• Parents’ Guide to RtI (Response to Intervention)

    What is RTI?

    Response to Intervention is an education model that promotes early identification of students who may be at risk for learning difficulties. RTI, which may be one component in the process a school uses to determine whether a student has a specific learning disability, often involves tiers of increasingly intense levels of service for students. Most students will thrive in general education classrooms. For those who don't, a second tier will focus additional attention on the academic area in which the child struggles. More tiers may be available for students with greater needs.

    Main points of RTI:

    • Universal screening of academics used to determine level of interventions, if any are needed.
    • Testing will be a minimum of three times per year.
    • Research-based instruction will be used in general ed. tier instruction.
    • Multiple tiers will be used with increasing instruction that match individual student's needs.
    • A collaborative approach by school staff for development and implementation of the intervention process will be used.
    • There will be regular monitoring/testing during tier instruction.

    How does RTI work?   

    • Step 1 - Universal Screening is given to entire school population or concern may be noted by teacher of difficulties in classroom.
    • Step 2 - RTI team will meet to discuss testing results or teacher concerns.
    • Step 3 - Additional information is collected about a student's progress.
    • Step 4 - An intervention plan is created and implemented.
    • Step 5 - Progress is monitored regularly.
    • Step 6 - After monitoring and assessments, the RTI team will determine if interventions are working or if a new intervention is needed.

     

    Interventions

    Interventions are divided into three categories or tiers. Specific interventions are aligned with the needs of the individuals within each tier.

    Tier 1 (Green Level) - Interventions are designed for whole class instruction or Core instruction. Benchmarks are given to all students three times per year. 

    Tier 2 (Yellow Level) - Interventions are designed for specific small group instruction that falls below the targeted level. These students have been identified through testing with marked difficulties and have not responded to tier 1 interventions Progress monitoring is done twice a month.

    Tier 3 (Red Level) - These interventions are for those students with intense difficulties that have not responded to tier 2 interventions. Progress monitoring occurs weekly. 

    How will parents be notified if their child is in need of receiving interventions?

    Parents will receive a letter from the school that indicates interventions are needed for educational success. As always, parents will be encouraged to meet with the teachers if questions arise.