Living Sky School Division No. 202
Response to Intervention
A Framework for School Effectiveness
2014
1
PREAMBLE:
Response to Interventions (RtI) is a multi-tiered approach that is used to help students be
successful in their learning. Through gap analysis, student progress is closely monitored at each
stage of intervention to determine the need for further research based instruction and/or
intervention.
Living Sky School Division Mission Statement: Shaping Our Future Through Thoughtful
Schools. We believe that thoughtful schools are schools where students and staff focus on
learning.
 Learning to respect people and property.
 Learning to become full contributing members of society.
 Learning to celebrate success.
 Living to learn, learning to live; a commitment to learning.
Vision: Living Sky School Division believes in Growth Without Limits, Learning For All. This
statement represents an environment where staff and students flourish
Guiding Principles and Beliefs
Living Sky School Division adheres to the following principles:
 Commitment
 Courage
 Honesty
 Inclusion
 Innovation
 Integrity
 Mutual respect
 Trust
We believe:
1. Student learning is priority number one.
2. Students learn and staff work best in caring, respectful environments.
3. In relevant, responsive, results oriented curriculum.
4. Collaborative, authentic partnerships build strength.
5. Our organization is accountable to students, parents and community.
6. In prevention and early intervention as most effective practice.
7. Our organization strengthens through shared leadership.
Purpose of RtI:
 To create an efficient, effective and relevant process to input, retrieve and utilize
behavioral and/or academic delays
 Establish consistency around process
 Transition student data from year to year
 Provide a framework to support interventions for the classroom teacher
2
Why RtI?
1) RtI allows educators to proactively identify students who are struggling with academics and/or
behaviors. It allows schools to plan collaboratively and to provide targeted interventions to all
students.
2) RtI aligns with the philosophy that all students can learn.
3) RtI supports the philosophy of inclusion.
RtI means?
 All students must receive teaching based on best practice at Tier 1 before moving into
Tier 2 and 3
 Assessment and data collection must occur in all tiers in order to gauge success and
determine future interventions.
 Involving more than one strategy, intervention or resource.
 A framework for all students
 A systematic process for ensuring that all students learn
 RtI is NOT: special education
3
Tier 1 (Universal), Tier 2, and Tier 3






80%-85% of our students must have their learning and behavior needs met by Tier 1
interventions.
After several interventions have been investigated and adequate data has been collected it
is then that the decision to examine Tier 2 or 3 interventions would be made.
Remember “The Core and More” – at times having students pulled out for interventions
is necessary, but the primary tier 2 interventions should happen within the classroom.
These interventions should not take time away from the core of understanding, but rather
be truly supplemental interventions.
Tier 3 interventions are appropriate for less than 5% of our students.
The goal will be help the students find success using Tier 1 interventions whenever
possible.
4
Although RtI has three tiers of intervention, it begins and ends with the classroom teacher. The
primary focus of the classroom teacher should and must be on ensuring that they are providing a
rich, differentiated, research based learning experience tailored to the individual readiness
levels of the students. It is crucial that throughout the process the teacher gather rich data which
can be used by them and the other members of the school based RtI team to gauge success and
determine future interventions.
“When supplementary instruction is needed, it should take place in the classroom
whenever possible and be directed toward the specific needs of small groups and
individuals. The goal of intervention is to help children use their strengths to learn what
they need to know next to benefit fully from classroom instruction. A symbiotic
relationship between each layer of instruction ensures the success of our most vulnerable
children.” (Pinnell and Fountas, 2009)
The RtI Tier 2 Referral Process
Who is on the school based RtI Tier 2 team?
 Administrator
 Student Services Teacher
 Educational Assistant
 Classroom Teacher
 Student Services Department professionals
Who can be referred?
All students who are experiencing academic and/or behavioral gap, as identified through
Progress Monitoring can be referred. Referral is available to all students.
When do I refer a student to the RtI team?
