Response to Intervention

Well, the school year has begun for some students! Our district has several schools operating on what we call a "year-round" schedule. Those students have already been in class for 3 weeks and have had a chance to settle in. Teachers have been giving our first benchmark universal screenings for the school year during this time period. It is important to see where your students are beginning with their knowledge in order to effectively plan instruction to take them where you would like them to be. Every year we have new teachers and even established teachers who need a little refresher on Response to Intervention. So below is a brief outline of our district's approved RTI plan for the area of reading:

I. Tier 1

• All students participate in Tier 1
• 80-90% of students should respond to effective literacy instruction. Our district has 120 minutes of literacy instruction daily, of which 90 of those minutes is uninterrupted.
• Benchmark universal screenings occur 3 times a year.
• Schools have school teams that meet an average of every 4 weeks to review students who are struggling, brainstorm interventions, and document information.
• Progress monitoring will occur weekly using a CBM probe.
  
• Moving students to Tier 2 requires a data-based decision. The student must be at or below the 10th percentile for both the performance and growth rate of progress monitoring.
  

II. Tier 2

• 5-15% of students participate in Tier 2.
• Documentation is vital of interventions. This should include the data of how the decision was made if it was effective or not.
• Progress monitoring will occur weekly.
• Interventions can occur in small group or individually depending on the course of action chosen by the RTI Team. Student will receive a minimum of three, 3o minute sessions per week to address areas determined by the RTI Team.
• Parents are strongly encouraged to participate in the process. They will receive a progress note every 4 1/2 weeks.
• After 9 weeks of interventions a data-based decision is made by the RTI Team:
  

a. Student is making progress and just needs another round of Tier 2
b. Student has accomplished goals and returns to Tier 1
c. Student has performance scores at or below the 10th percentile and a growth rate of progress monitoring at or below the 25th percentile. Student would then be eligible to move forward towards Tier 3.

III. Tier 3

• Student will continue to receive Tier 2 interventions during the evaluation process.
• School psychologist will review all data and perform any additional testing considered necessary to determine eligibility for special education.
• An IEP Team will determine eligibility.
  
• All special education procedures will apply at this time.
• Progress monitoring will occur weekly.

Please remember that this is just the "cliff notes" version of our plan. You can contact either one of our RTI Coordinators for further information.