Education Week Spotlight – Response to Intervention

2018 —Getty response to intervention

Editor’s NotE Cons nte t Response to Intervention is a model to identify students in need and provide 2 RTI May Fall Short in 4 MTSS: Where the Commentary Flagging Certain Obstacles Are targeted interventions. In this Spotlight, 6 Student Trauma Is Real. Students learn why RTI may fall short in flagging But Connection Can Heal. certain students, practical lessons on 3 What Are Multitiered 9 Do Teachers Need multitiered systems of supports, and how Systems of Supports? Response to Intervention? RTI can be used to support teachers. 11 Four Steps to Implement RTI Correctly Response to Intervention / edweek.org 2

Published February 15, 2017, in Education Week next step in determining their eligibility for special education. One outlier district reported that students could spend 150 school days, or almost an entire school RTI May Fall Short in year, receiving interventions before further evaluation. Another district required only 10 school days. Flagging Certain Students Of 31 special education state directors who responded to a survey from the researchers, 29 said that the state had no Learning disabilities reported as soft spot policy or recommended practice to guide districts on how long students could re- By Christina A. Samuels ceive interventions before being referred for a comprehensive evaluation. s a method of organizing ef- Robert G. McKenzie, a professor of spe- The paper focusing on the responses forts to help students who cial education at the University of Ken- from state special education officials was are struggling academi- tucky, is a co-author on the work. The two published in the March 2016 issue of Con- cally, response to interven- are scheduled to present their findings at temporary School Psychology. A second tion has seen widespread the Learning Disabilities Association of report, which included responses from Aadoption. But as an improved method of America convention this week. district-level officials, was published in identifying students with learning dis- the December 2016 issue of Learning Dis- abilities, RTI shows far less clear benefits, abilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal. researchers are finding. Lack of Policies Response-to-intervention models may The RTI instructional model is de- Fifty-eight percent of special educa- differ in form among schools, but they signed to identify students in need of ex- tion district leaders reported to Hudson contain some common features: universal tra assistance and provide them targeted and McKenzie that their school system screening tools that allow teachers to ac- and research-based lessons, or interven- had a policy or recommended practice on curately determine which students need tions. In the 2004 Individuals with Dis- how long students could spend in a RTI extra help; evidence-based interventions; abilities Education Act, Congress said model before being referred for a com- multiple “tiers” of intervention intensity; that school districts were permitted to prehensive evaluation or deemed to need and monitoring of progress, so that teach- use a student’s response to such interven- special education. But the policies and ers have data on how well a student is re- tions as part of an evaluation process for practices varied widely. Districts reported sponding to the extra help. specific learning disabilities, the largest that students spent on average 50 school Intentionally missing from that pro- disability category. days receiving interventions before the cess: a need for an official special edu- But the federal government declined to tell districts and states exactly how such a process should work, saying that was the role of local educators to determine. And Pitfalls in Use of RTI Framework states have also tended to take a hands- off approach at giving directives to indi- A survey of state and district special • Among districts that reported having vidual districts. education directors about how they were their own policies or recommended The result, according to surveys of dis- using response-to-intervention strategies practices on when special education trict and state special education leaders to identify students with learning referrals must be made, 40 percent said being highlighted this week: a wide varia- disabilities found that: such referrals must wait until students tion across districts on several important have progressed through RTI’s most issues, such as when parents are notified • More than 90 percent of states intensive tier. Fifty percent said such that their children are receiving intensive responding do not regulate or referrals could happen at any time. services through an RTI model, how long recommend the maximum number of a student must receive interventions be- days a student may spend in an RTI • Districts reported that students could fore being referred for a comprehensive model before further evaluation for spend a large amount of time in tiered- evaluation, and whether any data are special education. intervention models—the average reported to the state so that officials can was around 50 days, with one district reporting 150 school days. spot potential areas of concern. • State respondents said school districts “The problem is the variability in try- are not required to report to them how • Forty-two percent of district ing to get schools and districts, and dis- long students are spending in an RTI respondents said they had neither a tricts and states, in communication with framework before evaluation. policy nor recommended practice for each other,” said Tina M. Hudson, an as- how long students could remain in an sistant professor of special education at RTI instructional model before a special East Tennessee State University and one education referral. Sixty-three percent of the researchers who conducted the sur- Source s: Tina M. Hudson, assistant professor, East said they didn’t allow schools to develop vey of state and district-level special edu- Tennessee State University; Robert G. McKenzie, professor, University of Kentucky their own policies or practices, either. cation administrators. “We need more of a unified approach to this.” ADVERTISEMENT SCALE THE HEIGHTS OF DATA IN NO TIME. eduCLIMBER is a unique cloud-based data system created for educators by educators to make data analysis more efficient and accurate. This interactive tool allows you to visualize data from assessments, behavior incidents, attendance, and RtI to use in minutes.

