Understanding Response to Instruction and Intervention ( RtII )

1. Understanding Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtII) Special Presentation for Parents The School District of Philadelphia RtII District Leadership Team in collaboration with the Office of Family and Community Engagement

2. Agenda • Overview of Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtII) • RtII: Academic Instruction • Partnership in Literacy • RtII for English Language Learners • RtII and Special Education • RtII: Behavioral Health Support • Importance of Daily Attendance • Parent’s Role in RtII • Questions and Answers

3. What is Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtII)? • A multi-level, proactive process to provide all students effective, targeted support in the areas of academics, behavior, discipline and attendance • A data-driven model to enable early identification and strategic interventions for students at academic or behavioral risk • A shared, collaborative, data-driven decision-making process

4. Key Elements of RtII

5. Important Terms Universal Screening School-wide use of assessments and student data to determine if each student is on track or if he or she needs additional support with building academic skills, improving behavior and attendance.

6. Screeners Screeners are tools used to assess ALL students: • Academic Instruction: Aimsweb (Pearson)–grades K-5 STAR (Renaissance Learning)–grades 6-12 • Behavioral Health Support (BHS)–variety of indicators

7. Interventions Interventions are additional steps, programs and services that schools use to help students get on track. In order to be used as part of RtII, the interventions must be research-based.

8. Important Terms Progress Monitoring Using short, targeted assessments to see if the intervention is working.

9. Examples of Progress Monitoring

10. Examples of Progress Monitoring

11. Tiers (Levels) of RtII Tier 1 – High quality curriculum and instruction for all students Tier 2 – Targeted interventions and support based on students’needs Tier 3 – More intensive and individualized interventions

12. Example of Movement between the Levels of RtII Screeners Progress Monitoring Intervention

13. RtII Areas of Focus • Literacy • Math • Behavioral Health Support (BHS)

14. Office of Curriculum and Assessment RtII: AcademicInstruction

15. RtII Academics in A Nutshell Proactive Student Support Process for General Education Students • Identify Students in Need • Address the Students’ Needs • Monitor Students’ Progress • Revisit Students for Academic Success

16. RtII Model for Academic Instruction 2+ years below grade-level (chronically under-performing) Tier 3 Few students at this level Within 2 years below grade-level Intensity of Interventions Tier 2 Some students at this level Just at or above grade-level Tier 1 Most students at this level

17. Tiers of RtII • Tier 1: • Classroom Instruction / Effective Teaching (All Students) • Tier 2: • Additional Intervention (~15% of Students) • Tier 3: • Intensive Intervention (~5% of Students) • Tiers 2 and 3 are in conjunction with Level 1 instruction.

18. Tier 1 Strategies Strategies/Interventions are used in our schools. Strategies are best educational practices that intervene to support students to decrease learning gaps. Strategy Examples:Guided Reading, Tutoring, Small-Group Instruction Intervention Product Examples: Study Island, Reading Eggs, First in Math

19. Tier 2  3 Intervention Programs

20. What Does this Look Like in Your School? School Leadership Teams meet often to share student progress & success in the classroom Students are assessed at least 3 times a year to find out who is at Tier 1 or needs Tier 2 or Tier 3 support Students are grouped according to their needs for intense strategies (Tier 1) and intervention programs (Tiers 2 and 3)

21. What Does this Look Like in Your School? (continued) • Teachers, as a team, use data to decide the intervention product or program, students need • Teachers create intervention plans for our students if… • They are Tier 1 needing intense intervention because they are showing signs of being at-risk for falling below grade level or at-risk for receiving a “F” for a marking period • They are Tier 2 (within 2 years below grade-level) / Received an “F” for a marking period grade • They are Tier 3 needing an intervention plan because they are 2 or more grade levels behind / Received a “F” for a marking period grade

22. Online Interventions Module for Literacy and Math • Intervention plans are recorded in the Online Interventions Module • Records the team of teachers/staff supporting the student • Records who is delivering the intervention • Records if the student is making progress Parents can request a meeting with teachers / staff to discuss their students’ RtIIplacement and details of their child’s RtII plans.

23. Office of EarlyChildhoodEducation RtII: Partners in Literacy

24. Home  School Partnerships • You and your child’s school are partners in the learning process. • Parent involvement increases your child’s learning and their achievement.

25. Home  School Partnerships • Reading is one of the most important skills your child will ever learn. Mastering reading will prepare your child to be successful in school and in life.

26. Home  School Partnerships • You are your child’s first teacher • Talk with your child and ask your child questions • Read to your child and let your child read to you

27. Five Essential Components of Reading

28. Five Essential Components of Reading • Phonemic Awareness:Recognizing and using individual sounds to create words. • Phonics:Realizing the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds. • Fluency:Developing the ability to read a sentence, paragraph or text accurately and quickly. • Vocabulary:Learning the meaning of words by themselves and in sentences along with their pronunciation. • Comprehension: Understanding what sentences, paragraphs, and stories are trying to tell us. Making sense of what we hear and read.

