Thoughts? Comments welcome.

[Superpsy]

I'm pretty excited now because of a conversation I had with my school superintendent. Just some background: the school districts I work with are VERY rural and VERY much stuck in using the discrepancy model for students who have learning disabilities. I've been trying to encourage the district to move toward the RtI model which most definitely does a better job of meeting student needs in a scientific and research-based way and isn't just limited to special education. The superintendent seemed VERY open to the model and asked for a brief (I tried to make it as short as I could) summary of the model, how it would look at my school and what my role would be under the new model. Here's what I wrote...I really do invite comments and constructive criticism. This is the first time I've seen openness to this idea and I want it to go well. Ignore the acronyms you don't know just let me know what you think....

Oh, by the way the first step with RtI in this district will be academic (just in case you're wondering why I didn't address behavior).

What is Response to Intervention (RtI)?

RtI is a model of service delivery to students within general education. Traditionally, children who are having difficulty in school have been referred to the school psychologist for an evaluation (through the Intervention Assistance Team) to see if the difficulty is due to a learning disability. This has been the only standardized process in place at XXX. RtI emphasizes how well students respond to changes in instruction. The primary purpose of RtI is to provide scientific, research-based instruction and interventions in general education. Student progress is monitored to gauge response to intervention and the results of monitoring are used to guide instruction and make educational decisions. This ensures that evaluation data is instructionally relevant and meaningful. RtI ensures that the needs of ALL children are met; not just those identified for special education services. RtI is a general education process NOT a special education process.

Why is RtI needed at XXX?

By July 2009 every district in the state of XXX will be required to present an RtI policy plan to the XXX Department of Education (XXXX, personal communication 3/6/2009). In addition, changes in state special education forms continue to emphasize that districts are allowed to use RtI to identify students with disabilities under IDEA 2004.

Currently, XXX uses a 'wait-to-fail' model of service delivery. That is, students who struggle in school may not be identified until the gap between them and their typically developing peers is severe enough to warrant referral to special education. Even then, in some cases some of these students who are referred for evaluation may not be eligible for services. These students are currently falling through the gaps and are not learning. RtI focuses on early intervention based on student needs. The needs of all students are met.

What is the role of the school psychologist in RtI?



Admittedly the role of the school psychologist will change under an RtI model of service delivery. New roles include but are not limited to:

• School psychologist training in the area of research can be utilized to make sure the overall RtI process and implementation is scientific and research-based.
• Working to obtain 'buy-in' from school district personnel. This is critical to the implementation of the RtI model at XXX.
• Evaluating training needs and training school personnel.
• Ongoing evaluation of RtI implementation
• Ensuring interventions used are scientific and research based.
• Identifying patterns of student needs.
• Aiding in developing standardized team procedures for RtI.
• Interpretation of RtI student data.
• Continued evaluation in the areas of cognitive, academic and mental health functioning.

How far along is XXX in implementing RtI?

Currently, XXX has many necessary components of an RtI approach to service delivery. The primary issue is that XXX lacks overall coordination of all these pieces. For example, AIMSweb is an excellent data management and progress monitoring tool, as well as universal screener. However, currently AIMSweb's monitoring capability is being used to monitor the effectiveness of the core curriculum (in most cases) and not the results of scientific, research based intervention or changes in instruction. Some other excellent resources and current infrastructure which can be folded into an RtI approach are: Read Naturally, XXX, XXX, XXX intervention, IAT and literacy coaching.

One of the primary barriers to implementing RtI at XXX is a lack of awareness of the model. Teachers have the best interest of their students at heart but are unsure of how to help them. Currently, the only way to meet student needs is through unsystematic interventions, special education and evaluation. Most teachers have a beginning awareness of RtI but are unsure of what a successful model looks like. RtI gives teachers the tools, infrastructure and skills to systematically address the needs of all students in their classroom.

 

[gcvmom]

Sounds great to me. I can't really comment specifically on the accuracy of what you've written, though, because I'm not very knowledgeable about this program.

Our elementary school began implementing RtI this year just for reading. They call the program Walk to Read: students are grouped by reading ability and then walk to another classroom for specialized instruction (sorry, I don't know how many times a week they are doing this -- I know I should).

I think this is a much better approach than the "wait-to-fail" method, which is what's been used traditionally, and is probably the reason my middle school student is struggling so much.

 

[Sheila]

Looks good to me.

We've had a lot of problems from parents with-schools trying to use RTI in place of qualifying students for special education. One thing they may want to keep in mind is that, "An RTI process does not replace the need for a comprehensive evaluation, and a child's eligibility for special education services cannot be changed solely on the basis of data from an RTI process..."

You've probably found the ed.gov references at http://idea.ed.gov/explore/search under the RTI search.

Hope you can get the sd to move forward on this. The discrepancy formula is frowned upon by the feds. Some states prohibit the use.

Best of luck, and let us know how it works out.

 

[Superpsy]

Thanks Sheila. I'm hoping the reaction to my FAQ is positive. My state allows continued use of the discrepancy formula unfortunately. It's quite the change from Colorado where they were moving to RtI only for SLD evaluations. I think the main barrier in my state is a lack of knowledge about the model.