GARDEN SPOT MIDDLE SCHOOL

RTII Overview

April 5, 2012

Objectives

Participants will learn:Secondary level RtII core componentsUnique aspects of secondary RtIIDifferences between past models (IST/LFT)

of student intervention and RtIIAbout other middle school models of RtIIFuture directions of RtII at Garden Spot

Middle School

If you’re not hopelessly confused, you’re out of touch! If you are hopelessly confused, then you only have one choice – try stuff!

Tom Peters, Embracing Chaos (1993)

Rationale for Implementing RtII

Elementary and Secondary Education Act“Every student should graduate from high

school ready for college and a career, regardless of their income, race, ethnic, or language background, or disability status.”

www.ed.gov 4/12/2011 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 IDEA Reauthorization 2004

Rationale for Implementing RtII

Nearly 7,000 high school students drop out each day.

Nationally, more than 1/3 of African American and Latino students who enter 9th grade will not complete high school with their peers in 4 years.

In PA, 22% of 9th graders fail to graduate from high school within 4 years.

Rationale for Implementing RtII

Many new hires are deficient in basic writing (72%), mathematics (54%), and reading comprehension skills (38%).

Only 15.9% of all students who graduated in 2009 had access to an advanced placement course that helped them earn a score of 3 or higher (3=predictive of college success).

Half of all first-year college students enroll in one or more remedial courses.

What can schools do?

Focus on the following components:AttendanceBehavioral monitoringAcademic tutoringCounseling/mentoringEstablishment of smaller learning

communities for greater personalizationEngaging accelerated coursesNinth grade academiesHomerooms

What can schools do? (Cont.)

Focus on the following components:BenchmarkingProgress monitoringImplementation of multi-tiered support

systems (RtII !)Meaningful and uniform access to rigorous

coursework with high expectationsCareer/college awarenessCommunity engagement8th to 9th grade transition programs

Looking Back

1990s –rolled out the Instructional Support Team (IST) model in PA

Consultation between classroom teacher and member of IST

Defined concerns, convened the IST IST developed interventions to improve

student achievement in classroom

Lessons from Past Practice Solving problems one a time is not particularly

efficient from a resource utilization standpoint. Teachers cannot implement more than 1 or 2

simultaneous interventions with integrity at any given time AND continue teaching an entire classroom effectively.

Individual problem-solving was based mostly on teacher referral, which is reactive and subjective.

State assessments do not provide timely information about student achievement.

Lessons from Past Practice So, is there a better way to gather

information about student achievement?In a more timely manner?That allows for intervention?That is more systematic than helping one

student at a time?That doesn’t require students to be in

special education to get “help?”

What is Secondary RtII? RtII is a comprehensive, standards-aligned

school improvement framework that may be implemented within elementary, middle, and high schools. Fidelity of implementation and sustainability of the RtII framework rests on principles of systems change, high-quality professional learning, and sustainable leadership. In addition to “collective will,” data-based decision-making is a “collective skill” that is necessary to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment in order to enhance student outcomes.

Why Implement Secondary RtII?

The intent of RtII adoption and implementation is to prevent and treat student learning needs as early as possible through screening, progress-monitoring, and evaluation of student response as a function of exposure to increasingly intensive and robust differentiated core and supplemental instruction/intervention.

Why Implement Secondary RtII?

Because education is not one size fits all!

Core Components of RtII

High Quality Classroom Instruction/ Standards-Aligned Core Curriculum

Relational Support Scientifically/ Evidence-Based

Interventions, Instructional Methodologies and Strategies

Tiered Instruction and Interventions Data-Based Decision-Making Professional Development

RtII and PA Standards-Aligned System

1. Clear standards

2. Fair assessments*

3. Curriculum framework

4. Instruction

5. Materials and resources

6. Interventions

http://pdesas.org/

PA’s RtII Framework

www.pattan.net

Tier IStandards-Aligned Core Instruction for All Students

Tier I (100% of Students) Research-based, effective instruction is

provided to all students. Uses whole-class and differentiated instruction. 21st Century Learning Skills infused throughout

the core curriculum. All staff take ownership for developing

readiness for post-secondary education and career.

School-wide positive behavioral support models establish well-defined behavioral expectations, rules and routines.

Tier I (100% of Students)

High expectations, meaningful student engagement, connectivity, skills for life, clear and consistent boundaries and unconditional supports.

Clear expectations for daily attendance, systematic methods for preventing and reducing school absenteeism.

