1. A collaborative project between the Florida Department of Education and the University of South Florida
FloridaRtI.usf.edu

2. Welcome!
Presenters
Michael Curtis, Co-director - Florida’s PS/RtI Project
Heather Diamond – Bureau of Exceptional Education
and Student Services (BEESS)
Clark Dorman, Project Leader - Florida’s PS/RtI Project
Panel Members
Amelia VanName Larson, Student Services Supervisor and District PS/RtI Facilitator– Pasco County School District
Monica Verra, Director of Exceptional Student Education – Pasco County School District
Elizabeth Bondy, Professor, School of Teaching and Learning - University of Florida
Patty McHatton, Director of Project Expertise- University of South Florida
Daphne Thomas, Chair of Department of Special Education - University of South Florida

3. Overview of the Day Morning Session FLDOE Perspective on PS/RtI
The PS/RtI Model: Conceptual Foundation, Practical Issues in Application, Implementation Issues, Knowledge and Skills Needed for Success; The Florida Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project
Lunch (on your own)

4. Overview (cont’d) Afternoon Session
School District Views of PS/RtI: Implementation Issues, Knowledge and Skills Needed by Personnel Already in the Field and those Entering the Workforce
University Perspectives from General and Special Education – Preparing Personnel for PS/RtI; Where We Are vs Where We Need to Be; Potential Barriers to Getting There; Potential Strategies
Questions and Answers, Discussion

5. Overview (cont’d) Within University Small Group Discussion
Where are you in preparing for PS/RtI?
Where do you need to be?
What are significant barriers to getting there?
Next steps: strategies to reduce and/or eliminate barriers.
Report Out from Small Groups, Large Group Discussion, and Wrap Up

6. Advance Organizer for Morning
Florida’s Response to Intervention: Application in General and Special Education
The PS/RtI Model: Conceptual Foundation
Practical Issues in Application/Implementation
Issues, Knowledge and Skills Needed for Success
The Florida Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project

7. Outcomes of State Efforts
Introductory RtI TAP disseminated on March 3, 2006; can be accessed at:
Collaboration and Emphasis on General Education Involvement/Leadership
Problem-Solving/RtI Florida Project is accessible at:
PS/RtI –
Teaching Learning Connection (TLC): academic focus
Positive Behavior Support: behavior focus
State-wide PS/RtI Implementation Plan
Relevant Rule Revisions: E/BD, Proposed Administrative, Draft SLD, Draft LI

8. PS/RtI Integrates Efforts
Florida Department
of Education
PS / RtI

9. State-Level Collaborators
Bureau of School Improvement, FLDOE
Just Read, Florida!, FLDOE
Florida Center for Reading Research, FSU
LD Research Project, FSU
PS/RtI Pilot Project, USF
RtI-TLC Project, UCF
Positive Behavior Support Project, USF
Student Support Services Project, USF
FL Center for Research – STEM, FSU
Office of Math and Science, FLDOE
Bureau of Exceptional Student Education and Student Services, FLDOE
Reading First Professional Development, RFPD
Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, FND
Florida Educators Association, FEA

10. What does the State Plan do?
Provides an overview of Florida’s perspective and approach to RtI.
Connects and integrates terms and concepts with existing initiatives.
Specifies foundational beliefs about how to create ideal conditions to promote student achievement.
Calls for active engagement of parents.
Discusses positive impact on school improvement, student achievement, and disproportionate representation of minority populations in special education programs.

11. What does the State Plan Do?
Specifies State and District responsibilities in the scaling-up process.
Outlines the state team infrastructure.
Policy leadership team
Implementation team
Advisory group
Reports current and future activities.
Suggests flexible funding considerations.
Applies to English language learners (ELL).
Applies to Special Education eligibility.
Contains links to resources and related efforts to assist the reader in next steps.

