year in the calculation.

6. “Those who start ahead, stay ahead
“Those who start ahead, stay ahead. Those who start behind tend to stay behind.” Dr. Robert Siegler
Let’s look at the root cause of low achievement. What happens in birth to five is a near perfect predictor of success in school and in ultimately becoming a contributing citizen. Building off of the notion around where kids start is where they finish, I am sharing some data courtesy by the Reading Foundation. It paints a very clear picture of how this plays out over time in schools. This data is very consistent with national research. To get a snapshot of Washington State’s and your district’s data, here is a link

7. Poverty and ACES
Children of poverty are disproportionately impacted by ACES. Aces include abuse, neglect, exposure to domestic violence, and household dysfunction such as parental substance use, mental illness, incarceration, or divorce.

8. What does it actually mean to be poor in America?
Discuss at your tables the poverty income threshold and how much money you think a family of four needs to get by… What percentage of kids at your school are poor?
What are the impacts to kids coming from families above the poverty line but below the “get by” line? How many families at your school are somewhere between poor and our “get by” line?
What policies and practices do we implement that discriminate, how ever unintentionally, against our kids who don’t have means?
Starting with the first bullet- what is the Federal definition of poverty for a family of four? Let’s set the parameters for a get by discussion in terms of getting by. Let’s agree to define it as a family who is current on a modest mortgage or rent, has an aging but operational vehicle and food on the table every day of the month. What happens to this family when a water heater breaks, when new tires are needed etc.? Discuss at your tables what might happen at school and to other potentially enriching opportunities as a result?

9. Why is a good education important?
Now that we have identified how many of our kids are impacted by poverty, and identified some of the barriers poverty creates in the context of getting a good education, how do we ensure more of our kids graduate ready to compete in our new economy. By percent of all jobs will require some form of postsecondary education. In percent of all job required postsecondary education. This shift clearly shows College and Career Readiness is not just a buzz word. Rather it is a necessary status for Pasco students to attain so they can compete in the modern economy… Looking back at NWEA data, is the definition of “grade level or even a year above a sufficient definition to ensure each child who attains that status a place in the new economy? Discuss the rigor of the Washington State Learning Standards in the context of their alignment to realities of the new economy.

10. Schools cannot do it alone…
If RtI 1.0 will only move the needle so much, what do we need to do to change outcomes for our learners? Let’s explore the three areas below:
School readiness
Stabilizing the home environment
Community partnerships

11. Jensen’s Emotional Keyboard
Eric Jensen’s emotional keyboard. Our students of poverty in general come with fewer of these skills on the taught side. What are the implications if they are lacking the taught skills? How and where do we explicitly teach and reinforce these skills?

12. Early Learning Research
Eric Jensen’s emotional keyboard. Our students of poverty in general come with fewer of these skills on the taught side. What are the implications if they are lacking the taught skills? How and where do we explicitly teach and reinforce these skills?
“Every dollar invested in early childhood education produces a 7-10% per annum return in better education, health, social, and economic outcomes.”
James Heckman, PhD
Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2000
©2015 The Children’s Reading Foundation®. All rights reserved

13. How do we ensure more kids are ready at Kinder entry?
The book making a difference is based upon Bremerton School District’s model for integrating the birth-5 community with their K-3 school system. This book provides a window into Bremerton’s ten step approach. How connected are the systems in your community. How are family friend and neighbors, early care and education providers (including school systems) and the medical system connected in your community to optimally serve children? Check out the following resources:

14. What is a family? A few statistics to consider
What percentage of US kids live with both biological parents?
What percentage of US kids live with both biological parents and one or both parents are able to take a year or more off from work in the formative years (B-5)?
What percentage of US children are born to unwed mothers?
What percentage of US kids have an incarcerated parent?
What do these statistics mean to us? How do we ensure each child in a non-traditional environment is supported in his community?

15. How do we provide supports to families?
Discuss the barriers you are aware of in terms of families being able to support their children
There is no magic bullet, as each family situation is distinctly different. The most effective approaches are what are called wrap-around services. Wrap-around services typically start with a multi-disciplinary team taking inventory of strengths and needs, first levering natural supports, and layering on specific supports as needed. Success is evaluated over time. Some resources include the National Network of Partnership Schools Communities in Schools, and an article:

16. Who can help us with this work if schools can’t do it alone?
We can be our own best advocates
We can learn from other models
We can take inventory of what typically exists across communities as well as the unique supportive factors in our own communities
Check out the Road Map Project- it is a sterling example of what can happen when a community ignites behind this important cause: This is the work of the building leadership team!

17. Learning Targets
Participants will emerge with a common definition and resources for implementing traditional school-based Response to Intervention (RtI)
More importantly, participants will begin to grapple with the real barriers to student learning and what must be done beyond implementing school-based RtI to ensure real, meaningful benefits for students with challenges
Most importantly, we’ll set the moral purpose (“the why”) for this work
With an elbow partner identify three items you can take away from this presentation that will help your school’s implementation of RtI Further identify three policy items whether they be grading practices in your classroom or “pay to play” policies at the district level that you can change or can work to change… Finally restate with a colleague the moral purpose for ensuring each child has the opportunity to learn at all levels…

18. Conclusion
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
Disclaimer: Clearly what we do in the classroom, school building and school system levels matter. In fact they matter a great deal!
Exit Ticket: What will you approach differently as a result of this presentation?
What we do matters and the intent of this presentation is not to diminish the key roles each of us and our schools play in the role of our children. However, schools perpetuate the gap in skills children present at Kinder entry with very few exceptions. In order to make the biggest impact we can, it is critical we marshal our resources at the most critical times to maximize each child’s opportunity?