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cation label before receiving services. of an evaluation process is an improvement That RTI has led to potential unin- That was seen as an improvement from from other methods. Twenty-six of 30 spe- tended consequences for students with other methods of identifying learning cial education directors who responded to disabilities is not a surprise to attorneys disabilities, such as giving students IQ the question (one director did not answer) who represent both school districts and tests to see if their intelligence was sig- said their states had no prescribed system parents of children with disabilities. nificantly different from their scores on for evaluating the effectiveness of RTI. Allison Hertog, a Florida-based par- achievement tests. “[RTI] is being implemented, but not ent attorney and former special educa- The “IQ achievement discrepancy” tracked in terms of the desired benefits tion teacher, said from her perspective, model was criticized by many as requiring it was supposed to achieve,” McKenzie RTI is used as a “legally persuasive” way students to fail for a long time before get- said. “There is the potential to really de- to avoid child find. “Some parents are ting access to specialized services. One of lay identification without some degree of told, ‘We don’t do comprehensive evalua- the most influential criticisms came from governance and oversight, even if it’s at tions any more,’ ” she said. the President’s Commission on Excellence the local level.” Jose Martín, who works in Austin and in Special Education, which was convened has represented school districts in spe- by President George W. Bush and released cial education matters, said he’s warned its findings in 2002. Federal Guidance districts about following such strict RTI In the years since the IDEA was reau- processes that they might end up losing a thorized, the Education Department has legal battle. For example, in one unusual Adopting New Procedures addressed some of the concerns. In guid- 2011 case that the school system ended up When the IDEA was reauthorized two ance released in 2011, the department losing, an Ohio district tried to require a years later, Congress adopted many of the said that RTI strategies could not be used student with diabetes to go through RTI commission’s recommendations, including to delay or deny an initial evaluation for before receiving accommodations. permitting RTI as an evaluation method. learning disabilities. It followed that up Keeping the process flexible means But observers warned of some poten- with similar guidance in 2016, singling that districts should work in partnership tial problems during the public-comment out preschoolers referred to districts for with parents, Martín said. He said that period for regulations to support the new evaluation. districts also need to develop a set of gen- law. Without some sort of guidance from The Every Student Succeeds Act does eral principles for practice. the Education Department, those com- not include language about response to in- “How much response is necessary menters said, special education identifica- tervention specifically, but it does contain to comfortably say a child is not [learn- tion might take a long time and run afoul a brief mention of “multitiered systems of ing-disabled]? It’s completely unclear. I of the IDEA’s “child find” requirement supports,” a term that encompasses RTI. haven’t seen state policy that defines that that all children with disabilities be iden- The new law says multitiered systems can in any meaningful way,” he said. “It’s cru- tified, located, and evaluated. be used to help students with disabilities cial that [districts] adopt a guideline for There also appears to be little way to and English-language learners access what ‘response’ means that is defensible judge if including RTI procedures as part challenging academic standards. in court.”

Published December 14, 2016, in Education Week’s Special Report: Response to Intervention 2.0 What is response to intervention? Response to intervention is an instructional framework that focuses on addressing problems early with students who What Are Multitiered show signs of academic weakness. Among its essential components: high-quality education for all students; universal screen- Systems of Supports? ing so that teachers can spot children who are struggling; targeted, research-based “interventions” of increasing intensity de- By Christina A. Samuels signed to help students improve in problem areas; frequent progress monitoring esponse to intervention, so that teachers can see how well students multitiered systems of are responding to the targeted interven- supports, positive behav- tions, and data-based decisionmaking ioral supports and inter- based on the information gathered from ventions. that monitoring. RProponents of an educational framework aimed at systematically support- Where did response to ing struggling students throw around those terms all the time, but what do intervention come from? they really mean? This glossary helps The elements that make up what we call cut through the fog. response to intervention have been around Response to Intervention / edweek.org 4

