RTI: considerations for school leaders

Implement the action plan

Fidelity of Implementation

Implementation Guidelines

Professional Development

Evaluation and Revision

Scheduling Considerations

Parent-School Patnerships

Classroom Support for Teachers

Data Management

Potential School Resources

This process is complex and requires building an infrastructure, and because every shoals unique, the infrastructure will differ from school to school

Assessment

To implement RTI, schools need to develop guidelines concerning RTI-related procedures. These guidelines should provide information on how the school will implement the primary RTI components: high-quality instruction, frequent assessment, tiered interventions, and data-based decision making. A written record of these guidelines (i.e., a manual) will help school personnel implement RTI with fidelity.

Step2: determine the training goals

Scheduling is often overlooked, but it is important for the successful implementation of the RTI approach. As Mr. Irwin, Ms. Hooper, and the planning team start to think about the adjustments they need to make to accommodate those involved in the RTI process, they realize they need to schedule several activities:

When teachers first implement a new approach in class, they may feel overwhelmed by the additional or alternative demands. Mr. Irwin understands that he can reduce their stress by providing:

Parent-school partnerships are essential to improving educational outcomes for all students. In order to establish good parent-school partnerships, school personnel need to remember rules of basic courtesy when communicating with all parents, taking into consideration different cultural, linguistic, educational, economic, and racial backgrounds. The box below provides some suggestions regarding communicating with parents.

Schools implementing the RTI approach are finding that it typically requires a three- to six-year commitment, a range consistent with the findings from systems change research. Therefore, it is important for schools to set up a data management system that will enable them to examine student data over time (e.g., by grading period, by year, or across several years). A good data management system will help principals generate accountability reports, demonstrate the success of the approach, and facilitate the sharing of data with faculty, parents, other principals, and interested community members. Establishing a data management system involves:

Evaluating implementation is the final step in the change process. This step is critical for determining whether an intervention has been effective. During this step, school personnel perform two important tasks: assessing the fidelity of implementation and evaluating outcome data.

Whereas fidelity checks ensure that the RTI approach is being implemented correctly, schools use other sources of data to document student performance. These data may include:

Most Schools will have to balance:

Resources

Implementation guidelines

Professional development

Scheduling considerations

Teacher support

Parent-school partnerships

Data management

Instruction

Personnel

Time

RTI coach

Data-interpretation assistant

Instructional assistant

Research-based curriculum

Research-based supplements

culturally relevant materials

Universal screening measures

progress monitoring tools

data management system

To plan instruction

to collaborate with other teachers

to discuss student data

to meet with a coach or mentor

Step 3: Deliver the training

Step 1: assess staff members' professional development needs

Step 4: evaluate the success of the training

Analyze assessment data at the student, classroom, grades and school levels

Use this information in conjunction with observational data, teacher requests that are based on data, and information from other sources to identify areas of need

Set goals for professional development that will address teachers’ needs
Use the goals to determine the specific content for professional development

Determine activities for delivering professional development

Evaluate the professional development
Design, adjust, or refine ongoing professional development to address identified needs

90 minutes of uninterrupted core-reading time in the general education classroom

Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention time coordinated between teachers and intervention providers

Release time for teachers to plan instruction, to collaborate with other teachers, to discuss student data, and to meet with a coach or mentor

In-class supports

Release time

Encouragement and positive reinforcement

Developing procedures for collecting, entering, and sharing data

Training staff on data collection and management procedures

Setting up a database

Standardized reading scores

Progress monitoring data

The number of students referred for evaluations or identified as having learning disabilities

The number of students receiving Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions

Pupil data (e.g., number of absences)