Building an Effective Teacher Support Team

1. Building an Effective Teacher Support Team MIS Summer Data Conference July 31 – August 4, 2006

2. That’s ME!

3. State Board Policy IEI Adopted January 21, 2005 MDE shall require an instructional model designed to meet the needs of every student. The model shall consist of three tiers of instruction. Tier I: Quality classroom instruction based on MS Curriculum Frameworks Tier II: Focused supplemental instruction Tier III: Intensive interventions specifically designed to meet the individual needs of students Teachers should use progress monitoring information to (a) determine if students are making adequate progress, (b) identify students as soon as they begin to fall behind, and (c) modify instruction early enough to ensure each and every student gains essential skills. Monitoring of student progress is an ongoing process that may be measured through informal classroom assessment, benchmark assessment instruments and large-scale assessments. If strategies at Tiers I & II are unsuccessful, students must be referred to the Teacher Support Team. The TST is the problem-solving unit responsible for interventions developed at Tier III. Each school must have a Teacher Support Team (TST) implemented in accordance with the process developed by the Mississippi Department of Education. The chairperson of the TST shall be the school principal as the school’s instructional leader or the principal’s designee. The designee may not be an individual whose primary responsibility is special education.

4. Interventions will be: • designed to address the deficit areas; • research based; • implemented as designed by the TST • supported by data regarding the effectiveness of interventions. • In addition to failure to make adequate progress following Tiers I & II, students will be referred to the TST for interventions as specified in guidelines developed by MDE if any of the following events occur: • A. Grades 1-3: A student has failed one (1) grade; • B. Grades 4-12: A student has failed two (2) grades, OR • C. A student failed either of the preceding two grades and has been suspended or expelled for more than twenty (20) days in the current school year. • Referrals to the teacher Support Team must be made within the first twenty (20) school days of a school year if the student failed the preceding year resulting in a referral as stated above.

5. Why do we need a State Board Policy? • 108 of 152 districts in the state show disproportionality in the number of students identified with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) • Previous policy mandated by the state was a “wait-to-fail” model • State wide inconsistencies exist in efforts to help students who are falling behind their peer groups academically • Schools within the same district have different models of student support • Creates a record of instructional interventions to track student progress • Links assessment and instruction to interventions • Mississippi’s dropout rate exceeds 40%

6. What Are Benefits of Successful Teacher Support Teams? • Higher graduation rates • Better test scores • Fewer student retentions • Improved attendance for teachers and students • Lower teacher turnover rate

7. What Are Benefits of Successful Teacher Support Teams? • Improved discipline • Increased awareness of specific professional development needs • Increased parent involvement • Successful inclusion programs

8. # Referred to TST 114 # Referred for Testing 11 # Ruled Eligible 8 Let’s look at the statistics! • Elementary School One (K-3)

9. # Referred to TST 78 # Referred for Testing 14 # Ruled Eligible 10 Let’s look at the statistics! • Elementary School Two (K-3)

10. # Referred to TST 264 #Referred for Testing 12 # Ruled Eligible 9 Let’s look at the statistics! • Middle School One (6-8)

11. What is the Three-Tier Model ? • A systematic approach for providing student interventions • Identifies struggling students BEFORE they fall behind • Provides struggling students with support throughout the educational process

12. What is an intervention? Any action that differs from the current instruction in the student’s regular academic program

13. Interventions are NOT • Preferential seating • Shortened assignments • Parent contacts • Classroom observations • Suspension • Doing MORE of the same / general classroom assignments • Retention • Peer-tutoring

14. Overview of the three tiers: The model has three levels or “tiers” of instruction • Tier I – Effective Classroom Instruction • Tier II – Supplemental Instruction (teacher) • Tier III – Intensive Instructional Intervention (team)

15. Students served by the three –tier model: Intensive Instructional Interventions Approximately 5-10% III Approximately20-30% Supplemental Instruction II All Students Effective Classroom Instruction I

16. What is the Teacher Support Team? • A group of education professionals that function as “Tier III” of the Three Tier Instructional Model required of all schools. • A group that analyzes student referral data and prescribes appropriate behavioral or instructional interventions to help students be successful in regular academic classrooms.