for decades, but the term first showed up What are positive behavioral How are schools using RTI in federal law in 2004, when the Individu- als with Disabilities Education Act was interventions and supports? and PBIS? last reauthorized. In the special education PBIS predates RTI in its inclusion School districts have largely adopted law, the RTI process was put forward as in federal law; it was first introduced the multitiered framework as a school- an alternative method of identifying stu- in the 1997 reauthorization of the wide improvement process because of its dents with learning disabilities. Congress’ IDEA as a research-based framework focus on screening all children, improv- intent was to make sure that students di- for supporting children with behavior ing overall instruction, and making deci- agnosed with disabilities weren’t just the disorders. As with RTI, PBIS oper- sions based on data. RTI has a stronger victims of poor teaching. ates on tiers. All students are taught research base for early reading, however. Over the years, the educational certain behavioral expectations and District leaders say that setting up a mul- framework has grown beyond the spe- rewarded for following them, and stu- titiered framework for older children and cial education field. It is now seen as dents with more needs are provided in- in different subject areas has been more a method of improving instruction and creasingly intensive interventions. challenging because there are fewer re- academic results for all students. search-based interventions in those areas What are multitiered systems and because it becomes more challenging with older students to create time for in- What are the “tiers” in RTI? of supports? terventions during the school day. Response to intervention is generally Districts differ in how they use this conceptualized as different levels of in- term. Some use RTI and MTSS as syn- What does the Every Student struction. Tier 1 is the strong instruction onyms, for example. But usually, “mul- that every student in a school should be titiered systems of supports” is used Succeeds Act say about MTSS? receiving. Tier 2 includes students who as an umbrella term that encompass- The text of the law mentions multi- are receiving extra academic support, of- es both response to intervention and tiered systems of supports only briefly, in ten provided in small groups. Tier 3 is for positive behavioral interventions and the context of helping students with dis- students who have severe or persistent supports. Schools implementing MTSS abilities and English-language learners needs who require individualized help. are usually trying to tackle both be- access challenging academic standards. RTI proponents have said that move- havioral and academic concerns at State leaders may choose to use multi- ment among those tiers should be fluid: the same time, recognizing that they tiered frameworks as a way to organize A student with acute needs doesn’t need often go hand in hand: A student who school improvement efforts in the improve- to progress through the tiers to get in- can’t understand what’s going on in ment plans they must submit to the U.S. dividualized support, for example. And the classroom is more likely to act out, Department of Education next year. a student who needs some extra sup- and a student who is grappling with port should not miss out on the general behavior problems is not going to be Sources: RTI Action Network; Center for Posi- instruction that is provided on Tier 1. able to focus on academics. tive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Published December 14, 2016, in Education Week’s Special Report: Response to Intervention 2.0 MTSS: Where the Obstacles Are

By Sarah D. Sparks

multitiered system of sup- intensive services provided for students at ports for students is a Tier 3. Here’s how Ingham Intermediate model with a lot of mov- school district—a regional agency serving ing parts and cooperation 12 local districts and 10 charter schools— needed at every level, from broke out the costs and common challeng- Athe classroom to the state education es at every phase of its multitiered system agency. As a study of Michigan’s state- of supports model for academic and behav- wide MTSS initiative found, “initial im- ioral improvement. plementation is fragile, and sustained support must be provided to expect sustained implementation.” Shared Leadership Problems can arise at any level of the What it is: Building consensus among system, from the core instruction for all critical leaders and staff members and students at Tier 1, to Tier 2 interven- setting up infrastructure to begin a multi- tions for students falling behind, to the tiered system of supports in a new school. Response to Intervention / edweek.org 5

