Response to Intervention (RTI) in Fresno Unified School District Presentation for SELPA Directors December 1 st 2005 By Sue Pellegrino, FUSD SELPA Director Deeds Gill, School Psychologist

What do we need for the 3 Tier Model to be successful? We need to know and learn the science of reading and then pass it on to others. Reid Lyon (IDA Conference, 2003) states that anyone who is involved with the instruction of children needs to be able to answers four basic questions before they can effectively intervene with children: 1.How do children learn to read? 2.Why do some children have difficulties learning to read? 3.How can we prevent reading difficulties? 4.How can we remediate reading difficulties ?

What do we need for the 3 Tier Model to be successful? Need to have a “culture change” at the school level that emphasizes an ownership of all kids. Need to have significant support and leadership from the administration at the school site and at the district level.

FUSD Three Tier / RTI Some elementary schools in FUSD have already begun to implement early intervention models, for example: –Lincoln Elementary School –Jackson Elementary School –Bullard Talent K-8 School These schools have been able to help many children early on in their schooling so that they do not have to endure years of failure.

Jackson Elementary & RTI Jackson Elementary has used a deployment model known as “GATOR Time” to deliver leveled reading instruction to all students at the school. During specified periods during the day, students are deployed to reading groups at their level so that instructional time can be more focused and effective. The Special Education staff serve the lowest deployment groups at each grade level.

Jackson Elementary RTI For first grade, all of the students are screened using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Those students who fall in the “Intensive Intervention” category are placed in the deployment groups staffed by the Special Education teachers and assistants.

Jackson Elementary & RTI Jackson Sped Intervention: –Staffing: Two Special Education Teachers Two 3-Hour Special Education Assistants Four Gen. Ed. Assistants (Provided by School Principal) –Intervention Programs Utilized: SRA Reading Mastery SRA Corrective Reading Barton Reading & Spelling System (Orton-Gillingham Based Program) Great Leaps Reading Program

Jackson Elementary & RTI Number of students receiving reading intervention ( ): 53 Number of Non-Identified: 17 Number of Identified Sped: 36 Intervention times vary but are typically at least 200 minutes per week Groupings are typically 1 teacher to 4 students, but can be as low as 1:2 or 1:1

Jackson Elementary & RTI Collaboration: –Weekly collaboration meetings occur between Sped and Gen. Ed. Staff to talk about students and their progress. –Weekly collaboration meeting between Sped Teachers, Gen. Ed. Assistants and Sped. Assistants to review student progress, concerns, and provide professional development for assistants.

Examples of student progress at different schools in FUSD (Data reported using the DIBELS Data System)

District: Fresno Unified School: Bullard Talent Grade: First Class: All Assessment: End Academic Year: Odds of being Established with ORF in April of First Grade when Established with PSF in September of First Grade is 14 out of 16, or 88% Odds of being Established with ORF in April of First Grade when Deficit with PSF in September of First Grade is 4 out of 14, or 29%

District: Fresno Unified School: Bullard Talent Grade: Second Class: All Assessment: End Academic Year: Odds of being Low Risk with ORF in April of Second Grade when Low Risk with ORF in April of First Grade is 29 out of 34, or 85% Odds of being Low Risk with ORF in April of Second Grade when At Risk with ORF in April of First Grade is 0 out of 6, or 0%

Odds of being Low Risk with ORF in April of Third Grade when Low Risk with ORF in April of Second Grade is 36 out of 39, or 95% Odds of being Low Risk with ORF in April of Third Grade when At Risk with ORF in April of Second Grade is 1 out of 12, or 8% District: Fresno Unified School: Bullard Talent Grade: Third Class: All Assessment: End Academic Year:

District: Fresno Unified School: Bullard Talent Grade: Second Class: All Assessment: End Academic Year: Odds of being above benchmark with CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST in Second Grade when low risk with ORF in April of Second Grade is 25 out of 33, or 76% Odds of being above benchmark with CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST in Second Grade when at risk with ORF in April of Second Grade is 0 out of 8, or 0%

District: Fresno Unified School: Bullard Talent Grade: Third Class: All Assessment: End Academic Year: Odds of being above benchmark with California Standards Test in Third Grade when low risk with ORF in April of Third Grade is 34 out of 49, or 69% Odds of being above benchmark with California Standards Test in Third Grade when at risk with ORF in April of Third Grade is 0 out of 8, or 0%

Individual Student Growth on PSF This student (first grade) made substantial growth in his ability the correctly segment phonemes after receiving intense early intervention using a research based reading intervention program

Individual Student Growth on NWF Growth was also seen in the ability to use alphabetic principal or phonic skills.

Individual Student Growth on ORF The gains made on the previous skills translated into this student’s ability to read connected text at over 60wpm by the end of the year.

Recommended Parameters for Establishing RTI Implementation This is a system change…. Must have top-down support in order to make it work! All members of the school team (including both general and special education) must understand the philosophy Need to continue to monitor and meet frequently to discuss change process Consistent and focused collaboration is key to the success of the program and to keep the children moving toward reading success. Need to identify Tier Model at your school: How many levels? What fits into each level? How is success monitored?

Conclusions Each school’s program may look different, but the basic premise is the same: –Screen Early –Identify those at risk for reading failure –Intervene using research based programs –Monitor students’ progress frequently (at least every 2 weeks) –Refer those students who do not respond for further assessment and possible Special Education Eligibility. These students are likely to have true disabilities rather than being “instructional casualties.”

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