RtI-MTSS District Leadership Team:
Where to Begin
LaChawn Smith, NHCS, Director of Instruction
lachawn.smith@nhcs.net
Cynthia Shields, NHCS, ELA Lead Teacher
cynthia.sheilds@nhcs.net
Courtney Moates, Sunset Park Elementary School, Special Education Teacher
courtney.moates@nhcs.net
Leigh Gates, NHCS, RtI Specialist
leigh.gates@nhcs.net
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Go to the following link…
www.todaysmeet.com/NHCSRTI
(a presentation back channel)
Answer questions
 Ask questions
Access up to a month from now
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Agenda
A Little About You & A Little About Us :
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Clicker Questions
Overview of TodaysMeet
Brief History of RtI in NHCS
District Leadership Team Critical Components:
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Research & Practice
Successes and Barriers:
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Ours & Yours
Next Steps:
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Where Do We Go From Here?
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What are your next 3 steps as an individual, team, or district?
A Little About You &
A Little About Us
4
What state are you from?
A.
B.
C.
D.
75%
North Carolina
Virginia
Massachusetts
Other
25%
0%
5
A.
0%
B.
C.
D.
What is your grade level?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Multiple
75%
25%
0%
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A.
0%
B.
C.
D.
How many years of experience do you
have with RtI?
A.
B.
C.
D.
No experience
1-5
6-10
More than 10
75%
25%
0%
7
A.
0%
B.
C.
D.
What is your role?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
General Education Teacher
Special Education Teacher
Instructional Support
School Administrators
District Administrator
State Administrator
Other
75%
25%
0%
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A.
0%
B.
C.
D.
Summary of TodaysMeet
www.todaysmeet.com/NHCSRTI
(a presentation back channel)
What is your experience with RtI District
Leadership Teams:
What are your successes?
What are your challenges?
What are your questions?
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History of RtI in NHCS
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NHCS was 1 of the original 5 pilot sites for PSM in NC
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Pilot sites were supported & trained by EC @ State Dept.
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RtI was “birthed” in Special Education in NHCS
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Special Education partnered w/ Instruction @ State level ‘10
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NHCS is trying to bridge the Sped & Instruction gap with
the RtI District Leadership Team
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District Leadership Team
Critical Components
Research &
Practice
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The What
IMPLEMENTATION TEAMS
Impl. Team
NO Impl. Team
80%, 3 Yrs
14%, 17 Yrs
Making It
Happen
Letting it Happen
Helping it
Happen
Effective
Question:
How many folks have an RtI District Leadership Team?
How long has it been in place?
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Slide adapted from NC DPI RtI Regional Training 11/2/12
Elementary
Education
Director
Middle School
Director
Federal Programs
Director
PBIS Coordinator
RtI Coordinator
EC Director
Assistant
Superintendent
Accountability
Director
Classroom
Teacher/Principal
Curriculum
Coaches
District Team
High School
Director
EXAMPLE Team Members
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Slide adapted from NC DPI RtI Regional Training 11/2/12
The
Who
Question:
Who is on your Team?
Instruction
Director
Student Services
Director
EC Director
Lead ELA Teacher
Lead Math Teacher
RtI Specialist
Lead Science
Teacher
Parent Liaison
Assistant Principal
Psychologist
Special Education
Liaison
Team Members
RtI-MTSS
Coordinator from
a Pilot School
Special Education
Teacher
NHCS District Team
Question:
Who14are we missing?
The
Who
Slide adapted from NC DPI RtI Regional Training 11/2/12
The How
Teams: Purpose
District
School
District implementation
District-wide problem-solving
Provide support to schools
School implementation
School-wide problem-solving
Provide support to staff
Grade/
Department
Grade/Department (PLC?)
problem-solving
Individual Student
Individual student problem-solving
Question:
How can we connect these teams for implementation fidelity?
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Slide taken from NC DPI RtI Regional Training 11/2/12
District Leadership Team
The How
RtI Coach
School Leadership Team
Grade Level
Coach
Grade Level
Coach
Grade/
Department
Grade/
Department
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Slide taken from NC DPI RtI Regional Training 11/2/12
Grade Level
Coach
Grade/
Department
The How
District Team
Coach
School Team
Alignment
Vision
Initiatives
Collaboration
Teaming
Video from
Johnston County:
Aligning Initiatives
Question:
What are some suggestions for aligning visions, initiatives, collaboration,
and teaming across departments?
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Slide taken from NC DPI RtI Regional Training 11/2/12
The When & Where
Work Group
School/District
Leadership Team
COMMUNICATION
Question:
What are the topics of your work groups?
How could/do you facilitate communication
back to the District Leadership Team?
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Slide taken from NC DPI RtI Regional Training 11/2/12
Work Group
Work Group
Strategies and Barriers
Ours &
Yours
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Rick DuFour:
Groups vs. Teams
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Strategy:
Implementation
Science
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Question:
What is your
experience w/
implementation
science?
Strategy:
The Hexagon
Tool
Question:
Have you heard
of this tool?
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Strategy: Facilitators and Barriers
Question: What are your facilitators? What are your barriers?
Facilitators
staffing rich,
list of district initiatives,
RtI process is in place in practice and
policy,
possibility of DSW funding,
potential partnerships with UNCW,
potential access to WebEx,
DPI support for training,
potential dedicated position
need is high in some schools
the promise of less paperwork
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Barriers
PD capacity and resources,
site-based management,
technology lagging behind,
consistent terminology and definitions,
educational silos,
lack of implementation plan at each school
politics
lack of models
lack of framework
resources exist, but not available, yet
fidelity
buy-in: the "s/he needs an IEP" mindset
Implementation
Drivers
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Next Steps:
Where Do We Go From Here?
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Please Complete the “Next Steps” Section of the
Handout for yourself and/or your district…
The How
Team Members
Ours
&
Yours
The Where
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The When
Questions or Comments?
Thank you for participating!
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References
Regional Trainings provided by North Carolina Department
of Public Instruction: Responsiveness to Instruction
SISEP: State Implementation & Scaling Up Evidence-based
Practices
NIRN: National Implementaiton Research Network
Video from Johnston County: Aligning Initiatives
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RtI-MTSS District Leadership Team:
Where to Begin
LaChawn Smith, NHCS, Director of Instruction
lachawn.smith@nhcs.net
Cynthia Shields, NHCS, ELA Lead Teacher
cynthia.sheilds@nhcs.net
Courtney Moates, Sunset Park Elementary School, Special Education Teacher
courtney.moates@nhcs.net
Leigh Gates, NHCS, RtI Specialist
leigh.gates@nhcs.net
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