29. What Do I Do If I Believe that My Child is Struggling? • Support your child at home • Talk with your child’s teacher: • Attend parent-teacher conferences • Make a list of specific questions to ask about your child’s progress • Ask for regular progress reports in your child’s areas of difficulty • Celebrate when progress is made; ask questions when there is little or no progress

30. Questions You Can Ask Your Teachers • Is my child successful? How will I know? • If not, why and what can we do differently? • If needed, how is additional help going to be provided for my child? By whom, how often, for how long? • What can I do to help with the interventions for my child? • How will I know if the interventions are working?

31. Office of MultilingualCurriculum and Programs RtIIforEnglishLanguageLearners

32. Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs • Our vision is “Accelerating Academic Achievement for English Language Learners”. • We want to close the achievement gap between native English speakers and English language learner (ELL) students • We also want to help their families to support their academic success and cultural integration.

33. How the Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs Supports RtII • Train teachers and RTII Champions on effective teaching for English Language Learners • Support teachers in identifying students who need Tier II and Tier III interventions and in choosing interventions that are proven to be successful with students who are learning English. • Each learning network has a Multilingual Manager who is available to teachers when they need assistance. • There is also a district level curriculum specialist who serves on the RTII leadership team.

34. Where do English Language Learners fit? Tier 3 Few students at this level Tier 2 Some students at this level Tier 1 ALL English Language Learnersat this level Core Curriculum and Instruction for ALL students includes sheltered instructional practices and Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Instruction for English Language Learners

35. Best Practices for English Language Learners at Tier I • The Office of Multilingual Curriculum and programs expects a strong core program that: • Encourages social and academic language acquisition in both ESOL and general education classes. • Includes differentiated instruction and grading based on their English Proficiency level • Includes culturally responsive teaching- You can help teachers be more responsive by sharing information about your child with his/her teacher

36. RtII Levels 2 and 3 Tier 3 Few students at this level Tier 2 Some students at this level Tier 3 ALL English Language Learnersat this level

37. Tier II Interventions for English Language Learners It is not recommended that students receive interventions just because they are learning English. Teachers take the following steps: Determine whether a student is making adequate progress in English Determine if a student is making progress in literacy and math when compared with other students who are learning English – NOT compared with native English speakers! Find a good balance between ESOL instruction and Interventions because student needs to continue developing language. Interventions should also be supplemented with activities to accelerate overall language development

38. How can I help my child succeed? Maintain the use of your native language at home. If your child is literate in your native language it will help her/him learn English! Read with your child at home – in the language that you are most comfortable with. Talk about what you are reading – it will help your child become a more active reader. Schedule times for reading and homework, if possible. Routines are important. Ask questions and share information about your child with school staff. The more we know, the better we can serve your child’s needs at school. The district can help by providing interpreters and translations of documents.

39. Who Can I Contact with Questions? Your child’s ESOL teacher is an expert on language acquisition, and should also be a member of the school’s RTII team. They will be a great resource for you. Your child’s classroom teacher can answer questions about instruction. Your school’s RTII Champion will be able to answer questions about the RTII process. Your learning network’s Multilingual Manager can answer questions too.

40. Office of SpecializedServices RtII and SpecialEducation

41. RtII and Special Education • All three levels of RtII are part of a comprehensive educational system. • RtII the levels should not be viewed as categorical placements or as “gates”to special education supports and services. • However, referral for special education evaluation should be considered if data demonstrate continued lack of response to instruction and intervention. Tier 3 Consideration for special education evaluation may occur at any time Tier 2 Tier 1 Intervention

42. RtII and Special Education • All special education students’ Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals are addressed through their IEP, which includes all the extra services and interventions this student needs to succeed. While an IEP may include some of the same interventions used in RtII, it is a very different process. • If the student is not achieving the goals set forth in the IEP, the IEP team must revisit the IEP.

43. Office of StudentSupportServices RtII: BehavioralHealthSupport Targeted and Intensive Intervention for Improving Student Attendance, Behavior, and School Climate

44. RtII Behavioral Health Support • Addresses student attendance, behavior, and school climate issues • Supports are provided based on the student’s greatest area of need or concern. • There are (3) levels of support

45. Level I: School-wide Prevention School Provides: • Clear set of positive expectations and rules that promote appropriate behaviors throughout the school environment.

46. Level II: Targeted Support Provides additional support for students who continue to struggle with attendance or behavior within Level I Students can receive support within a group or individually

47. Level III: Intensive Support Focus is on the individual student that is struggling with attendance or behavior within Levels I and II Includes referrals for support services provided by external community-based organizations.

48. Please contact your RTI/SAP Specialist • Forassistanceormoreinformation…

49. Importance of Daily Attendance * Attendance in Early Elementary Grades: Association with Student Characteristics, School Readiness and Third Grade Outcomes, Applied Survey Research. May 2011. Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school. Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks*. Absences and latenesses can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up. Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.

50. RtII Model for Attendance • Interventions are generated with a referral to Truancy Court • Intensive and comprehensive interventions are coordinated and monitored by the School District, DHS, and Family Court School age students with 10 or more unexcused /illegal absences Tier 3 Few students at this level Students with 3 or more unexcused/ illegal absences • Parent Notification (C-31) • Parent conference • School works with the family to eliminate barriers to attendance Tier 2 Some students at this level Clear attendance expectations shared with all students Tier 1 All students at this level