Student Support Teams: Ensuring Success for All Children

1. Student Support Teams: Ensuring Success for All Children Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D. September 5, 2006 Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

2. Questions we’ll consider • What are Student Support Teams and why were they developed? • What does research tell us about SST outcomes and best practices? • How do SSTs function? • What questions do we need to consider in implementing an SST? Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

3. What is a Student Support Team? • Group of professionals that develops strategies for teachers/staff to implement to increase students’ success in the classroom • Designed to improve teachers’ capacity to meet student needs • Facilitates parental involvement in children’s educational programming Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

4. How did SSTs begin? • Research demonstrating that special education was ineffective in improving student academic or social outcomes • Overrepresentation of minority children in special education • Return of many children with disabilities to the regular classroom (inclusion movement) • Rising number and proportion of at-risk and “difficult to teach” students Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

5. Terms and types • Prereferral intervention teams (specialist model) • Teacher assistance teams (peer group model) • Mainstream assistance teams • Instructional consultation teams (MD) • Intervention assistance teams • Instructional support teams (PA,VA) • VA model includes a major professional development component Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

6. What are the primary functions of SSTs? • Analyze the problem or concern • Collect and analyze data • Develop instructional and behavior strategies and accommodations • Collaborate with parents • Encourage professional collaboration and cooperation • Provide professional development Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

7. Who serves on SSTs? • Teachers (teacher representatives and referring teachers) • Principal or assistant principal • Instructional specialists (coaches, special education teachers, designated SST personnel, etc.) • Support staff (special education coordinators, psychologists, counselors, social workers, consultants, etc.) • Parents Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

8. What are the steps in the SST process? • Identification of student needs • Identifying the discrepancy between current academic and/or social behaviors and desired behaviors • Collection of data relevant to analyzing and solving the problem • May involve requesting assessments • Development of student support plan • Implementation of plan • Follow-up and support of intervention agents • Continuous monitoring and evaluation Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

9. What does research say about SSTs? • Teams often fail to gather sufficient data before implementing interventions. • Teams tend to rely on a limited range of strategies. • Interventions often rely on nonclassroom resources (tutoring, counseling). • Teachers actually implement less than half of the strategies they agree to at SST meetings. • Teams often fail to measure treatment integrity or the effects of interventions. • Teachers often don’t feel the problem has been solved. Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

10. What happens to the students referred to SSTs? • Two years after referral to SSTs, only about 1/3 of students are in general education, are not receiving special education services, and are achieving on grade level. • Placement in special education is much more likely for students referred for academic vs. behavior problems (outnumber students with behavior problems 3 to 1). • Nearly 60% of students referred for both academic and behavior problems are in special education. • Even after SST referral, minority students continue to be overrepresented in special education. Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

11. What about SSTs in preschools? • Virtually no data • One model - districtwide technical assistance teams (D-TATs) • Not a building-level model • Consists of specialists only • Focuses on children with severe behavioral challenges Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

12. What factors contribute to effective SSTs? • Administrator support – accounts for over 50% of variance in consumer (teacher) satisfaction with SST services Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

13. What kind of administrator support matters most to team members? • Providing positive feedback to team members • Providing release time for meetings • Facilitating relevant training • Providing materials and other resources • Encouraging teachers to use the team • Demonstrating a commitment to staff collaboration Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

14. What does research say about training for team members? • Hours of formal training = unrelated to team members’ satisfaction • Overall satisfaction with training = highly related to team members’ satisfaction Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

15. Recommendations from research • Include specialized personnel – teams with specialists have better outcomes. • Increase expertise in academic interventions. • “30% to 40% of behavioral problems can be solved at the elementary level with effective instruction alone.” Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

16. Recommendations, II • Take a hands-on vs. a “just talk” or “hand-out” approach. • Modeling the strategy in a peer-coaching format increases the likelihood of implementation AND treatment fidelity. • In-class support increases teacher acceptance and confidence. • Hands-on demonstrations facilitate incorporation of the strategy into the classroom routine. Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

17. Recommendations, III • Build in a follow-up component. • Focus on treatment integrity. • Evaluate intervention effectiveness using graphing/charting procedures, comparisons of baseline and intervention data, and systematic classroom observation. Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

18. Implementing an SST • Questions for consideration Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

19. Question for consideration: How will the team handle referrals? • Intake coach model • One or two designated individuals work with the referring teacher prior to the case going to SST. • May involve observing child and collecting data • Rotating case manager model • Case manager from the team is assigned to each referral and guides the intervention process after the student support plan is developed. • Designated case manager group • Two or three individuals are designated as case managers for all referrals. • Other ideas? Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