Annual cost per student: $1.59 for teachers’ expectations for particular the first three years; no ongoing cost. groups of students. “Sometimes, there Data-Based Decisionmaking and Challenges: Ingham won early buy- were kids who were not put in Tier 3,” as Problem-Solving in from school and district leaders for its teachers requested, “because the teachers What it is: Collecting, analyzing, mutltitiered-supports initiative in 2009 had not shown that they were really ac- and summarizing students’ data, alone with $11 million in start-up funding from cessing the [Tier 1] core curriculum,” said or in a group, to answer questions and the federal stimulus package. But princi- Pamela Westfall, an interventionist at El- match students with appropriate in- pal and superintendent turnover has led liott Elementary School, part of the Holt struction and interventions. to uneven support from school to school public school system. Annual cost per student: $9.60 for and district to district. Districts have sus- the first three years; 96 cents ongoing. pended implementation for a few years at Challenges: “One of our mistakes a time when leaders were not interested or was just bringing together data on ev- did not understand the model. erything,” said Helen McNamara, In- gham’s assistant superintendent for budget and financing. “It was too much Universal Screening data; people got overwhelmed, and we What it is: Assessing all students’ never really had time to say what is the academic and behavioral status, both ‘so what?’ of this data. Now, [school] initially and at regular times during the teams meet and talk about one or two school year. This includes literacy and things. You have math, reading, behav- math screening for all students in K-8 ior: Just focus on your weakest area and and for 9-12 students previously identi- start unpacking that.” fied as at risk of falling behind academi- cally, as well as behavior evaluations for all K-12 students. Research-Based Instruction, Annual cost per student: $7.50 for Intervention, and Practices the first three years; $7.75 ongoing. What it is: Using programs and prac- Challenges: Setup includes both the tices—in core instruction and for inter- buying the tests themselves and training ventions—that have reliable scientific evi- teachers and staff to use them, and in In- dence of being effective with the students gham, training and winning buy-in from who are using them. staff was the bigger hurdle. “Screening Annual cost per student: The core was a battle in the beginning,” said Laura curriculum cost $100-$120 for reading Colligan, Ingham’s supervisor for student and $85-$100 for math. Interventions instructional services. “People were wor- ranged considerably, from $12 to $710. ried we would be tracking kids. You al- Challenges: Ingham got some push- ways heard one horror story of [someone back against uniform curricula: “Many of who heard] some child was put in a special our districts had no core reading curricu- [education] program based on” one assess- lum when we started, and only one had a ment screener. research-based one,” McNamara said. “Now, 11 out of 12 do.” Ingham also constantly works to pro- Progress Monitoring vide a big enough pool of evidence-based What it is: Using formative assess- interventions for every subject and ments, observations, and other data grade level, with high school interven- to track students’ progress and gauge tions particularly scarce. whether a particular intervention is helping them. Annual cost per student: $5.50 for Student and Family Involvement the first three years; 55 cents ongoing. What it is: Providing online and in- Challenges: “We had to look at how person training for parents to understand we used our personnel resources,” said the multitiered system and to support and Lisa Francisco, the principal of Alaiedon monitor their students’ progress at home. Elementary School in the Mason, Mich., Annual cost per student: $3.63 for school district (part of Ingham). “We use the first three years; no ongoing costs. paraprofessionals a lot more instruction- Challenges: “You have to make ally than they were before, in progress sure you have a lot of consensus, but monitoring. They needed training. We we didn’t get a lot of training on how brought them into planning. ... They are you build that consensus,” Francisco very stressed right now, but they are far said. “How do you hear the voices of more valuable there.” the naysayers, help them know they’ve Monitoring individual students has been heard and yet that we are still also led to tough conversations about moving forward?” Response to Intervention / edweek.org 6