17. Movement through the three tiers Tier I Students requiring more than core classroom instruction Successful interventions Tier II Students requiring more intensive instruction are referred to the Teacher Support Team and begin Tier III intervention(s) Tier III

18. Think in Terms of a Medical Emergency

19. The Five Stages of the Teacher Support Team Process

20. Stage I: Request for Assistance Student referrals may be reviewed by the TST when: • Tier I and Tier II Interventions fail to resolve a problem. • Multiple grade level retentions meet Policy IEI requirements for referral. • Referral request is made by a teacher or other stakeholder and delivered to an assigned member of the TST team who schedules the team agendas.

21. Who can request a student be referred to the TST? • The student’s teacher • Another teacher • A parent • The student • An other interested party

22. How is a request to the TST made? A request to the TST is made by completing form TST-1. This form is available on the web at http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/acad/id/curriculum/tst/Request.doc A representative from the TST should sign and date the form.

23. Stage II: Consultation An informal analysis is made regarding what strategies have been utilized and determining the level of support services that may be necessary.

24. What happens next? • The teacher begins to complete the student data sheet. • A teacher interview may be conducted. • A date is established for the first TST meeting. Remember the clock is ticking. The TST must meet within the next two weeks.

25. What kinds of data might be needed? • Attendance data (absences, tardies) • Test data (State level, classroom level) • Class performance data (other assignments) • Behavioral data (office referrals, frequency of behaviors, time of day) • Health data (allergies, medications) • Any recent significant changes?

26. Stage III: Problem Identification • Clarify the concern • Review available data from a variety of sources • Attendance • Grades • Testing Information • Strategies used to date and evaluation of results • Develop baseline data format • Define the issue specifically and not generically

27. The team must develop a clear statement of the problem. • Jennifer just won’t do her work. • Mary can’t read. • Eleanor has difficulty in making subjects and verbs agree when she is talking and/or writing.

28. The Robin’s Nest There was a robin’s nest outside our kitchen window. The nest was in a tall bush. The mother robin sat in the nest all day long. One day when I was watching, the mother bird flew away. I saw the eggs she was sitting on. There were four blue eggs. sc sc sc sc 25 wpm

29. The Robin’s Nest There was a robin’s nest outside our kitchen window. The nest was in a tall bush. The mother robin sat in the nest all day long. One day when I was watching, the mother bird flew away. I saw the eggs she was sitting on. There were four blue eggs. 25 wpm

30. What can data tell us? • Although the scores were the same these two students have different problems. • Student One would benefit from practice with oral reading fluency. • Student Two would benefit from work with decoding unfamiliar words.

31. Stage IV: Development of the Intervention • A detailed plan of intervention is developed and documented. • Resources necessary for implementation of the intervention are identified and secured. • A timeline for the intervention is established. • Future meeting dates are scheduled.

32. What should the intervention statement tell us? • What specific remedial techniques will be employed? • What resources are needed? • Who will do what and when? • What do baseline data and progress data indicate?

33. Interventions should be specific and measurable. Alexander will spend thirty minutes three days each week working with the subtraction portion of the Academy of Mathematics software program. In two weeks, Matthew should be able to correctly answer 8 out of 10 two-digit subtraction problems without regrouping correctly.

34. Stage V: Evaluate the Intervention • The TST meets at a predetermined time to analyze student progress monitoring data. • The TST determines if and to what degree the intervention is successful. • The TST modifies the intervention if necessary to optimize student achievement. • The TST determines whether or not the intervention has been successful.

