The RtI Team Process

1. The RtI Team Process Andrea Ogonosky, Ph.D. September 28, 2009

2. Critical Components of RtI Problem Solving Framework: • Students receive high quality instruction in the general education setting • General education instruction is researched-based • General education instructors and staff assume an active role in student assessment

3. Developing the RtI Team

4. RTI Team Process • Campus ownership • Campus principal leads team meetings • One team per campus with defined members and roles • Collaborative problem solving • Early intervention for academic and behavioral problems • Use of systematic and documented procedures

5. RtI Teams • Two types of teams and purposes • 80% rule • If fewer than 80% of your students are meeting state standards, RtI team meets a minimum of three times per year to address deficits by grade level– team looks at core curriculum and instruction as issues on a scope beyond individual students • If 80% are meeting state standards, RtI team works with individual students

6. Core Curriculum Support(Evaluates trends based upon Universal Screening data) • Composition • Principal must lead • Guidance • Someone who can analyze and understand data • Grade level teachers (by grade if necessary) • Roles • Team Leader • Record Keeper • Data Manager • Time Keeper • Case Manager

7. Student Support • Purpose • Identify students who have: • MARKED DIFFERENCE FROM PEERS IN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT • NOT BENIFITTING FROM INSTRUCTION • Roles • Team Leader • Record Keeper • Data Manager • Time Keeper • Case Manager

8. Team Membership • Who serves on the team? • Parents/Guardians • Principal/Principal designee • Classroom teacher • Support teacher (s) • Assessment Specialist • School Psychologists, Speech Therapists or other Specialists (depending on referral question)

9. Team Membership • Being a member of the team is, and should be perceived, as a privilege • Selection and treatment of the members will determine whether membership is a privilege • Establishing clear roles and responsibilities will contribute to a sense of ownership

10. Team Member Responsibilities General Education Teachers: • provide differentiate instruction based upon student instructional level • gain access to training and support in the use of research-based interventions • become proficient in progress-monitoring • design and implement classroom interventions

11. Team Member Responsibilities Building Principals: • develop and oversee team efforts • provide a supportive school environment that encourages collaboration • provide ongoing, high-quality professional development • ensure adherence to timelines • provide caseloads and schedules that facilitate the process

12. Team Member Responsibilities Parents: • be appraised of information regarding specific expectations concerning academic progress • function as an essential member of the team • continue to have participatory and approval roles in process

13. Team Roles • Team Leader • Principal • Scribe • scripts and documents meeting • team accountability form • intervention plan forms. • Data Manager • reviews data presented • organizes the presentation of data (student progress) • manages data reports • Time Keeper • responsible for keeping the group on task and seeing that all meetings are held in the allotted amount of time. • Case Manager • consults with teacher of record, a • assembles information on identified student • presenting case to team • monitoring process of intervention.

14. “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

15. Problem Solving Process

16. The Respnse to Intervention Team Process is a systematic support system for students. • It is a systematic support system for prevention of academic failure. • It is a systematic support system for intervention, providing struggling students with the targeted, strategic and intensive intervention they require.

17. Essential Component of RtI: Problem-Solving Method What is the problem? Why is it happening? Did it work? What should be done about it?

18. IEP Consideration Consultation with Bldg. level RtI Team Grade level team problem solving Consultation Between Teachers-Parents RtI Multi-Level Process Amount of Resources Needed toSolve the Problem RtI+ Support RtI Begins (Individual) RtI (Whole Class) * Adapted From Heartland, IA AEA Model Intensity of Problem Solving

19. Five Steps of Intervention Team Process I. Request for Assistance • Tier 1 process does not produce growth in learning rate • Data supports need for consultation • RtI team member reviews data

20. Classroom teacher screens all students for reading/math proficiency at beginning of year • Classroom teacher provides differentiated comprehensive reading instruction • Classroom teacher informs principal of students needing diagnostic assessment • Classroom teacher informs parent

21. 2. Consultation Align data, learning concern, curriculum, instruction, classroom interventions Informal process, includes classroom observations Consultation with curriculum staff, support staff, grade level team Five Steps of RtI Team Process

22. Classroom teacher consults with appropriate personnel (reading specialist, special educator, ELL teacher, literacy coach, grade level team, etc). • Teacher et al. would consider all interventions tried and analyze the data collected thus far, in order to determine new or revised interventions. • Teacher includes parents.

23. Persons responsible for interventions monitors progress frequently at regular intervals often as determined. • Classroom teacher updates RtI team case manager. • This may be a recursive process if intervention is not effective.