COMMENTARY

Published July 11, 2017, in Education Week’s Teacher-Leader Voices Blog

food insecurity, and parents’ inability to purchase costlier whole foods. Stanford Student Trauma Is Real. psychologist Hilit Kletter points out that this might lead kids to act out, exhibit big emotions, or struggle with impulsivity in But Connection Can Heal. school, which gets them in trouble or is mistaken for ADHD. For many who experienced financial By Gary G. Abud, Jr. struggles and other ACEs in the past de- cade, there was a high level of shame. The an...can you...can you hear cause both emotional and social pain as shame associated with social and emo- me now? well as physical pain are neurological. tional pain breaks down connection with As humans, we are hard- Pain is more than a metaphor, as others and isolates us from each oth- wired for connection with UCLA Neuroscientist Matthew Lieber- er. Brene Brown’s model of interpersonal each other. When we face man found in his research. Social separa- connection spans a continuum, rang- Cchallenging life situations, we often seek tion in infants causes pain and triggers ing from empathy (most connected) to out and lean on others. Relationships are a physical response. Acetaminophen has shame (least connected). According to her our human cell phone signals. In The Pow- been shown to alleviate the pain of a bro- shame-resilience curriculum, vulnerabil- er of the Other, Dr. Henry Cloud compares ken heart just like it can ameliorate back ity is the key to helping us connect, which our strong desire to develop meaningful pain. Years after a traumatic event, one in turn yields empathy, and can overcome relationships to how a cell phone constant- is more likely to remember the pain asso- the destructive impact of shame. So un- ly seeks connection in order to function. ciated with a lost loved one than the pain derstanding and empathy from a caring Like a phone after powering up, people of a broken arm. And, like Cloud, Lieber- adult can help contextualize symptoms begin to seek connection as soon as they man also acknowledges that connection of trauma as maladaptive behaviors, not enter the world, and they never stop. with others is among our greatest hu- misconduct. There are many factors that can inter- man needs. In order for students to be receptive fere with connectivity; and if our signal to new learning, there needs to be a sup- gets disrupted, we relocate until a good Trauma, ACEs, Empathy, portive ecosystem around social and connection can be restored. When we es- emotional development in schools, which tablish a strong connection with others, and Learning includes awareness among educators, a we want to maintain it, but we don’t al- ACEs have more than an emotional im- trauma-informed MTSS, and a school- ways have a 4G LTE network of relation- pact on children, they change the brain, wide social emotional learning curricu- ships. Just as dead zones can disrupt cell affecting memory, cognition, and learn- lum taught by teachers, like the Second signals, there are myriad factors, including capacity. Some children born during Step Program. Researcher Chuck Sau- ing trauma, that can disrupt our personal the Great Recession have been found to fler explains that this type of network of connections with others and limit our have deficiencies in nutrients that are key structure and support to kids, founded on functioning. to cognitive development and mental authentic, trusting connections, changes health—such as folate, choline, and ome- the brain in a positive way. It decreases ga-3 fatty acids—as a result of poverty, the stress response in the body, removing The Reality of Trauma Traumatic events, such as war, death, or violence can have a serious influence on one’s health, stress, and anxiety; for kids, this is especially true, as they lack the social and emotional skills to deal with the impact of trauma. Trauma can even cause physical pain, including when a traumatic event is non-physical. In recent years, the Center for Disease Control and Preven- tion has helped to expand what qualifies as trauma to include more social and emotional events, such as poverty, divorce, and food insecurity. When kids are exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) like

abuse, neglect, or household dysfunc- Pixel — Max tion earlier in life, there is a larger risk for negative impacts on learning, health, and wellbeing in later years. That is be- Response to Intervention / edweek.org 7

