Archive for Response to Intervention

While the week may have gotten off to an ordinary start for most students, Monday was an especially good day for East Elementary School in St. George, Utah. The school achieved its adequate yearly progress, or AYP, for No Child Left Behind Act testing for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Marshall Topham, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said district schools on the whole are moving toward more programs to help students reach academic goals. The district has worked to promote collaboration and teamwork between teachers, and drive home the idea that failure isn't an option, Topham said. "We will provide whatever intervention is necessary," Topham said. "Intervention is prescriptive and individual. The whole school owns the success and failure of the students."

At East Elementary School, there are three tiers of intervention. In tier one, teachers incorporate new skills or tactics for the entire class to improve learning. In tier two, each teacher adds remedial work for struggling students in addition to activities for the whole class. The last tier pulls students out of the classroom to work one on one. Read more in thespectrum.com,

Marjorie Lipson, cochair of the International Reading Association's Response to Intervention (RTI) Commission and professor of education at the University of Vermont, will join Joseph Jenkins, professor of special education at the University of Washington, for a webinar on "RTI and Universal Screening." The live webinar, which is scheduled for September 11 at 1:00 p.m. EDT, will focus on the importance of universal screening and how it is used under an RTI framework while also answering participants' questions.

An essential component of RTI, universal screening of all students enables educators to establish an academic and behavioral baseline and to identify learners who need additional support. Instructional decisions can then be made based on the screening results to improve learner outcomes. Universal screening is the key to a preventative model, helping classroom teachers to differentiate their instruction and/or provide early intervening services so that students can be assisted before they fall too far behind.

To join this RTI talk, please go to the RTI Action Network website. The International Reading Association is a Founding Partner of the RTI Action Network, which unites the public and private sectors with representatives from general education, special education, and family groups to support the implementation of RTI.