24. Five Stages of RtI Team Process 3. Problem Identification • Describe in measurable terms the problem • Review available data from a variety of sources as • attendance • demographics • grades • office referrals • assessment results (include baseline data) • teacher strategies and interventions used (fidelity check)

25. Five Stages of RtI Team Process 4. Development & Implementation of the Intervention • Include staff with expertise on identified problem • Choose protocol intervention specific to student problem • identify data requirements • Determine length of intervention • Identify person responsible for implementing intervention • Plan for fidelity accountability • Schedule next meeting date

26. Problem-Solving Process • Identify and analyze the problem (including collection of baseline data) • Generate a hypotheses and possible intervention strategies • Implement an intervention plan with data collection • Analyze the data and reviewing/ revising interventions as needed

27. Five Stages of RtI Team Process 5. Evaluate the Intervention • Data • Objectivity • Decision Making Rubric • Adapted from McCook, 2007

28. Consider all interventions tried and analyze the data collected thus far, in order to determine if additional interventions are necessary or support services are needed for this student.

29. Expanding Circle of Support Reading/Literacy Specialist Teacher Principal STUDENT Other staff RtISupportTeam Parent

30. The Importance of Leadership

31. Effective change agents neither embrace nor ignore mandates. They use them as catalysts to reexamine what they are doing. Fullan, 1993

32. Joel Barker, Future Edge, A leader is a person you will follow to a place you would not go by yourself. It is about Leadership…

33. RTI Team Strategies to Win Over Reluctant Teachers(from Cialdini, 1984)

34. Reciprocation When people are given a gift or have a service performed for them, they feel obligated to pay it back.

35. Reciprocation: Team Tips • Stuff teacher mailboxes with intervention tips • Sponsor teacher workshops with handouts & refreshments • Accommodate a teacher’s schedule to hold RTI Team meetings • Offer to collect ‘baseline’ information on a student—share results with teacher • Compile list of RTI Team members’ services– invite teacher to select 1 or 2

36. Consistency • People strive, often unconsciously, to maintain consistency between their opinions or attitudes and their actions.

37. Consistency: Team Tips • Invite a reluctant teacher to an RTI Team meeting to ‘support’ a colleague • Sign up teachers as ‘consultant members’ of the RTI Team • Ask a teacher to keep RTI Team referral forms or other RTI Team resources in classroom to share with colleagues • Set up contest for ‘best intervention ideas’ • Showcase ideas from reluctant teachers

38. Social Proof • People are influenced to take an action when they see that others like them are also doing it.

39. Social Proof: Team Tips • Encourage teachers to give RTI Team testimonials at faculty meetings • Make sure that all grade levelsare represented on the RTI Team • Share successful RTI Team intervention ideas with other members of a referring teacher’s team • Bring in RTI Team speakers from another school who resemble underrepresented groups • Share general RTI Team statistics with staff

40. Liking • People are motivated to carry out the requests of those whom they like or with whom they feel ‘connected’.

41. Liking: Team Tips • Ask satisfied teachers to invite afriend to refer to the RTI Team • Assign RTI Team members to invitefriends, acquaintances to an RTI Team meeting • Encourage referring teachers to bring friends, teaching partners to an RTI Team meeting • Praise teachers at an RTI Team meeting for positive teaching, management qualities • Seek out popular, respected staff to serve on the RTI Team

42. Authority • People respect and follow those with authority (organizational, experiential, professional).

43. Authority: Team Tips • Have principal encourage newteachers to refer to the RTI Team • Invite building- or district-level administrators to make positive comments about the RTI Team to faculty • Have teachers with experiential, professional authority to give positive testimonials about the RTI Team • Send ‘Thank You’ cards signed by principal • Ask outside presenters to ‘plug’ the RTI Team

44. Scarcity • When items, resources or opportunities are in short supply, people value them more (especially when competing for them).

45. Scarcity: Team Tips • Establish a cut-off date for universal screening decisions • Limit the number of RTI Team referralsthat your team will accept in a year • Publicize the limited slots available at key referral times (e.g., end of marking period) • Give away limited-edition packets of intervention resources at RTI Team meetings • Sign up ‘consultant member’ to the RTI Team but limit the number of meetings that he or she attend

46. VISION

47. District Level Administration • Provides leadership support for the model • Develops policies and guidelines • Supports use of technology necessary for data management • District-wide development of Tier II, supplemental instruction • Provides staff development for skills necessary to implement the model • Educates parents and the community about the benefits of the model

48. District Level Policies • District procedures on RtI • Structure the intervention process • Aligns student needs with district level program access (504, Dyslexia, SPED) • Policies that define parent involvement • Clarification of due process procedures for students

49. Building Administrator • Enthusiastic and supportive of model • Assurance to teachers of available supports and resources • Provides training on assessment, interventions, RtI team role • Emphasis is on data, curriculum, instruction, intervention • Whole class support using creative and flexible scheduling • This is a marathon, not a sprint

50. DATA-BASED DECISION MAKING