District support for the implementation of secondary response to intervention
Date
2017
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
At the close of the 2013-2014 school year, many of the Indian River School District (IRSD) secondary schools did not have a whole-school approach to provide interventions to students who had historically not met state test benchmarks. Although some schools provided intervention classes, afterschool programs, or small group pull-out support, there was no process by which teachers could work collectively to identify at-risk students, assign interventions, and increase or decrease the level of support based on progress monitoring. In addition, there were few, if any, processes in place to analyze intervention data. Unlike the Response to Intervention (RTI) tiered approach in which a team reviews the progress of individual students and monitors progress regularly, the intervention classes provided assistance on a wholesale basis. Moreover, the afterschool programs provided extra support for all students, not just those identified as the most at-risk. RTI looks at students on a more individualized basis. Schools must provide a learning environment that accounts for the various learning styles of the students. This means that they must provide supports (or interventions) for struggling learners. Simply allowing students to continue to struggle without changing the instructional strategies is unacceptable. RTI provides a way for schools to screen students and look at their past academic history so interventions may be put in place to prevent academic failure. While leaders of the IRSD schools recognized the need for intervention, they wrestled with how to determine where to find the time and resources to effectively plan for such an intense and important program. A systemic approach to instructional differentiation is now a “must” if educators desire to meet the needs of all students.
Description
Keywords
Education, Afterschool programs, Response to intervention, Support