20. More questions about team process • Who will distribute information about referrals and how? • Will team members have referral and related information prior to the initial meeting? • How will team members communicate with each other? • Who will keep records of team meetings? Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

21. Reminder: Most of the work occurs outside of the team meeting • Working with the referring teacher • Collecting and analyzing data • Locating resources • Conducting additional assessments (performance-based, standardized, criterion-referenced) • Collaborating with parents, especially if home-based interventions are included • Observing and documenting results of interventions Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

22. What do we bring to an SST meeting? • Completed referral form from teacher or parent • Cumulative record, including medical information • Work samples, progress reports, observational data, screening results, etc. • Parent conference/contact information Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

23. What are the tasks at the first SST meeting? • Team discusses and attempts to clarify the student’s problems or needs. • Team may request additional data. • Team reaches consensus on the chief presenting problems or needs. • Team prioritizes strategies to address the identified problems or needs. • Team develops a written Student Support Plan that includes persons responsible for each component and time lines for implementation and review. Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

24. Question for consideration: Parent participation • How can we help parents participate as collaborative partners in the problem-solving process? Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

25. Ways of involving parents • Participating in team meetings • Implementing strategies at home as part of the overall intervention plan for their child • Participating in special training in instructional and/or behavioral techniques aligned with the goals and interventions in the plan Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

26. Question for consideration: How long should we allow for the SST process? • The 50-day model - 50 days are allowed from the date that the concern is first identified by teacher, parent, or other stakeholder. • After 50 days, the team determines whether the discrepancy between baseline and postintervention has been sufficiently reduced. • The team may decide to refer the child for an evaluation for special education or to modify current interventions. • If the former, data collected during the SST process are provided to the special education team. Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

27. Question for consideration: How will we keep records? • Student records - separate folder model • A separate SST folder is maintained, with a note in the cumulative folder indicating that the SST folder exists. • For students found eligible for special education, the SST folder becomes the special education folder. • SST team folder • Comprehensive record of students referred, dates of plans, dates for plans to be reviewed, etc. • Other ideas? Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

28. Legal and ethical issues • Very few specific regulations in this area • Under FERPA (Public Law 93-380) parents have rights to essentially all school records of their children. • Any information that is written down and shared with another individual is no longer a “personal note.” • Any information related to special education decision making is available to parents. Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

29. Best practices regarding parental rights and involvement • Inform parents of the procedures and benefits of SST participation while also appraising them of their rights to a comprehensive evaluation. • Be sure parents know about the problem BEFORE inviting them to the SST meeting. • Involve parents in evaluating intervention effectiveness. • Keep prereferral interventions time-limited (e.g., 50 school days from the expression of concern – not from the date of initial SST meeting). Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

30. Tips from a team survivor • Pick a school in which the principal is committed to the SST process. • Keep team meetings as regular as possible. • Nurture team members and team process. • Have a team member help to establish the intervention in the classroom setting. • Keep the general faculty informed with updates at meetings. • Have each teacher attend an SST during the first semester, even if he/she is not referring a student. Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

31. Tips, II • Build in time to review progress as a team and engage in trouble shooting, especially for the first few months of implementation. • Build in time to evaluate progress once interventions have been implemented. • Structure parental involvement. • Focus on validating parents’ capacity to contribute to the solution as well as telling them about the problem. • Reciting Jerome’s seven deadly sins Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

32. Reminder • The most important people in the SST process are likely to be feeling ineffective, overwhelmed, and angry. • Parents • Teachers • Child Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

33. Tips, III • Develop a written student support plan as the result of the referral. • Have parent sign it the plan and include a date for review (2 weeks for behavior problems, no more than 4 weeks for academic problems). • Don’t rely only on teacher judgment in evaluating intervention effectiveness. • Conduct an annual SST evaluation, with charts and graphs. • Include three types of evaluations – student outcomes, consumer satisfaction, and team functioning (can be a self-evaluation). Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

34. What’s next? • Opportunity to help children at a critical period in their education • Opportunity to help parents attach positively to school • Opportunity to validate SSTs at the preschool level • Opportunity to work, learn, and HAVE FUN TOGETHER! Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.

35. References and resources • Rathvon, N. (1999). Effective school interventions: Strategies for enhancing academic achievement and social competence. New York: Guilford Press. • Rathvon, N. (in press). Evidence-based school interventions. New York: Guilford Press. • www.interventioncentral.org • www.pbis.org Natalie Rathvon, Ph.D.