12. Tools to Support Efforts
District/School Self-Assessment Tool
Guidance for District/School Planning
On-line Training Module(s):
Introductory course housed at USF
Currently used by pre-service students in counseling, school psychology & social work
Will soon be accessible to all

13. National Association of State Directors of Special Education, 2005
What is RtI?
RTI is the practice of (1) providing high quality instruction/intervention matched to student needs and, (2) using level of performance and learning rate over time to (3) make important educational decisions to guide instruction.
National Association of State Directors of Special Education, 2005

14. Core Principles of RtI
A process designed to maximize achievement for all students
Frequent data collection on student performance
Early identification of students at risk
Early intervention (K-3)
Multi-tiered model of service delivery
Research-based, scientifically validated instruction/interventions
Ongoing progress monitoring - interventions evaluated and modified
Data-based decision making - all decisions made with data
Focused on outcomes

15. Response to Intervention is Not:
About the identification of LD
An instructional program. It is a framework to make decisions about instructional needs based on student data
A way to avoid special education placement
A hoop to jump through to ensure Sp. Ed. placement
Intended to promote or encourage placement for students
Intended to focus only on students who are below expected levels of proficiency
Possible to implement alone; it is a cooperative effort of teachers, administrators, and support staff

16. What’s it look like? What does it do?
Characteristics of a Building with RtI
a. Frequent data collection on students in critical areas
b. Early identification of students at risk
c. Early intervention (kindergarten)
d. Interventions evaluated and modified (if necessary) frequently
e. Tiered levels of service delivery
f. All decisions made with or verified by data
Outcomes of RtI
a. Improved rate of academic and behavior performance
b. Significantly reduced disproportionality
c. Reductions in special education referrals and placements

17. Big Ideas

18. Ideas What We Used to Think What We Now Know
Educational disability results from the complex interaction between curriculum, instruction, the environment, and learner characteristics.
Thorough understanding of the intrapersonal (within person) causes of educational disabilities is the most critical factor in determining appropriate treatment.
Educational needs vary widely within and across disability categories
Persons within disability categories have similar educational needs that are different in educationally important ways from persons in other disability categories.
Aptitude by Treatment interactions (ATIs) have not been proven.
Auditory
Learners
Auditory Reading
Methods
Visual
Visual Reading
Kinesthetic
Reading
Matching treatments to underlying characteristics will result in maximally effective interventions.

19. Traditional vs. Response to InterventionJ J
Intervention L
Intervention L
Consider ESE
Traditional- J
Monitor
Progress
I put some more animation on this slide. Must be in regular presentation mode to view it. J
Monitor
Progress
Intervention L
Consider ESE If
necessary
Regular
Education
Intervention L J
Intervention 19
Response to Intervention-

20. Systemic v. Individual Student Problem
How we got here…
Teacher
Recognizes
Problem
Referral for
Psychoeducational
Evaluation
Psychoeducational
Evaluation
Conducted
Intervention
Brainstorming
Intervention
Brainstorming
Eligibility
Determination
Data Analyzed
To Determine
Systemic v. Individual Student Problem
Note the examples of two separate systems.
The top line exemplifies our current continuum or “process” for addressing the needs of struggling learners. There is no true mention of assessment based on the previously discussed principles. It highlights brainstorming for possible interventions, only to result in testing for the purpose of eligibility…Remember, in this instance testing is done for the purpose of obtaining a score…
The bottom continuum demonstrates how assessment is woven into the fabric of this process. Teams use assessment data from the very beginning by examining available data from screening measures. Analysis is conducted and additional assessments are administered as deemed appropriate. Intervention is designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated. Assessment has a role in each of these activities. Should the need still exist, as determined by the PS team, determination of disability characteristics may be indicated. In the event eligibility is declared, the child is delivered to the door of special education with the knowledge of what and how to instruct the student.
Teacher/
School Level
Screening
Recognizes
Problem
Disability
Characteristics
Determined
Monitoring of
Response to
Intervention
Monitoring of
Response to
Intervention
Discovery of
Student
Need
Informed
Intervention
Intervention
Revision
Eligibility
Determination
Assessment 20

21. A Shift in Thinking The central question is not:
“What about the students is causing the performance discrepancy?”
but
“What about the interaction of the curriculum, instruction, learners and learning environment should be altered so that the students will learn?”
This shift alters everything else
Ken Howell

