Spotlight on Districts and Campuses

1. Spotlight on Districts and Campuses Bonham Independent School District February 25, 2011

2. Background • Too many students being pulled out of classroom for reading intervention • A need to bridge the gap between campuses

3. Number of Students Pulled for Reading Intervention

4. Paradigm Shift • Saxon Phonics (whole group) • Guided Reading (small group, differentiated instruction) • DIBELS (progress monitoring, data-driven instruction)

5. A Need For RTI • Use data to determine student needs • Empower teachers to make instructional decisions using data • Provide additional support to teachers if classroom instruction is not working • Monitor students who were not being pulled for intervention • Accountability

6. The Solution: An Enhanced RTI Process • Assistant Principal/ RTI Coordinator: • Created forms to document interventions/ instruction • Scheduled meetings with teachers to discuss instructional strategies and set goals • Set follow up meetings to discuss student progress and next steps

7. The Solution: An Enhanced RTI Process • Classroom Teachers: • Implemented research based interventions • Monitored student progress • Adjusted instruction according to student’s response to intervention

8. The Solution: An Enhanced RTI Process • Reading Intervention Team: • Used DIBELS data to determine what students would receive pull-out intervention • Provided specific, targeted interventions based on student data • Progress monitored students weekly

9. Kindergarten Data

10. Kindergarten Data

11. 1st Grade Data

12. What We Learned • RTI: • Is about instruction; • Supports general education school improvement goals; • Focuses primarily on effective instruction to enhance student growth; • Provides intervention immediately upon student need

13. What We Learned At the heart of the RTI process in an effective instructional leader who ensures that all students receive high-quality, differentiated instruction that gives all students the opportunity to succeed.

14. What We Learned • RTI is about problem-solving. • Problem-solving means going beyond fulfilling procedural requirements and checklists to doing what it takes to resolve students’ learning problems.

15. What We Learned Guiding Principles of RTI • Scientific, research-based instruction and interventions • Assessment of the effects of instruction • Responsive teaching and differentiation • Regular monitoring of instruction and intervention delivery

16. Using What We Learned by Following the Guiding Principles of RTI • Implement scientific, research-based instruction and interventions • Florida Center for Reading Research; Reading Mastery; Voyager; Waterford; Success Maker

17. Using What We Learned by Following the Guiding Principles of RTI • Assess the effects of instruction (i.e., child response data based on frequent progress monitoring) • DIBELS progress monitoring probes; DRA

18. Using What We Learned by Following the Guiding Principles of RTI 3.Responsive teaching and differentiation/ Data-based decision making (i.e., using the child response data as the basis for decision making and instructional planning) • RTI meetings; RTI notebooks

19. Using What We Learned by Following the Guiding Principles of RTI • Regular monitoring of instruction and intervention delivery • Observations and feedback by administrators

20. Guiding Principles of RTI • Each principle is part of an interrelated process which should be applied to every student. • Instructional practices are evaluated and adjusted based on results of reliable, valid, and sensitive indicators of important student outcomes. • If any piece is missing, the process breaks down.

21. How To Ensure That The Process Is Working • Regular monitoring and accountability through observations and checklists by an independent observer who is well-versed in best teaching practices and the 5 components of reading (i.e., administrators)

22. Challenges • Time/Scheduling • Core Instruction (Tier I) • Paradigm Shifts • Changing Roles • Funding • Raising Expectations • Building Capacity • Teacher Training • Professional Development • Research-based intervention resources

23. Next Steps • 1. Improve Tier I (core instruction) • Professional Development • Increase observations and feedback • 2. More fluidity within Tiers • 3. Enhance RTI process for Math

24. Questions???

25. Contact Information • Kelly Trompler – Curriculum Director kelly.trompler@bonhamisd.org 903-583-5526 • Mary Lou Fox – Principal mary.fox@bonhamisd.org 903-640-4090 • Julie Burnett – Instructional Specialist julie.burnett@bonhamisd.org 903-640-4090 • Karli Fowler – Reading Interventionist karli.fowler@bonhamisd.org 903-640-4090

26. Resources • DIBELS www.dibels.uoregon.edu • Reading Mastery www.mheonline.com • Florida Center for Reading Research www.fcrr.org • Voyager www.voyagerlearning.com/passport/curriculum.jsp • Waterford www.waterfordearlylearning.org/overview/complete_early_reading_math_and_science.html • Success Maker www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZk99

27. Teachers Count! “The impact of the teacher is the single most powerful variable in explaining student reading achievement” (Nye et al., 2004).