Classroom teachers will refer students to the RtI team lead when academic and/or behavioral
gaps become evident through collection of classroom based data. It is an expectation that
parental contact will have occurred prior to the referral process
The following outlines the RtI Tier 2 referral process:
NOTE: early and timely intervention is ideal. RtI teams should assist classroom teachers with
proactive strategies/interventions throughout the process. For example, a student identified may
be removed from those requiring more intensive supports after early intervention and may never
proceed to the formal RtI referral.
5
a) Identifying At-Risk Students
Identify the academic and/or behavioral gaps that have become evident as a result of classroom
based data collection. Be as specific as possible. Identification of gaps may require observations
to be completed by SST.
b) Documentation and Data Collection of Classroom Based (Tier 1) Interventions –
Collate the documentation and data collected for the team. This is to include the interventions
that have taken place thus far in the classroom.
c) Complete and submit the Team Meeting Data Form
Complete the form in its entirety and email to members of the school based RtI team. Parental
notification is required.
d) RtI School Team Meeting
The referred student will be formally discussed at a regularly scheduled RtI team meeting. In
some instances an emergency RtI meeting may be held. The referring teacher is to be part of the
meeting with the RtI team. Classroom teacher involvement may happen in a variety of ways.
During the meeting an intervention success plan will be developed to further support the student.
e) Progress Monitoring and Follow-Up
Following the meeting, the success plan will be implemented and monitored. The RtI team will
review the progress of the intervention(s). When a case has been successfully closed, RtI
information will be archived for future use. However, the individual student may not be part of
the RtI team’s active meeting list. Open cases may be transitioned from year to year.
Note: Parental/Student Communication
Prior to the RtI team meeting the RtI team will initiate communication with the parent/guardian
and student. This communication is to include the purpose of the meeting and the results of the
meeting. Parental/guardian and student attendance may be appropriate.
Data Collection
What is Data?
Data is information, qualitative or quantitative, that gives us a clear picture of performance. Data
should be organized into an easy to use format when presented to the RtI team (ie: collate,
organize by themes, chart, etc.) so that it is readily usable. Data should be shared at the
beginning and during the process of interventions.
 Attendance records
 Behavior documentation
o Anecdotal records
o Discipline/incidence reports
o Tally sheets
o ABC form
o Self-reporting data
6
o Report Card Behavior Data (shows caring, follows class and school rules, arrives
on time with materials & participates in activities, respectful to others and
property, takes responsibility for actions and decisions, punctual task completion
& assignment submission, willing to work with all classmates, includes
classmates at recess and in classroom. encourages and includes others, takes
initiative, does the right thing, wants to learn and help others, good role model,
completes assignments, keeps trying when the work gets hard, stays on task,
organized











Academic Achievement
Documented conversations
Work samples
Student portfolios
Classroom observations (formal and informal)
Assessment tools – formative and summative
Rubrics
Student Services reports and assessments
Parent reports
Parent contacts
Anecdotal records – academic
Why collect data?
Data collection is an essential component of RtI as it is used to guide decision making. Within
RtI data is collected for two major purposes: initial identification of at-risk students and progress
monitoring or evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.
What type of data needs to be collected?
In order to effectively guide decision making, information that may help to ensure the success of
the student should be considered. The data may be qualitative or quantitative in nature.
Note: If classroom data shows that less that 80-90% of students are meeting or exceeding the
outcomes and indicators, then we need to look at the classroom strategies and interventions
rather than pulling out 40% of the children for remediation.
Divisional Expectations Re: RtI

Effective Fall 2014 – this document is the framework for RtI and will be utilized as such
7
RtI Teams
Many schools already have School Based or Yellow level RtI teams. The Response to
Intervention (RtI) team is a collaborative team that oversees the implementation of RtI within the
school. The RtI team meets to address the behavioral and academic needs of those students who
have been referred due to demonstration that they are not learning and are at risk for failure.
More specifically, the RtI team analyzes data, identifies learning problems, proposes intervention
type and frequency, monitors progress and evaluates interventions.