22. We Need A New Logic
Begin with the idea that the purpose of the system is student achievement
Acknowledge that student needs exist on a continuum rather than in typological groupings
Organize resources to make educational resources available in direct proportion to student need
David Tilly 2004

23. Three Tiered Model of School Supports:
Example of an Infrastructure Resource Inventory
Academic Systems
Behavioral Systems
Tier III: Comprehensive and Intensive Interventions
( Few Students)
Students who need Individualized Interventions
Tier III: Intensive Interventions
( Few Students)
Students who need Individual Intervention
Tier II: Strategic Interventions
(Some Students)
Students who need more support in addition to the core curriculum
Tier II: Targeted Group Interventions
(Some Students)
Students who need more support in addition to school-wide positive behavior program
Arrows = movement in tiers is fluid (up, down, around)
Tier I: Core Curriculum
All students
Tier I: Universal Interventions
All students; all settings 23

25. Three Tiered Model of School Supports:
Example of an Infrastructure Resource Inventory
Academic Systems
Behavioral Systems
Tier 3: Comprehensive and Intensive Interventions
Individual Students or Small Group (2-3)
Reading: Scholastic Program, Reading,Mastery, ALL, Soar to Success, Leap Track, Fundations
Tier 3: Intensive Interventions
Individual Counseling
FBA/BIP
Teach, Reinforce, and Prevent (TRP)
Assessment-based
Intense, durable procedures
1-5%
Tier 2: Strategic Interventions
Students not responding to core curriculum
Reading: Soar to Success, Leap Frog, CRISS strategies, CCC Lab Math: Extended Day
Writing: Small Group, CRISS strategies, and “Just Write Narrative” by K. Robinson
Tier 2: Targeted Group Interventions
Some students (at-risk)
Small Group Counseling
Parent Training (Behavior & Academic)
Bullying Prevention Program
FBA/BIP Classroom Management Techniques, Professional Development
Small Group Parent Training ,Data
5-10%
Tier 1: Core Curriculum
All students
Reading: Houghton Mifflin
Math: Harcourt
Writing: Six Traits Of Writing
Learning Focus Strategies
Tier 1: Universal Interventions
All settings, all students
Committee, Preventive, proactive strategies
School Wide Rules/ Expectations Positive Reinforcement System (Tickets & 200 Club)
School Wide Consequence System School Wide Social Skills Program, Data (Discipline, Surveys, etc.) Professional Development (behavior)
Classroom Management Techniques,Parent Training
80-90%
Students

26. Tiers of Service Delivery
1. Problem Identification- What’s the problem?
Tier I
Tier II
Tier III
4. Response to
Intervention-
Is it working?
2. Problem
Analysis-
Why is it occurring?
A combination of the problem solving process circle and the concentric tiers. Clearer labels for the tiers.
3. Intervention Design/Implementation-
What are we going to do about it? 26

27. Implications for Activities at Various Tiers
More
Less
Instructional Time
Applicable evidence-based interventions
Measurement Frequency
Measurement Precision
Group Size
Measurement Focus
Depth of Problem Analysis
Primary point here is that we have far more base of evidence for Tier One and standard protocol interventions than we do for individual student interventions. Thus, our evidence base, when intervening with particularly idiosyncratic individuals, is our progress monitoring or response to intervention data. So, if the research base relating to an individual’s specific difficulty is sparse, we have to create our own evidence of effectiveness through careful progress monitoring. 27
Less
More 27

28. Problem Solving
A systematic and structured process that uses the skills of professionals from different disciplines to develop, implement, and evaluate intervention plans that result in the significant improvement (closing the gap) of student performance

29. The PS/RtI Relationship
Multiple Levels of PS:
State
District
School
Grade Level
Classroom
Student PS
occurs
continually
during all tiers
of the RtI model

30. Step 1 – Problem Identification: What is the problem?
To identify a problem, you need to start with three pieces of data
Expected level of performance
Student level of performance
Peer level of performance
Is this an individual student problem or a larger systemic problem?