35. Alexander’s Progress

36. We may also want to compare a student’s performance to other students.

37. Another comparison

38. TST Timeline for Interventions: • Develop and begin implementation within two weeks of referral to TST • TST and student’s teacher must conduct a documented review within eight weeks of implementation • Final review is due at the end of sixteen weeks of implementation of intervention 18 weeks TOTAL

39. Who is on the team? • Staffing is determined by the needs of the students. • A minimum of 3 professionals and a maximum of 7 are recommended. • The instructional leader of the school should head the team. • The team should have core members and floating/alternate members.

40. CORE TEAM Principal as instructional leader and Instructional specialist and/or Counselor and/or Respected classroom teacher ADDITIONAL MEMBERS Referring teacher and Behavioral specialist / School psychologist and/or Social worker and/or Other teachers or educational stakeholders(who have expertise and/or knowledge of the student) and/or Nurse Who is on the team?

41. Team members must be: • Committed to the school’s instructional goals • Willing to accept responsibility of at-risk students’ progress • Knowledgeable of multiple teaching strategies • A respected staff member who is considered approachable by other staff • Experienced in interpreting data • Organized and capable of mapping a course of improvement • Confidential concerning student data and outcomes discussed in the team setting

42. The team functions to: • Clarify student’s area of difficulty in specific and measurable terms • Collect and analyze data concerning deficiency • Design or redefine intervention processes that address problem areas • Provide immediate and accessible support to referring teacher • Assign support personnel to observe the fidelity of the selected intervention Collaborative Problem-Solving

43. Suggested Team Organization RECORD KEEPER TIME KEEPER DATA MANAGER CASE MANAGER

44. Job Descriptions: • Chair – team leader (principal or designee) • Leads the determination of needs • Coordinates the deliberation of intervention • Brings team to consensus on the identification of an intervention • Delegates duties to team members • Manager –Manages gatekeeper function • Develops timeframes and schedules for meetings • Liaison with referring teachers, parents, etc. • Responsible for training new members • Ensures fidelity in intervention processes

45. Job Descriptions: • Record Keeper – responsible for scripting and documenting meetings. This person will document all ideas generated, keep a brief synopsis of discussion, and complete the TST accountability form and intervention plan forms. • Time Keeper – responsible for keeping the group on task and seeing that all meetings are held within the allotted amount of time. • Data Manager – gathers information, organizes the presentation of data, manages reports on interventions, plots student progress • Case Manager – responsible for interviewing referring individuals, assembling information on assigned students, presenting the case to the team, and monitoring progress of the intervention

46. Who receives interventions prescribed by the teacher support team? • Students will be populated on the screen in August according to the following criteria: • Grades 1-3: A student has failed one grade (the previous school year) • Grades 4-12: A student has failed two grades (the previous school year plus one other year prior) • A student failed either of the preceding two grades and has been suspended or expelled for more than twenty days in the current school year. • Students who do not make adequate progress following Tiers I & II should be referred to TST and can be pulled into the screens by the district users

47. Criteria 1 and 2 Students • For the first two criteria: • Grades 1-3: A student has failed one grade • Grades 4-12: A student has failed two grades • MSIS will pull from Month 9 of the previous school year any student who has met the criteria above IF their SPED Indicator is set to N (new exception to this rule is the Language Speech ONLY students are populated or pulled into the screen if they met the criteria) • MSIS will populate these students at the beginning of each school year • Users have 20 school days from the beginning of school to refer these students to TST for intervention

48. Criteria 3 Students • For the third criteria: • A student failed either of the two preceding grades and has been suspended or expelled for more than twenty days in the current school year. • MSIS will run a procedure each weekend to check for any suspensions or expulsions to populate these students to the screen • Users should check at the beginning of each week for any of these students • Won’t see any of these students before the 20th day school is in session (theoretically)

49. Intervention Screen: Select District/School • Launch MSIS • Go to Modules -> Students-> Student Intervention Screen • Select School

50. Radio Buttons allow you to choose the type of student that you want to select: • Intervention Students – MSIS will populate based on the 3 criteria • Referral Students – students that are referred for Intervention (after going through Tiers I and II) or Child Study – user must query for these students Intervention Screen: Select Students