The core members of a school’s RtI team are school-based professionals including classroom
teachers, EAs, SSTs, School Liaison Workers, Administrators, and Counselors when appropriate.
If the RtI team determines that Tier 3 interventions need to be implemented, other appropriate
educational professionals and/or outside agencies will become members of the RtI team.
The following diagram outlines the RtI team members at each Tier.
Tier 3
Includes: Classroom Teacher, SST,
Administrator, Counselor, OT, SLP, Psych,
Student and Family Support Worker, School
Liaison worker, Parent, Outside Agencies
Tier 2
Includes: Classroom Teacher, SST,
Administrator, Counselor
Tier 1 (Universal)
Includes: Classroom Teacher, SST,
Administrator
Figure 1: Key People at Each Tier
8
RtI Team Function
The RtI Team must include the following functions:
 Creation of a time sensitive agenda
 Define the gap
 Data collection and analysis
 Devise strategies for intervention and implementation
 Disseminate information to appropriate stakeholders
 Support referring teachers with implementation and progress monitoring
 Act as a resource for teachers (ie: SST)
 Report to team members regarding progress
 Track student success through the tiers
 Provide transition data and information
 Engagement of parents
The core RtI Team members may look like the following: Except for the team leader, these roles
may rotate amongst the members. The roles and responsibilities are as follows:
Team Leader:
 Guides the progress monitoring process
 Keeps the discussion focused and solution based
 Creates and encourages a supportive and collaborative atmosphere.
 Brings the group to a consensus
 Delegates responsibilities to team members
Record Keeper:
 Takes minutes at the meetings
 Distributes minutes to all members after the meeting
Time Keeper:
 Keeps the group on task
 Ensures the agenda items are allotted the appropriate amount of time for discussion
 Keeps track of time so that the meeting is completed within the allotted amount of time
Case Manager:
 Acts as the liaison person for the RtI team between the team and other stakeholders (ie:
parents, outside agencies, receiving teachers)
 Ensures that the team members have all the information they need about students who are
referred; this may mean that they need to complete interviews with teachers, parents and
students when appropriate.
 Assists the referring teacher with the implementation of interventions.
RtI Team Meetings
Each RtI Team will meet as often as necessary to discuss any students who have been referred
and to review the progress of previously referred students. Emergency meetings may be called
to discuss specific students if the need arises.
9
It is recommended that RtI Teams establish team norms that:
 Reference the amount of time spent per student
 Team members will prepare for meeting by reading available
documentation/agenda prior to meeting
The RtI team may follow and agenda format like below:
1) Introductions (if needed)
2) Assign roles
3) Identify the referred student; discuss strengths
4) Define the gap and specific area of concern based on data
5) Review data – this will include the strategies that have already been implemented in the
classroom; discuss what has worked and what has not worked.
6) Identify contributory issues (what might be causing the learning and/or behavioral gap?)
Ask the following three essential questions:
a. WHAT? What instructional methods, instructional materials, measurement of
student performance and curriculum linkages may be contributing to the problem?
b. WHERE? How does the environment contribute to the problem? This includes
place of instruction, time of instruction and quality of educational surroundings.
c. WHO? Student readiness and motivation to learn, school culture and climate and
parental support for learning contribute to the gap?
7) Define the function of the behaviors – ask why this behavior is occurring; it may be
required to ask “why” several times before the root cause is discovered.
8) Develop alternative interventions as solutions to the primary causes. When determining
which intervention(s) to implement, consider the following factors:
a. Which interventions will provide the greatest improvement in the shortest amount
of time and with the fewest resources?
b. Which solutions are in the school’s control?
9) Create a documented plan for implementation
10) Set a date and time for a follow-up meeting.
Note: The intervention process does not end when the meeting ends. The following steps will be
completed after the meeting:
11) implement the interventions
12) monitor progress of interventions by collecting data
Note: if after a length of time, the student is not responding to Tier 2 intervention, the team can
make the decision for referral to further assessment and/or support from Division Office Student
Services Professionals.
10