 Response to Intervention A Good Fit for SAS Jan Cantrill (Pudong) Sarah Pearlz (Puxi)

Why we are here  SAS administrators have supported parts of the RTI model, but may not have the big picture  The RTI model is consistent with SAS’ current vision of assuring “academic and personal success” for a “broad range of students”  The RTI model provides a way to integrate assessment with instruction, so addresses one of the WASC goals

What is RTI?  Response to Intervention (RTI) is a model that  Supports the learning of all students  Provides early identification of student needs  Adjusts instruction based on student progress  Adjusts the intensity of intervention based on student response  Focuses on outcomes

Why RTI?  Proposed when IDEA was re-authorized in US in 2004 because  The number of students in special education programs had increased dramatically since 1975  Special education services could not be intensive because too many students  Minority students were over-represented in special education  Poor readers stayed poor readers: No gains

Big Ideas in RTI  Research-based classroom instruction  Universal screening  Multiple tiers of increasingly intensive interventions  Progress monitoring  Fidelity of intervention

Three-tiered model of intervention Tier 1 2 3

Examples: Tier One  Research-based curriculum for all students  Readers Workshop  Writers Workshop  Everyday Math  Words Their Way  Accelerated Reader

Examples: Tier Two  Targeted, time-limited intervention for some at-risk students  In-class short-vowel or math facts group  Flex group for reading fluency and comprehension  Counseling group  Behavioral contracts  Agenda checks  Peer tutoring  Pull-out, push-in ESOL support  Homework Opportunity Time (HOT)  Writing Center

Example: Tier Three  Intensive, indefinite intervention for a few students  Psycho-educational assessment to identify needs  Frequent and intensive intervention with research-based methods and time with a specialist  Individual goals developed  Progress monitored

Moving from one tier to the next…  At SAS, Student Support Teams (SST) track students’ progress  We encourage the use of data to measure improvement  Number of words read correctly per minute  Percent of written work completed independently in class  Number of visits to the nurse in a week  Quarter grades

Universal Screening  Short measures given to everyone  Purpose is to identify students at risk of not meeting curricular benchmarks  Examples: STAR Reading, DIBELS

Example of universal screening: STAR  Screen Shot

STAR Results Current 9 th and 10 th Graders Grade Level% students below 25 th percentile % students between 25 th and 49th percentile % students above 75 th percentile Grade 9 (n=122) Grade 10 (n=157)151448

Why does RTI work for SAS?  Provides students with weak skills help immediately (no wait-to-fail)  Gives a common framework to coordinate with ESOL  Is consistent with WASC recommendations  Is a model for serving a broad range of students

RTI: Some pieces are in place  Universal screening on the Pudong campus in many grades  Problem-solving teams (SSTs) exist at each division on each campus  ELL and AS programs are well-established  Careful attention is given to the curriculum and instruction

RTI: Some pieces are missing, for example…  Screening is not consistent across campuses  Tier Two interventions are not well developed throughout school  Progress monitoring of students who are in Tier Two interventions is inconsistent  Culture of examining data is in developing stage

What we would like from you  We would like to expand universal screening to both campuses  We would like to have more Tier Two options, e.g., reading, study skills, transition classes at secondary level  We would like you to look at RTI as a framework for using assessment data to inform and differentiate our instruction so we prepare students for academic and personal success

Support for who? We want to move from thinking of Academic Support as a program that serves a few kids at the top of the triangle…

Support for who? We want to move from thinking of Academic Support as a program that serves a few kids at the top of the triangle…

Support for all learners …to thinking of a system that helps teachers serve all our kids better.