Implementing RTI:
Are Some Classrooms More
“Ready” Than Others?
Jeanette McCollum - Univ. of IL., Champaign-Urbana, IL
DELL-D (Developing Early Language & Literacy in Danville),
an Early Reading First Project
RTI Summit, Kansas City
October 12-13, 2010
Disclaimer
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Assessment tools and other information and materials mentioned or
shown by presenters or grantees are provided as resources and
examples for the viewer's convenience. Their inclusion is not intended
as an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education. In addition,
the instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in this
presentation is not intended to mandate, direct, or control a State's,
local educational agency's, or school's specific instructional content,
academic achievement system and assessments, curriculum, or
program of instruction. States and local programs are free to use any
instructional content, achievement system and assessments,
curriculum, or program instruction that they wish, so long as the
instructional materials and literacy activities meet the Early Reading
First statutory requirement of being based on scientifically based
reading research that supports the age-appropriate development of the
language and literacy skills described in the Early Reading First
statute, and are part of their approved grant application.
CONTEXT: The DELL-D Project
DELL-D - Developing Early
Language & Literacy in Danville
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Early Reading First
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U.S. Dept. of Education (3-year projects, with 4th year
carry-over)(2007-2011)
Communities with high percentage of low-income families
Primary activities - implement research-based literacy
curriculum, build classroom environments to support
language/literacy, provide intensive professional
development
Partnerships with and among community entities providing
care & education to young children, including school
districts
DELL-D Community Partners
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University of Illinois (Early Childhood & Parenting
Collaborative, ECAP)
Danville School District (4 classrooms, 1 site)
Head Start (East Central Illinois Community Action
Agency) (3 classrooms, 2 sites; additional jointly
funded classroom at DACC)
DACC Child Care Center (Danville Area Community
College) (2 classrooms, 1 site; additional jointly
funded classroom with Head Start)
Early Learning Center (Center for Children’s
Services) (3 classrooms, 1 site)
Teachers
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Wide range of teacher backgrounds
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Education - CDA to Master’s
Certification - District teachers only
Experience - 1st year to over 20 years
Ethnicity - Caucasian & African-American (each
site)
Child Demographics (Year 3)
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Total of 258 children in project (191 for full year)
52% going to Kindergarten in following year
80% from low income families
35% Caucasian, 47% African-American, 12% biracial, 6% other
5% dual language learners
12% with IEPs plus 4% with speech plans
40% of the 258 children met criteria for Tier 2 at fall
or winter testing
22% in Tier 2 intervention at any one time
Tier 1 - The Basics
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High quality language/literacy environment
(materials, use of space, roles)
Fidelity to curriculum selected for language/literacy
teaching (TROPHIES)
Intentional teaching interactions (large group, small
group, centers)
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During curriculum activities
Throughout routines of day
Linked assessment/instruction (benchmark
assessments three times/year, unit-based CBMs)
Grant Support
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Classrooms received materials, supplies, and
equipment to support language/literacy teaching
ALL teachers participated in intensive, ongoing
professional development activities addressing all
areas of language/literacy teaching
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Institutes
Monthly meetings for small group work
Weekly coaching
CRIS: DELL-D’s
Quality Rating System
CRIS - Classroom Recognition &
Improvement System
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What it includes - ELLCO ratings, curriculum fidelity,
rating scales (instructional strategies), use of data to
inform teaching
Why we developed it - Initial rate of classroom
improvement began to flatten out (end of Year 1)
What we use it for
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Recognize classroom growth - celebration
Focus professional development planning
Set classroom goals to guide coaching
Year 3 - added - which classrooms would begin to learn &
use RTI
How It Works …
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Levels of accomplishment
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Bronze
Silver
Gold
Specific criteria to move to next level
Specific steps within each level
Recognized for steps within areas, areas
within levels, & achievement of new levels
Examples of Changing Criteria
Sample
Criteria
ELLCO
Score
Curriculum
Fidelity
Teaching Strategy
Checklists
Making
Curriculum
Decisions
Bronze
Silver
- all items =>3
- 57/95 total
Gold
- majority items
=> 4
- 69/95 total
- 22/29 curriculum - 22/29 curriculum
segments, 3 themes segments, 2 units
in a row
in a row
60% items
70% items
- 22/29 curriculum
segments, semiannual checks
80% items
CBMs 3 children
CBMs all children
CBMs 6 children
- 40% items = 5
- 84/95 total
Percent of Classrooms at Each
Level at End of Each Year
Level
Year1
Year2
Year3
Bronze
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80
100
Silver
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70
90
Gold
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50
70
Relationship between
CRIS and RTI (Tier 2)
Tier 2 What we intended, how we began
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Tutoring
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Teachers (retired) from community
2 days/week, full half-day
Specific small-group tutoring process for each day (2-day
book reading, 1-day phonological awareness, 1-day print
concepts)
Monitoring process build into 2-day tutoring, aligned with
unit structure of curriculum
Children selected based on PPVT <85 and performance on
other assessments, fall/winter)
Year 3 - Connected changes in
CRIS & Tier 2 RTI
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Based on
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Changes in quality of classrooms
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New emphasis on RTI in district, including decision to start
RTI in all Pre-K classrooms
CLASS results (began using in Year 2)
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Some classrooms beginning to top out on CRIS
Improving beyond mid-range on ES and CO
Improving but still low on IS, even in Gold classrooms
Set “Gold” as criterion for beginning to do Tier 2 on
own
Added a new “Platinum” level, including
implementation of Tier 2 RTI
Beginning of Year 4:
Where We Are
Year 4:
Which classrooms are doing what?
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Working toward platinum - beginning to implement
RTI, tutors no longer present
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Working toward maintaining gold - in transition, with
tutors still present
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4 district classrooms
1 child care/Head Start classroom (jointly funded, located in
child care center)
2 child care classrooms (located in child are center)
Achieved bronze, working toward silver and gold
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3 Head Start classrooms
Parting Thoughts on Relationship
Between Tier 1 and Tier 2
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Who should take on RTI?
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How do we know which classrooms/sites are
“ready”? Who would decide? How?
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Should it be standard practice in all early childhood
settings? In all classrooms within a particular setting?
What needs to be in place to support the process of
learning to do RTI?
What needs to be in place to support the process of
implementing RTI on an ongoing basis?
Are there ways to differentiate which classrooms do what?
Are there other ways to achieve the benefits of RTI
when classrooms/sites are NOT solid in Tier 1?
Contact Information
The DELL-D Project
(Developing Early Language and Literacy in Danville)
www.dell-d.uiuc.edu
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Special Education
61 Children’s Research Center
51 Gerty Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 333-4123
Fax: (217) 244-7732
Jeanette McCollum: jmccollu@illinois.edu