RTI Lessons Learned 2008

1. RTI Lessons Learned 2008 Petrea Hagen-Gilden Tigard-Tualatin School District 23J www.ttsd.k12.or.us phagengilden@ttsd.k12.or.us

2. Purpose • Participants will be exposed to information about • Practices that we have found to be supportive of successful implementation of RTI; and • Practices that we have found not productive; and • Some developments in thinking about Title I & CEIS • Participants can ask questions and ask for recommendations

3. Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. Oscar Wilde

4. Sources • TTSD district experience • Implementation visits to OrRTI districts

5. Lessons • It’s ok to do “BIG” RTI without doing “little” RTI • Don’t try to get ready and then start • Eventually you will need to jump off the cliff • Principals are key players • Learning disability expertise is imperative • Decision rules rule • Train, train, train, and SUPPORT • People don’t know what they don’t know

6. “BIG” or “little” RTI?

7. “BIG” or “little” RTI? • Big RTI is: • the system of Multi-Tiered Instruction (MTI?) that applies to all students • the foundation • Little RTI: • is the “procedure” in IDEA to determine whether a child has an SLD or not • cannot exist without BIG RTI • THIS DISTINCTION IS IMPORTANT IN HELPING EDUCATORS UNDERSTAND RTI!!

8. Daisy is part of a class that is part of a school that conducts DIBELS screening three times a year—for EVERY child—and she isn’t doing well Does Daisy progress? If not, should she be referred for a special education evaluation? Daisy’s intervention is intensified Daisy receives highly structured additional instruction—but she doesn’t progress

9. It’s just that simple. . .but it takes: • Resource realignment • Leadership • Core curriculum • Integration of programs • Continuous monitoring

10. You will hit more than one brick wall “Brick walls are there for a reason: They are there to show how badly we want things” Randy Pausch

11. Our Current Brick Wall • “You can’t ‘do’ RTI in a Targeted Assistance School” • WHY? • “If students in Non-Title Schools receive the same interventions as students in Targeted Schools, it amounts to ‘Supplanting’” • We respectfully disagree

12. Title $$ Tests • Comprability • Supplement, don’t supplant: • Paying for something from Title I that used to come from local funds • Paying for something with Title I that is required by another law • Paying for something with Title I that is paid for in non Title schools with general funds (‘the same thing’)

13. Our Take on It • It doesn’t make sense: • Giving kids something they don’t need • Withholding something kids do need • The law says: “When determining whether Title I funding is supplemental, an SEA or LEA may exclude State and local funds expended in any school for carrying out a program that meets the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A. (These exclusions also apply when determining whether Title I and non-Title I schools are comparable.)”

14. “ AND you know if it is such a program if the program: • “Serves only students who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the State's challenging student academic achievement standards; • Provides supplementary services designed to meet the special educational needs of students whoare participating in the program to support their achievement toward meeting the State’s student academic achievement standards; and • Uses the State’s system of assessment under 34 CFR 200.2 to review the effectiveness of the program” [Section 1120A(d) and 34 CFR 200.79]

15. Coordinated Early Intervening Services • CEIS = K through 12, K-3 emphasis • NOT sped students • May include: • Professional development • Educational and behavioral evaluations • Services and supports (all must be scientifically based)

16. $$ Considerations • MAY use up to 15% • MUST use 15% if significant dis-proportionality found • Cannot be focused on group for whom dis-proportionality is found • May cause Maintenance of Effort issues • Should align with ESEA, but cannot supplant ESEA funds

17. So. . . • You can “do” RTI in a TAS school if you don’t supplant under NCLB and ESEA and of course you can use CEIS as long as you think about whether it will effect your MOE, and taking into consideration your obligations to provide FAPE in the LRE. • Just be sure you target the students correctly

18. Jumping off the cliff. . . • Don’t be a commitment-phobe • Prerequisites: • Deal with core curriculum issues • Make non-negotiables clear • Establish clear rules related to legal concerns • Write procedures • Create the expectation for change

19. Principals • Set expectations and model: • Commitment to core curriculum • Teaming • Flexibility • Commitment to RTI • Attend ALL meetings • Hold individuals accountable • Articulate process to constituents

20. Learning Disability Expertise • Shifting the “diagnostic” paradigm • Building up other special educators • Providing perspective • Responding to skeptics • TRAINING

21. Decision Rules • It’s a “test” • Identification can’t be arbitrary • Ensure students don’t get lost • Essential to program evaluation ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

22. Train, Train, Train • The Case for Urgency • Using Data • Progress Monitoring • Fidelity • Core • Interventions • Procedures • Teaming • Learning Disability Reports • New Employees

23. Making Assumptions about What People Know. . . • Train • Check understanding frequently • Attend meetings • Coach • Examine products • Keep data • Be wary of SELF-EVALUATIONS

24. What do our Data Say?Reading/Literature

25. So, you are welcome to our successes and mistakes! It's a wise man who profits by his own experience, but it's a good deal wiser one who lets the rattlesnake bite the other fellow. Josh Billings