Student Support Plans

1. Student Support Plans Beth Lambert, IST Program Facilitator Student Support Services PBIS Training – Sheppard Pratt July 16-17, 2008

2. Student Support Team: • A planned means of combining the knowledge and competencies of school staff and Student Support Services personnel to address complex problems of individual students,groups of students,andschool-wide concerns • Addresses concerns at multiple levels of prevention, early intervention, and intensive intervention within the school

3. Student Support Team: • Implements prevention and early intervention activities prior to intensive intervention to increasestudent achievement, improveschoolwide climate, reducedisruptive behavior, reduceinappropriate referrals to the IEP Team, and increaseparent/guardian involvement

4. Student Support Team: • Helps create school environments that are positive, preventive, predictable, & effective in collaboration with other school initiatives such as PBIS and School Improvement Team • Assists in enhancing the learning and teaching environment by providing a continuum of behavioral and academic support for students

5. 3-Tiered RTI Approach: Tier 3 Intensive Interventions: IEP Team Tier 2 Targeted Interventions: Student Support Team Tier 1 Universal Interventions : Grade Level/Interdisciplinary Team

6. Behavioral & Academic Interventions:

7. When a student does not respond to Universal Interventions: • A student can be referred to the Student Support Team (SST) for additional support • The SST screens referrals and determines the appropriate action: • Some referrals are directed to a school staff member for further consultation with the teacher • More complex referrals are included on the upcoming SST agenda for extensive review and consideration through initial and progress review meetings

8. Prior to the Initial SST Meeting: • Review available data from all sources • Clarify & prioritize the concern(s) • Reframe the problem in specific and observable terms • Deliver additional instructional assessments to establish a match between the student, task, and environment • Baseline data is gathered and realistic goals are set

9. During the Initial SST Meeting: Intervention Planning • Through the data analysis and team collaboration, the SST determines the appropriate research-based intervention • Determine what will be done, when, who, how often, and under what conditions • Schedule follow-up dates for monitoring during the intervention period and for the SST progress review meeting

10. Progress Review Meetings • Progress review meeting is held following consistent implementation of interventions • SST reviews data, the intervention, and setting • SST determines to what extent the goals have been met • SST revises goals and interventions in the Student Support Plan on the basis of ongoing student progress monitoring

11. Key Concepts for Developing Effective Student Support Plans: • Goals should be realistic and based on documented needs that describe the specific change expected as a result of the proposed intervention/strategy • Interventions should be research-based, connected to the student’s goal, and easily embedded within the classroom whenever possible

12. Key Concepts for Developing Effective Student Support Plans: • It is important that the Student Support Plan be specific and detailed • Far too often, teachers receive ambiguous suggestions that are destined to fail because the teacher may not fully understand the strategy or has misunderstood verbal instructions during the meeting

13. Key Concepts for Developing Effective Student Support Plans: • Being specific ensures that the intervention will be implemented as it was designed • Spelling out the intervention forces the team to be specific about minute details that may not arise until the teacher is on his or her own

14. Provide intermittent positive reinforcement when a student uses appropriate language “Intermittent” means after every 5 minutes during small group work, the student receives a sticker on his/her incentive chart. As the student’s behavior improves, the time between reinforcement can be increased. After the student fills up the incentive chart, he/she can go to the office to share the chart and choose from the prize box. Ambiguous vs. Specific

15. More Key Concepts: Methods of Monitoring Progress • Evaluation procedures are an important part that is often overlooked • The method of monitoring should be detailed in the intervention plan • The person who is responsible for monitoring the intervention should be identified • The method of monitoring should be related to the goal and intervention • Choose a method that can be easily embedded within the teacher’s normal routine

16. Support at the Classroom Level • An effective student plan is only as good as the teacher who uses it • The teacher is a critical resource in assisting students in closing gaps in achievement and behavior • If a teacher is not fully committed to the plan, or does not perceive that he/she has the time, skills, and so on, the plan will not work Therefore, we must………..

17. Support at the Classroom Level • Assign a team member who will “check in” with the teacher during the first few days of the plan • Assist with developing any materials • Encourage the teacher to continue the intervention even when things go array • Troubleshoot any problems

18. Focus on the Instructional Triangle • Focus is on the relationship between the child’s entry level skills, instructional design and format, and the task at hand, rather than an internal deficit in the child Student Match = Success Instruction Task

19. Focus on the Instructional Triangle:Behavior vs. Academic • When behavior is the presenting concern, it is important to determine whether the student can engage successfully with classroom tasks and instruction, since behavior is often the effect of instructional mismatch

20. Final Thoughts… • Student Support Plans assist students with complex academic and/or behavioral in meeting their goals within the general education setting • Correct problem identification is key in the overall success of the student (ex. Inattention vs. instructional mismatch)

21. Final Thoughts… • Less is more! A student support plan with a few goals & interventions is more effective than a laundry list of things to implement • Teachers can adapt successful interventions and strategies to meet the needs of other students without student support plans in their classroom

22. Student Support Plan Format:

23. Student Support Plan Format: