The RTI Model: RESPONSE TO
INSTRUCTION
WHAT IS IT ?
HOW DOES IT WORK?
ARE WE COMMITTED?
Response To Intervention
• RTI is the practice of providing
• high-quality instruction and
intervention
• matched to student need, monitoring
• progress frequently to make decisions
• about change in instruction,
differentiation or goals and applying
child response data to important
educational decisions.
• (NASDSE, 2005)
What Happens When Kids Don't Learn
?
• High expectations for success will be
judged not only by the initial staff
beliefs and behaviors, but also by the
organization’s response when some
students do not learn.”
• ~ Larry Lezotte ~
We Must Remember…
• No system of interventions can compensate for
weak and ineffective teaching. At the same time
a school is working to develop time and support
for student learning, it must take steps to create
the powerful collaborative teams and common
assessments that contribute to adult learning.
• Core curriculum must be solid, and delivered with
FIDELITY. Without this, the system of
intervention will be overwhelmed.
Beliefs
• Do we believe it is the purpose of our school
to ensure that all students learn at their
highest potential?
• Do we acknowledge that students learn at
different rates and with different levels of
support?
• Have we created a schedule that guarantees
students will receive additional opportunities
for learning, in a systematic way, regardless of
who the teacher might be?
PASSION STATEMENT
• We at Mintie White will not rest until
students and teachers are purposefully
engaged and invested in ongoing,
meaningful, systematic learning.
• Teachers and students effectively
collaborate in an environment where
everyone’s ideas are heard, validated and
honored in order to advance each student.
ASSESSING OUR SCHOOL
• Are our students assured EXTRA TIME AND
SUPPORT?
• Is our response TIMELY? How quickly are WE
able to identify the kids who need extra time
and support?
• Is our response prompt intervention or
sluggish remediation?
• Is our response SYSTEMATIC? Do kids receive
this help according to a school-wide plan?
If you answered “NO”…
• You probably are wondering…
– How to organize?
– Where is the money?
– Where are the people?
– Where is the time?
– What does it look like?
• WHAT IS RTI?
• Read article
RTI: RESPONSE TO INTRUCTION
A Process not a Program
3 components combined for success:
Collaboration, Scaffolding, Ongoing
Assessment throughout school, and within
grade levels
Staff created schedule which disperses
support staff, special ed staff, throughout
grade levels in order to lower student to
teacher ratio in reading for the lowest levels.
Flexible Grouping
 45minutes per day
 Meets the needs of ALL students, gifted,FBB,
BB,B,Pros , Adv etc and Special Needs kids
 Students are moved to another level at any time
based on assessments
 It is NOT TRACKING: It only encompasses part of a
day
 Instruction is at instructional level: Creates
success and promotes high interest
 Provides 3-4 times more direct instruction
What it is Not…….
•A program with a prescribed set of rules
•Programs that have to be purchased to make it happen
•Time in addition to the Language Arts Block
•TRACKING…where students must remain in the same level all year
•A cookie cutter approach where a system is super-imposed over a school
and they must conform to a program
•Top-down direction that includes “RTI POLICE” watching that it is done “
correctly”
•A way to get “RID” of special education
•Only successful if there is a certain amount of support people in a school
•A fixed creation that must always be the same with no room for adaptation
•Teachers planning in isolation for their level of instruction and not utilizing
the problem solving methods of collaboration.
Benefits of RTi
• Grade levels receive higher scores on
assessments
• Teachers streamline instruction due to smaller
range of developmental levels in reading class
• Collaborations ensure teaching of Power
Standards that are mastered
• INCLUSION of SPECIAL ED STUDENTS
• ALL students can learn what they need to.
What will it take?
• Inclusive leadership: teachers as leaders
• Continual Collaboration: PLCs,DATA TEAMS, lesson
planning, assessments, dialogue
• Resources need to be lined up .
• Visits to other RTI schools
• TRUST your colleagues with your students!
• Schedule by Grade Levels
• Letting go of “comfortable” structures until it flows.
• Believing it is the best for our students.
Benefits for Students?
• Students with behavior problems will decrease.
• Struggling students will feel less overwhelmed
and frustrated
• Accelerated students can go higher are no longer
bored
• Costs are minimal
• Differentiated Instruction: Reading and Writing
Workshop? Skills taught that are needed to
access regular classroom program.