cognitive inhibitors, and creates a climate eracy themselves. And this would have Restorative Practices have three main of relaxed alertness in the brain, leading an impact on how we build our Multi- goals: to better learning. Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Students who have strong connections and Response to Intervention (RTI) sys- • Developing competency to increase in school perform better, because relation- tems to not only help some students, the pro-social skills of students, help ships are central to learning and develop- but to support all students. To make them realize when they have harmed ment, since they create a sense of doing sure every kid succeeds, RTI expert others, and address underlying factors school with, rather than doing school to, Mike Mattos says we must treat behav- that lead youth to engage in maladap- kids. That’s why forming strong connec- ior like we do reading and math. Just tive behaviors. tions with students between educators as we don’t punish kids for struggling • Ensuring safety by directing students and the classroom environment, is cru- to read—and instead give them the tar- to recognize the need to keep the school cial. This yields relational literacy among geted reading support they deserve— community safe through strategies students, too, and it all begins with adults we should not just punish students that build relationships and empow- who develop understanding and empathy for struggling with social, emotional, er them to take responsibility for the for the students in the context of trauma. or behavioral skills. From a trauma- well-being of one another. informed perspective, we should real- • Sharing accountability through ize kids need interventions, coaching, providing opportunities for wrongdo- Connection Is the First Step and support to develop social-emotional ers to be accountable to those they During a time when many students skills, not punitive measures. have harmed, and enabling them to have experienced some form of trauma, Because teachers play an important repair the harm they caused to the even a single nurturing personal connec- role in students’ social-emotional skill extent possible, not just serving a pun- tion can work to reverse the negative as- development through relationships, one ishment for the offense, which often pects of trauma for a child. According to way they can work to enhance those con- leaves the victim out of it. a recent report by the National Network nections in the classroom is by building on of State Teachers of the Year, this is be- the ways children learn from each other in According to the International Insti- cause that personal connection engenders a social context. Teachers can make sure tute for Restorative Practices (IIRP), a in students a sense of belonging at school, there are ample opportunities for student- fundamental tenet of the Restorative especially students in poverty. Moreover, to-student discussion, collaboration, and Practices philosophy for schools is that the report notes that teachers play a key feedback in the learning environment students are happier, more cooperative, role in fostering social and emotional com- within students zones of proximal devel- and more successful when educators do petencies and skills in students through opment. Better communication will yield things with them, rather than to them strong positive relationships. stronger relationships and better connec- or for them. Restorative Practices re- In Poor Students, Rich Teaching, Eric tions, working to undo the harmful effects volves around safety of all, meeting the Jensen describes the belief of teachers in of trauma. needs of each individual, and focusing their own ability to bring about powerful on the harm done to others through change in the classroom and overcome words and actions. the impact of poverty on students as the Restorative Practices Brain research on stress, motivation, “Relational Mindset.” He cites that rela- Restorative Practices are flexible and learning, and memory supports the use tionships, in particular for students from responsive approaches to establishing, de- of restorative practices in schools. These unstable homes, influence classroom en- veloping, and restoring relationships that practices have the aim of fostering strong gagement, allow low-income students to enable people to develop a shared sense of connections between students and oth- perform equal to higher-income peers, and community in an increasingly disconnect- ers in schools, and then using that as can help build resilience to protect stu- ed world. Restorative Practices empower the basis for addressing issues that come dents from the effects of early-life trauma. students to resolve conflicts on their own up in the school setting. It is not a single A Relational Mindset requires teachers and in small groups, and it’s a growing strategy, set of talk moves, or group of ac- to adopt a more psychological perspective approach around the country to building tivities; it is a philosophy of interpersonal on student behavior, says Jensen, but that community and addressing student be- connection between students and adults mindset shift can start with changing our havior issues in schools. in schools that can support social-emo- words and beliefs, according to the Con- One way to better test scores and tional development in students and learn- tinua Group. Our personal beliefs and less discipline problems in schools is to ing in schools. values inform our thoughts, words, and adopt restorative practices. And what Implementing Restorative Practices at actions. So to adopt a belief that behavior educators wouldn’t want that, especially your school requires training and coach- skills (including social-emotional ones) when approximately 5% of students rep- ing of staff and students, progress moni- are as important to academic success as resent 50% of all disruptive behaviors toring of the practices themselves and reading and math, we should adjust our in schools? In classrooms or schools, the student interactions, and debriefing about language around student behavior from intent is to first make relationships with the implementation process along the an “I can’t believe the student did this!” students, then maintain them, and (when way. But because Restorative Practices view to “why did the student do this?” things go wrong) repair the harm to those emphasize the values of empathy, respect, This will lead us to build relation- relationships. This happens through one- honesty, acceptance, responsibility, and ships, maintain them, and work to on-one, small, and large group interac- accountability, it is especially promis- repair them when connections are dis- tions, bringing students together with ing as a schoolwide means of supporting rupted, eventually a relational mindset adults to dialogue and discuss issues or students social-emotional learning in a will help students develop relational lit- questions with one another. trauma-informed way. Response to Intervention / edweek.org 8