31. Problem ID Peers Expectation Student % compliance weeks 31
This and the two slides following. Revised the y-axis to reflect 0% to 100% and labeled the behavior being measured as ‘compliance’ and the x-axis as ‘weeks’
weeks 31

32. Problem ID Expectation Peers Student % compliance weeks 32
See previous slide
Student
weeks 32

33. Problem ID Expectation Peers Student % compliance weeks 33
See previous slide
Student
weeks 33

34. Step 2 - Problem Analysis: Why is it occurring?
The development of hypotheses about probable causes for the identified problem
Assessment data are collected to validate hypotheses
Why is replacement behavior not occurring?

35. Problem Analysis The problem is occurring because ________________.
If ____________ would occur, the problem would be reduced.

36. Step 2 - Problem Analysis: Why is it occurring?
RIOT by
ICEL
DOMAINS R
Review I
Interview O
Observe T
Test
Instruction C
Curriculum E
Environment L
Learner
Teams should not be LIMITED by what is on this paper—
Review line by line (ICELxRIOT)…

37. Step 3 – Intervention Design: What are we going to do about it?
Effective teaching strategies consider both what to teach and how to teach it.
Making good decisions will increase student progress.
It is critical that the instruction be matched to the problem.
Howell & Nolet, 2000

38. Step 3 – Intervention Design: What are we going to do about it?
Match intervention type and intensity to student(s), setting, problem
Interventions must focus on teaching desired behavior
Select evidence-based interventions that match context of school/classroom culture
Provide support for implementation
Coaching
Evaluation of implementation integrity
What are we going to do about it?
Make sure interventions are cumulative, not separate
What is the plan for addressing behavior concerns pro-actively? i.e. Look at data early in the year and assess trends frequently thereafter??

39. Step 4 – Progress Monitoring: Is it working?
Making instructional / intervention decisions based on review and analysis of student data
Progress monitoring always includes graphing
Goal
Classroom
Intervention I
Classroom
Intervention 2 39

40. Response to Intervention
Goal
Classroom Intervention
Positive
Questionable
Performance
Expected Rate
Poor
Observed Rate
Time 40

41. Application Issues: Challenges - Data
Collection
What is collected and who collects it?
How frequently is it collected?
Organization
Disaggregated by grade, gender, race, language, SES?
Designed to answer specific questions (Tier 1/2 effectiveness?

42. Application Issues: Challenges - Data
Management
Technology is imperative
AIMS-WEB, Wireless Generation
Local Programs
Display-necessary to evaluate RtI
Goals/Benchmarks
Aimline
Trendline
Rate

43. Application Issues: Challenges - Integrating Tiers
Tier 1 (Core) instruction present at all three levels
Purpose of Tier 2 is to improve success in Tier 1
Purpose of Tier 3 is to improve success in Tier 2
Is there a single “intervention” plan made up of different Tier services?

44. Application Issues: Challenges - Intervention Support
Intervention plans should be developed based on student need and skills of staff
All intervention plans should have intervention support
Principals should ensure that intervention plans have intervention support
Teachers should not be expected to implement plans for which there is no support

45. Need for Systems Change
PS/RtI is not another project or program
PS/RtI represents a new way of thinking about how we educate all students
PS/RtI represents a New Way of Work
Implementation of a PS/RtI model requires major systemic change

46. Change Model
Consensus
Infrastructure
Implementation

47. Stages of Implementing Problem-Solving/RtI
Consensus
Belief is shared
Vision is agreed upon
Implementation requirements understood
Infrastructure Development
Regulations
Training/Technical Assistance
Model (e.g., Standard Protocol)
Tier I and II intervention systems
E.g., K-3 Academic Support Plan
Data Management
Technology support
Decision-making criteria established
Implementation

48. The Process of Systems Change
Until, and unless, Consensus (understanding the need and trusting in the support) is reached no support will exist to establish the Infrastructure. Until, and unless, the Infrastructure is in place Implementation will not take place.
A fatal error is to attempt Implementation without Consensus and Infrastructure
Leadership must come both from all levels

