RTIWhat Principals Need to Know

University of Southern Maine

RTI Summer Academy

Presented by: Brad Smith

June 28, 2011

The Three Legged Stool

Relationshipwith Peers

RelationshipsWith Adults

FeelingsAbout School Work

Student

Getting Everyone in the Boat!

The Principal and Leadership Team The principal can not do this alone Teacher leadership is essential Develop leadership skills with your team

Common language Knowledge and expertise Shared vision

Support them…they face collegial challenges

Lesson #1 Teachers will view RTI as a way to get

additional support for students without having to refer to special education

While RTI does provide opportunities for earlier interventions, an effective system means instruction must be provided differently in all three tiers

Lesson #2

Special Education staff will view RTI as a way to serve unidentified students

We are not doing an adequate job with the students already identified. Adding more and providing the same instructional support will not increase success

Lesson #3 It is all about core classroom instruction We have to be getting 75-80% of our

students “in the boat” without additional support staff

Pulling students out during core instruction eliminates “second dose”

Classroom instruction must be differentiated for some students

Tier 2 Support We will never have enough personnel to

support all the students failing to make adequate progress

Tier 2 support will need to be focused on fewer students with greater intensity

Those students caught “in between” will need more Tier 1 support, such as volunteers, peer tutors, before or after school support

Tier 2 Support

The typical 30-40 minute Title I or tier 2 support hasn’t been adequate

We need to provide about an hour of additional instruction for each year a child is behind in achievement

Additional Learning Time

Before and after school support does not have to cost more

Schedule regular hours differently The teaching year does not have to begin

in September or end in June Consider “lost days” during the school

year and “bank” to another time

Additional Time

Take advantage of before and after school child care

Consider after school programs as a resource

Use homework or after school detention differently

Homework

A major factor for many students Organization or anticipation The first 5-10 minutes Proximity Tradition vs. reality

Universal Screening

Keep it short and quick….not diagnostic Fall is least threatening Meet with each teacher, review results,

and set a goal for the end of the year Never make decision based upon a single

data point

Progress Monitoring

Knowledge of results is highly motivating Let students chart their progress Use the data to suggest changes to the

intervention such as increased time, increased frequency, or different type of intervention

Interventions

Fidelity, fidelity, fidelity Training is important Selection dependent upon need Sufficient duration

The sooner the better! Kindergarten is NOT too early to identify

students for additional support As many as 40 - 80% of students entering

kindergarten will already be “behind” Student who enter kindergarten knowing the

names of all letters, can write their name, count to 20, and recognize patterns will likely be on grade level

Start early….kindergarten or pre-kindergarten is where the greatest impact can be made

Delayed Kindergarten While delayed entry and readiness classes may

not hurt children in the short run, there is no evidence of a positive effect on either long-term school achievement or adjustment. Furthermore, by adolescence, these early retention practices are predictive of numerous health and emotional risk factors, and associated deleterious outcomes.

National Association of School Psychologists Position Paper on Student Grade Retention, 2003

Moving To Data You are the owner of a company. Your

sales totals are as follows: Two years ago.……….$660,000 Last year………………$620,000 This year………………$600,000

What are some questions you’d ask? Turn and talk

The Key…. Using data to ask questions…

How well is our school educating all children? Who is not making significant progress and why? What trends emerge

• grade to grade?• subject by subject?• year after year?

To cause teachers and other support staff to examine their instructional practices

To ensure that our curriculum is aligned, receiving adequate instructional time that is focused on “essential knowledge and skills”

Other Sources of Data Discipline referrals, suspensions Absenteeism NWEA, NECAP, SAT and other standardized tests Letter Grades Survey information (students, parents) Retention rate Percent graduating on time, college success

Identify strategies that work for underachieving students Allocated vs. instructional time Coordination of effort first and second “dose” Understanding “poverty” i.e. Ruby Payne Gender differences High Expectations Specific feedback vs. praise Extended Learning Opportunities Home-School Connection

Admiral James Stockdale Admiral James Stockdale was the highest

ranking US military officer imprisoned in Vietnam. He was held in the “Hanoi Hilton” and repeatedly tortured over 8 years.

Years later, Stockdale shared, “I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”

The Stockdale Paradox…A Lesson for Leaders

“You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties,

AND At the same time, have the discipline to

confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

Where do we go from here? Continue to build understanding and value in

use of data Identify strategies that work for underachieving

students Continued Professional Development Time: for teachers, for the subject and for

students

Involving Staff

Optional vs mandatory The rule of “Thirds” Decision making model: Who decides? When is it “Good enough?” Be consistent…be on message Celebrate the work & accomplishments

consistent with your school culture

A few final thoughts…

You can buy a chef all the new pots and pans you want….but that won’t change the quality of the meal.

To do that, you need to improve the abilities of the chef!

If teachers don’t acquire new skills, they will continue with the ones they already feel comfortable using

The Vision A school with high expectations, where all

students succeed and are supported in a nurturing and caring environment.

A school where all staff are immersed in discipline, informed professional inquiry and action that results in raising the bar and closing the gap by engaging all students in learning.

Are We Up To The Challenge?

Yes… But The Road To Success Requires All Of Us

Heading In The Same Direction!