Have a Passion
• Olga does not say “Do this, or You have to”
• You will need to make a personal commitment
to the process by agreeing to the passion
statement made by your peers
• Some staff will be skeptical,”I’ve seen it all!”
• Some don’t want to change what is working
right now.”
• Olga will support you and will help protect
your time.
K-1 Model
5 min.----Letter/Sound review ( letter sound
recognition and building phonics skills)
5-10 min---Sightword Vocabulary ( inmediate
recognition for transference to text )
5-10 min.-----Phonemic Awareness
20 min. Guided Reading ( reading strategies,build
comprehension, observe reading behaviors)
Dictate and Write: Put together learning in a
meaningful way
2-5 Model
for Intensive Students
Using Power Standards and DATA: 3 Rotations
o Word Skills: Letters and Sounds: Follow sequence
of Word Skills
o Literary Analysis: Leveled Reading materials:
Work on Comprehension
o Graphic Organizers
o Reading Standards: Across Grade levels
o Use of Adopted Materials ( HM)
o Other materials on standard being taught
2-5 Model
Benchmark Group
Word Skills: Letters/Sounds, Greek/Latin prefixes,
suffixes, roots
Literary Analysis: leveled reading, Beginning
novels,Literature Circles, Readers Workshop, Graphic
organizers
Articulation of Power Standards: ie. Main Idea
Use of adopted Curriculum ( HM) to :
 Build background, vocabulary, story,workbook pages
Graphic organizers and additional materials on
Standard
Enrichment
2-5 Model
• Word Skills: letters and Sounds, Greek/Latin Prefixes,
suffixes, Roots
• Literary Analysis: Novels, Literature Circles,Graphic
Organizers, response to Literature
Reading Standards: Articulation of Power Standards: ie.
Main Idea
Use of adopted Curriculum ( HM) to :
 Build background, vocabulary, story, workbook pages
Graphic organizers and additional materials on
Standard
What Would It Take?
•Commitment , TRUST, Communication, Planning
•Determine who does what at each level
•Determine materials used and needed
•Determine Assessments used at each grade level.
•Make visits to Rosemary and other places to see it in
action
•Provide Support Staff Training on grade level
Expectations
How many of the things mentioned are we already
Doing ?
Time Commitment?
•45-50 minutes a day
•4 days a week
•SAMPLE:
•8:10-9:00 4/5 grade
•9:15-10:00 3rd grade
•10:05-10:55 1/2 grade
The Mintie White Support Team
EQUITY for All Students
Suggestions and Possibilities
4/5: Jan, Jose, Terry, Nancy, ?
3: Jan, Tony, Jose, ?
1/2: Jan, Lynn, Jose, Tony, ?
The hard question we need to answer in Response to
Instruction is
Are we using our resources in the best way to meet the
needs of as many kids as we can?
DATA
FBB
BB
Ba
Grades
Blue= 3 Orange=4
Pro
Adv
Green=5
Data says that we have many students to move forward who’s
needs are not being met. How do we do this and not flat line?
AYP standards have gone up to 56% of our students must be
proficient to stay in Safe Harbor and get out of PI status.
Reflections
1. Can we start one level at a time?
2. What grades may want to look at implementing this
PROCESS in January?
3. What grade levels might be interested in exploring options to
providing equity across the school using our resources?
4. What do we have to be faithful to if we do not respond to
instruction using this model? Ie. Quality of UA time? How are
we ensuring that the necessary reading skills are being
taught daily and systematically? Interventions?
5. If we really put our effort this year to get out of PI status, it
could free us of mandates and allow for more creative
teaching. How can we continue as A WHOLE SCHOOL to
work towards this?
Thanks, the decision is yours. Shared
leadership means that , exactly.
What will you do as a team to ensure
that all students’ needs are met at
every level.
We can do it our way in an equitable
fashion.
THE BIG DECISION
Second grade would pilot and begin in January
Visit Rosemary for grades 1,2,3
Third grade will begin in February
First Grade will visit Second and third grade and will begin
planning
Olga will get materials bought and ready
Reading Teachers will be hired by the hour to push in.
Teachers will test students for placement .
Grade levels will begin to place students in target groups
Look at DATA
Scheduling
COLLABORATION days given to team by Olga
Lot’s of Kudos all of the way around
Teachers Shine within their own school
No need to visit other schools when you have success at your
own school.