49. What changes need to occur?
Beliefs
Knowledge
Skills

50. Beliefs
Making the shift to a new paradigm, like PS/RtI, does not simply involve accepting a new set of skills. It also involves giving up certain beliefs in favor of others.
PS/RtI requires systemic change in the way we educate all students
Ken Howell

51. Beliefs
Student performance is influenced most by the quality of the interventions we deliver and how well we deliver them- not preconceived notions about child characteristics
Decisions are best made with data
Our expectations for student performance should be dependent on a student’s response to intervention, not on the basis of a “score” that “predicts” what they are “capable” of doing.

52. Beliefs Every student is everybody’s responsibility
PSM/RtI is a General Education Initiative-Not Special Education
Improving the effectiveness of core instruction is basic to this process
NO Child Left Behind Really Means “NO”
Assessment (data) should both inform and evaluate the impact of instruction
Policies must be consistent with beliefs
Beliefs must be supported by research
Focus on alterable variables

53. Knowledge The Problem-Solving method
The relationship between RtI and the Problem-Solving method
Empirically validated instructional practices in the general education classroom at Tiers 1, 2, & 3
Importance and methods of assessing instructional quality
Adapted from Response to Intervention, NASDSE, 2006

54. Knowledge (cont’d)
Determining appropriate interventions based upon student data
Difference between the intensity of a problem and the severity
The role of progress monitoring
State and Federal Statutes & Regulations
Critical factors in systems change
Small Group Planning and Problem-Solving Techniques

55. Change Educators will embrace new ideas when two conditions exist:
They understand the NEED for the idea
They perceive that they either have the SKILLS to implement the idea OR they have the SUPPORT to develop the skills

56. So, What Skills are Necessary?
Assessing impact of instruction/intervention - academic & behavior
(CBM, DIBELS, classroom observations, etc.)
Use of technology to manage, display, and disseminate assessment data
Interpreting assessment data to determine instructional impact
Data based decision making (when to continue, modify, or change instruction/intervention)
Adapted from Response to Intervention, NASDSE, 2006

57. Skills (cont’d)
Data based decision making (what modifications or changes)
Data based decision making (eligibility)
Collaboration
Communication
Small Group Planning and Problem-Solving

58. Florida’s PS/RtI Project
Co-Directors
George Batsche -
Mike Curtis -
Project Leader
Clark Dorman -
Regional Coordinators /Trainers
Beth Hardcastle - North -
Kelly Justice - South -
Project Evaluators
Connie Hines –
Jose Castillo -
Staff Assistant
Stevi Schermond -

59. Brief Project Description
Two purposes of PS/RtI Project:
Statewide training in PS/RtI
Evaluate the impact of PS/RtI on district, building, and student outcomes via demonstration districts

60. Statewide Training Sites

61. Mini-Grant Application
District and Pilot Schools Commitment
District, Pilot, and Comparison Schools Demographic Data
Statement of Need and Objectives
District and Pilot Schools Experience with Initiatives and Programs
District Personnel Resources and Technology

62. Mini-Grant Demonstration Sites
I. Services Provided to Demonstration Sites by Statewide Project Staff
Funding for up to two Coaches
Training, T/A for Coaches & Building Administrators
Training, T/A for School-based Teams
T/A in use of Technology and Data

63. Mini-Grant Demonstration Sites
II. Expectations of Demonstration Districts and Pilot Sites -
Collaboration between General Ed, Special Ed, and other projects
People with expertise - district and school level teams
Funds/Resources - evidenced based instruction and intervention,
Professional Development - support and attend
Policies and Procedures
Technology/Data Systems
Making changes when the data indicate

64. Mini-Grant Demonstration Sites
III. Funding
Up to $100,000 per year - three year maximum
To support employment of district-based coaches and training activities
Three year commitment - reapply annually
Years two and three contingent upon fulfillment of expectations during previous year

65. Demonstration Districts

66. Response to Intervention
Final Thoughts
Problem Solving &
Response to Intervention