A Parent’s Guide to Response to Intervention (RtI)
Warren County Public Schools
Where Children Prepare for Success
Warren County Board of Education
303 Lovers Lane
Bowling Green, KY 42102
270-781-5150
Introduction
Warren County schools are committed to helping all children succeed. With that goal,
schools have many ways to assist children who are struggling to learn and need additional
supports to be successful. Response to Intervention (RtI) is one form of support. This
booklet reviews the basic components of the RtI process and includes ways you can get
involved in the process and where to go if you have additional questions or concerns.
What is Response to Intervention?
Response to Intervention (RtI) is a process that provides high quality instruction &
educational supports to all students at increasing levels of intensity based on their
individual needs.
All students are monitored on a frequent basis to ensure that they are learning and
progressing as expected. If a student is not progressing, they are provided specialized
instruction, interventions and monitoring of progress. The information gathered by this
approach is used to make decisions and adjustments regarding the student’s educational
program.
What Does the RtI Process Look Like?
RtI is based on the idea to intervene as early as possible with evidence-based strategies when a
student shows signs of academic and/or behavioral problems. Each tier provides differing
levels of support.
 Tier I represents all students receiving high quality curriculum and instruction in the regular
education classroom. Typically 80-85% of school’s student population would only need this
level of instruction.
 Tier II represents students at risk, needing more strategic support than they are receiving
from the general curriculum. In many cases, this will be enough to get a child “back on track.”
Typically 10-15% of school’s student population would be receiving this level of instruction.
 Tier III represents students at risk needing intensive support/interventions. Typically 5-10%
of school’s student population would be receiving this level of instruction.
What are the components of RtI?
 Universal screenings are utilized to review progress of all students including
formal/information assessments, observations, etc. Universal screenings help
determine a student’s skill level and identify who may need more support or other
types of instruction.
 A three-tiered model of interventions and supports is utilized.
 Progress monitoring assesses outcomes of the intervention process in order to make
instructional decisions.
 Students can flow in & out of support based on their needs.
 Research based interventions are used to support students in the area they are
struggling. Research based interventions are strategies or methods that have been
proven to be effective in helping children learn.
 A process is in place to assess the fidelity of the implementation of instruction &
progress monitoring.
 Team problem-solving approach.
 Parent involvement.
Is RtI the same in all schools?
No. RtI will not be implemented in exactly the same way in all schools but the main
components listed earlier in this guide should exist in every school.
What are the goals of early intervention and RtI?
- Assist in preventing academic and behavioral problems
- Implement evidence-based instruction and interventions for all students
- Prevent unnecessary referrals to special education
- Be proactive rather than reactive to student difficulties
- Encourage teachers to utilize data when making instructional decisions
- Increase parent involvement
What is my involvement?
Parents may be involved in the following ways:
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Communicate frequently with the teacher(s).
Ask to see your child’s benchmark results.
Attend school functions, such as back-to-school & parent/teacher conferences.
Ask your child about their school day.
Monitor and assist with homework.
Support/reinforce the teacher(s).
Meet with the teacher(s) if your child starts to experience difficulties.
Praise your child for good work and discuss issues that are problems.
Ask the school to notify you of team meetings and progress of the interventions,
and even request to attend the team meetings.
Provide information and offer input to interventions and strategies and assist with
interventions as needed.
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Talk to your child’s teacher or principal for more information about how RtI is
being implemented in your child’s school.