A grading system that reinforces what has been learned rather than the process of learning.

Tier IITargeted Group Instruction for Some Students

Tier II (15-20% of Students) Strategic instruction that is supplemental

to core instruction that is explicit in nature.

May be provided to smaller groups of students and target specific sills or serve the purpose of extended core instruction.

Progress monitoring occurs at least monthly.

Tier II (15-20% of Students) Specific evidenced-based instructional

strategies/ interventions are utilized. 21st Century Learning Skills are

addressed in more explicit ways and students are provided meaningful learning opportunities including community-based instruction, mentoring, peer-support programs, or a system to reward positive behavior.

Attendance is monitored daily.

Tier IIIIntensive Instruction for a Few Students

Tier III (5-10% of Students) More intense supports characterized by

additional time, the focus of instruction, and group size.

Students at Tier III often demonstrate performance that exists within the significantly below average range (i.e., 10th percentile or below).

Instruction is targeted toward the development of foundational literacy or math skills.

Tier III (5-10% of Students) Usually includes a standard protocol

intervention (i.e., highly scripted with frequent opportunities for student response and corrective teacher feedback).

Teacher-student ratio is as low as possible. Progress monitoring every week or every

other week. Usually requires an additional 45-60 mins of

instruction a day or more.

Tier III (5-10% of Students) 21st Century Learning Skills are explicitly

assessed, taught, and monitored, and are infused with authentic experiences (e.g., job shadowing, service learning).

Behavior assessment and individualized positive behavior support plans are developed for the few students who may benefit from intensive intervention.

Challenges of Secondary RtII

Establishing sound instructional core, interventions, and equitable access to the core curriculum

The changes needed to the organizational structure:SchedulingTime for teacher collaboration

Shift in academic focus to prevention

Challenges of Secondary RtII

Adjustments to teacher-student ratio Need for valid and reliable assessments

at secondary level Grading Course credits Less research to pull from than with

elementary RtII (but growing!) Shared ownership of student achievement Literacy across content areas

Example Middle School Model: Roosevelt Middle School

Bristol Township School District, PA Scheduled classes by:

PSSA results/ Emetric dataRTI data from elementary gradesTeacher recommendations

Included a Reading Extension class period: groups included fluency, comprehension, or writing extensions

Example Middle School Model: Roosevelt Middle School

Schedule included common reading extension intervention time to allow for flexible groups

Used specific intervention exit criteria Met monthly to review data as grade

level team Made most group changes each

quarter /marking period change

Example Middle School Model: Russell Middle School

Colorado Springs, CO http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlRM6kf7EZ0

PA Secondary RtII Learning Sites Drexel Hill Middle School

Upper Darby School District Roosevelt Middle School

Bristol Township School District Swatara Middle School

Central Dauphin School District Clairton Middle School

Clairton School District Chartiers Valley Middle School

Chartiers Valley School District

What We Are Already Doing Universal screening

DRP, 4Sight, STAR Math, Social /Emotional /Behavioral Screening w/ AIMSweb, Writing Prompts

Progress monitoringFor some studentsAIMSweb curriculum-based measurements

(CBM) Interventions

Excel period built into scheduleCo-teaching

What We Are Already Doing Data Team

To review data at the school-building and grade level

Weekly team meetingsTo review student performance and needs

Career educationThanks to our school counselors!Bridges Program (online interest inventories)

Clear attendance policies Collecting information from elementary schools

Future Directions for GSMS Maximize use of assessments rather

than adding more assessments Eliminate assessments that are not

helpful for instructional planning Use data and teacher input to schedule

initial courses for students Work toward providing a more seamless

transition between elementary and middle school services

Future Directions for GSMS Include more strategic and targeted

instructional practices for students needing instruction beyond the core curriculum

Implement a system for consistent monitoring of student progress followed by clear decision rules for changing and exiting interventions

Future Directions for GSMS Ongoing professional development and

support for staff Improving fidelity of instruction within the

core curriculum Increasing parental engagement Improving shared ownership for student

achievement Continue to improve function of data

team and RtII team

Questions?

Breakout Sessions Session 1

9:15 – 10:00 Session 2

10:15 – 11:00 Lunch – On Your

Own11:00 – 12:00

Session 312:15 – 1:00

Session 41:15 – 2:00

Debrief in LMC2:15 – 3:00

http://rtiiinservice.wiki.elanco.net/