The Who, What, When, Where,
Why, and How of RtI in the
Secondary School Setting: Making
it Work!
Jennifer Maichin
jmaichin@mineola.k12.ny.us
Janice Patterson
jpatterson@mineola.k12.ny.us
Whittney Smith
wsmith@mineola.k12.ny.us
Albert Einstein once said…
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting different results.”
Essential Components
High Quality
Classroom Instruction
Tiered Instruction /
Intervention
Family
Involvement
Ongoing
Student Assessment
 “Without
the right building-level leadership,
RtI will not realize the potential it has in
fundamentally altering for the better both
the delivery system and educational
practice in our schools.”
• Dr. David P. Prasse, Professor and Dean of the School of
Education, Loyola University Chicago
NYSED
April 2008 State Education Department Field
Memo
 Authorizes the use of RtI in the State's criteria
to determine learning disabilities (LD) and
requires, effective July 1, 2012, that all
school districts have an RtI program in
place as part of the process to determine if
a student in grades K-4 is a student with a
learning disability in the area of
reading. “Effective on or after July 1, 2012, a
school district shall not use the severe
discrepancy criteria to determine that a student
in kindergarten through grade four has a
learning disability in the area of reading.”
[8 NYCRR section 200.4(j)]
Prior to the State’s Memo:
 IDEA 2004:

“…in determining whether a child has a
specific learning disability, a local agency may
use a process that determines if the child
responds to scientific research-based
intervention as part of the evaluation
procedures…” (H.R. 1350, 2004, section 614
(b)(6)(A&B))
Background (The Who?):
 WelI
 The
Established IST
Team
• Constant Members: IST Chairperson, Guidance
Counselor, Speech Therapist, School
Psychologist, Parent
• Varying Members: Team Teachers (General and
Special Education), Encore Teachers, Support
Staff, Social Worker, Student

See Attached “MMS IST/RTI FLOWCHART”
Tier I: What is it?
 Quality





classroom instruction
Within the general education classroom
High quality program incorporating standards
Research-based instructional strategies or
materials
On-going assessment of strengths and needs
On-going professional development
Implementation: Part I

Educate the staff about what RtI is?




IDEA 2004
“Wait to fail” vs. RtI
District Support
Leverage with New IDEA

“ In determining whether a child has a specific
learning disability, a local educational agency may
use a process that determines if the child responds to
a scientific, research based intervention as part of the
evaluation procedures” (IDEA 2004, Title 20, Section
1414, subsection b(6)).
Getting Stuck in Tier I
 Scenario: Your team has an IST meeting to discuss
a student who is struggling in school. A few strategies
were brainstormed after a lengthy conversation about
what the student can’t do. Six weeks later, the team
meets again and…
See attached sample plans
Implementation Part II:
Strategy Development (Tier I)
Teacher Ownership vs. “Buy In”
 Station Activity





Devote Faculty Meeting Time
Objectives from IST Meetings
Teachers working in groups to brainstorm strategies
Weed Out the ones that are not measurable
 Share the collective strategies with the entire
faculty & bring them to IST Meetings
 Attach the strategies to research
The How (in Mineola Middle School) ?

A Three Tier RTI
Model
Small Group AIS (Reading
/ Special Ed. Teacher)
AIS (Content Area Teacher)
Within the general
education class
Tier III
Tier II
Tier I
RTI can also be used to address the social / emotional needs of our
children (e.g. BIP; Group Counseling; Individual Counseling)
Our Structure

6th Grade



7th Grade


Double ELA --- with a Reading Teacher as a coteacher (providing small group instruction)
Double Period Math --- Differentiated Instruction
4th Period --- On-Target; AIS Math Tier II or III; AIS
ELA Tier II or III; or any combination
8th Grade

4th Period --- On-Target; AIS Math Tier II or III; AIS
ELA Tier II or III; or any combination
Visual Representation of Tiers II &
III in 7th and 8th Grade










Day A
Reading Tier III
Reading Tier III
4-6
students
Math Tier III
Math Tier III
ELA Tier II
ELA Tier II
12-14
students
Math Tier II
Math Tier II
On-Target
25
On-Target
students
Day B
 Reading Tier III
 Reading Tier III
4-6
students
 Math Tier III
 Math Tier III
 ELA Tier II
 ELA Tier II
12-14
students
 Math Tier II
 Math Tier II
 On-Target
25
students
 On-Target
GOALS:
 Address
the academic needs of students
 Not a static program
 Increase self-awareness of the students
(e.g. skill breakdown on Assessments;
DIGS)
 To empower the IST to make a difference
 Address emotional needs of students
AIMS Web (Tracking Program)

READING



MAZE
Reading CBM
Tier II – Benchmarking
3x/year (monthly

MATH


Math CBM-2
Basic Facts
Tier II – Benchmarking
3x/year (monthly
progress monitoring)
progress monitoring)
Tier III – Strategic
Monitoring (weekly)
Tier III – Strategic
Monitoring (weekly)
Sample
AIMsWeb
Data
8th Grade
Tier II AIS
Sample Student Benchmark Report
Reading Improvement Report for
2007-2008 School Year
Benchmark Scores for 2007-2008
School Year
http://www.aimsweb.com/login.php
Next Steps
 Administer
CBMs
 Score and Enter Data in AIMsWeb
 Meet with AIS Teachers to discuss results
and provide them with Passwords to
AIMsWeb
 Talk about the “Philosophy” of AIS
 Tie strategies to research
 Curriculum
Skills
Tier 3 - Intensive
Small group (4-6 students)
AIS classes
Progress Monitoring every
2-3 weeks
Regression /no progress,
revise (repeat if not
successful) --- consider
referral to CSE
Progress
Continue with
program
IST Process
Tier 2 - Strategic
Three data
checks,
regression/no
progress
IST Process
At-Risk Student
Teacher analyzes data, refers
student to IST and moves
student to Tier 2.
Small Group (10-12 students) AIS Classes
Benchmarking three times / year
Tier 1 - Universal
Quality classroom instruction using
research-based strategies with
targeted students
Three data
checks
IST Process
On Target Student
Teacher analyzes data and
keeps student in Tier 1.
Questions…
RtI Resources/Links
 www.nrcld.org
 www.ncld.org
 www.nasdse.org
 http://www.rtinetwork.org/
 www.aimsweb.com
 www.interventioncentral.org