District Policy Regarding Response to Intervention (RTI) Process

3 Tier Model for Grades K-12

The Brocton Central School District has a 3 Tier Response to Intervention (RtI) process in place.  

What is RtI?

RtI is a multi-step process of providing educational support and instruction to children who are struggling learners. Individual children’s progress is monitored and results are used to make decisions about further instruction and intervention. RtI is most commonly used in addressing problems with reading and math but it can also be used in other areas. The RtI process is flexible and designed by school districts to meet the needs of their students.

What does the RtI process look like?

The RtI process has three tiers. Each tier provides differing levels of support.

• In Tier I, all students receive high quality curriculum and instruction in the general education classroom. The teacher uses differentiated instruction to assist all learners.

• In Tier II, the school provides interventions via AIS Services to students who need more support than they are receiving from the general curriculum.

• In Tier III, students are given intensive instruction within a small group setting (no more than three students).

What are the key components to any RtI process?

The key component to any RtI process is all children receive high quality curriculum and instruction in the regular education classroom (Tier I). Another component of any RtI process is that the school conducts universal screenings. Universal screenings review the progress of all students through state and district test scores or other academic screenings given to all students. Universal screenings help schools identify students who may need more support or other types of instruction. As a result of universal screening, students may be identified as needing targeted assistance (a Tier II level of support) in addition to the high quality instruction they are receiving in Tier I. Research based interventions are used to support students in the area they are struggling. Research based interventions are teaching strategies or methods that have been proven to be effective in helping children learn. There are many different kinds of interventions and instruction that can happen in the classroom, outside the classroom or in small groups.

Another key component to the RtI process is progress monitoring. Progress monitoring is a way for teachers to take a snapshot of how children are doing on a specific skill. It shows how well the intervention is working. It includes observations, tests, and other formal and informal assessments. Progress monitoring helps determine whether an intervention is successful or needs to be changed. Formal guidelines for progress monitoring have been developed by the Brocton Central School District. The RtI plan will be available on the school website or in the elementary and middle/high school offices. Plans will detail how long a child will receive a particular intervention and how they will determine whether the intervention is helping the child. When the child meets the goals developed by the school, the intervention is no longer needed and the child continues to receive support from the general education curriculum. When progress monitoring shows that a child is not responding to the intervention another approach or intervention may be tried. However, when a higher level of support is needed, children are given intensive instruction, within in a small group setting, which further focuses on the supporting the skills they need to be successful learners (Tier III).

What questions can parents ask to learn more about how RtI works in their child’s school?

• What curriculum is being taught in my child’s classroom?

• What are the targeted interventions that my child’s school is using if he/she is struggling in the classroom?

• What are the formal guidelines my child’s school is using for progress monitoring?

• How will I be informed of the progress my child is making?

• What happens if an intervention is not working?

Parents play a critical role in supporting what their children are learning in school. Research shows that the more parents are involved in student learning, the higher the student achievement.

There are many ways parents can support what their child is doing in school. Here are a few:

• Make reading an everyday habit at home

• Communicate with your child’s teacher

• Monitor and assist with homework assignments

• Ask for regular monitoring reports

• Share your child’s successes

• Learn more about the curriculums and interventions being used in your child’s school

• Attend parent/teacher conferences and other school meetings about your child