It provides ways to effectively address tool to fight against the negative impact of 6. Three in Thirty—Ask enough ques- behavior and other school issues, offers a poverty and the harmful effects of trauma. tions to discover three things about supportive environment that can improve Through the power of connection, it teach- every student in the first 30 days of learning, and ensures student wellbeing es students how to become the people we the year by allowing for the reparation of harm. want them to be, and does not just expect 7. Me Bag—Have each student, and Restorative Practices are not about en- them to do so on their own. teacher, fill a bag with two to three forcing rules; the focus is on repairing items that represent who you are, and harm done to others, fulfilling a need then provide an opportunity to share not met, and ensuring the safety of all. Seven Ways to Make & Maintain what everyone packed in their bag with They can be incorporated into MTSS or a Connections each other Positive Behavior Intervention and Sup- For any educator to connect with their ports (PBIS) system. students is a given, but it isn’t always At their core, Restorative Practices easy to do, especially once the school year A Personal Connection require the formation of strong connec- gets busy. But because it is so crucially My favorite class in high school, also tions and the building of relationships. important to build connections with kids, taught by my favorite teacher, was AP From there, harm to relationships can be even those not in your classroom, the English. Despite struggling as a reader repaired and connection can be restored. work must be made a priority. throughout school, due to a visual im- Because of our strong desire to connect Here are seven activities pairment, I loved literature. For with others, as people we do not typically that can be used with stu- me, reading was a private want to harm those with whom we have a dents or adults in the means to a very public relationship. classroom or school end. I looked forward Changes of behavior do not come setting. These can to what came as a re- from a punishment anyway, they come help to make con- sult of reading: the from a change of heart. That happens nections, but also opportunity to dia- when three factors are present in ad- maintain them as logue about a text dressing behavior: the impact of one’s well. This is espe- with others in class. actions on others are made known, the cially important Even when I found possibilities of alternate actions are for the use of Re- reading to be tire- shown, and the opportunity to repair storative Practices some or difficult, I the harm done is given. After all, you later on to repair persisted, because I cannot restore a relationship with, or relationships. But it loved discussing liter- repair harm to, someone with whom you should not just be about ature, especially poetry. have no relationship in the first place. the connections with Nearly 400 years ago, And in a school, with kids and adults kids. Remember that build- English poet John Donne fa- who are longing to connect with others ing connection and community mously declared, “no man is against a backdrop of trauma, our hearts’ with the adults in the building is key an island.” Like Cloud referred to cell desire should not be for punishment, it too, as it will set the tone for doing the phones, Donne was speaking of connec- should be for for the connective power of same with students. Many of these action in the island metaphor. To this day, empathy, teaching, and forgiveness. For- tivities are great ways to get the school I can vividly recall discussing Donne’s giveness doesn’t excuse behavior; forgive- year started, too: poem in 11th grade. Because of the so- ness prevents behavior from stepping on cial context of the class, AP English your heart. 1. Daily Check-Ins & Check-Outs— developed in me a sense of belonging, a Through the healing power of connec- each staff member drafts a set of stu- growth mindset, and the grit necessary tion, and by installing restorative practic- dents with whom they make sure to to succeed against the setback of having es at a school or in a classroom, educators briefly check in and out each day a degenerative eye disease. have the potential to positively influence 2. Community Building Circles —us- Now, I realize that my affinity to- school climate and strengthen social ing Restorative Practices circle format ward English class likely had less to do connections between students and staff. to get to know one another in the class- with the literary content and more to do Restorative Practices can enhance the room, discuss topics, and have shared with the personal connection I felt in the climate of a classroom and school much experiences classroom. better than extrinsic rewards or threats 3. Team Building Activities—Team- of punishment ever could, because they pedia has a variety of easy and quick Gary G. Abud, Jr. is an educational consultant, empower students. team-building activities for both small speaker, and writer. Previously, he served as an This philosophy and pedagogy meets and large groups elementary school principal, taught high school the vital need to help students develop so- 4. One and Done—in the first 30 days science and technology, and worked as an in- cial-emotional skills, support interpersonal of the school year, demonstrate a single structional coach for PreK-12 schools. In 2014, relationships, and be non-confrontational act of empathy (e.g., doing a favor) for a he was selected as the Michigan Teacher of the with even the most challenging students. different student each day Year and consults with educators, schools, and In the end, Restorative Practices prioritize 5. Two by Ten—Identify one or two stu- organizations on topics of curriculum, instruc- relationship building and mutual under- dents who need a connection early on in tion, assessment, and technology. He resides standing over finger-pointing and retribu- the year. For 10 consecutive days, invest near Detroit, Mich. with his wife and fellow edu- tion. With the primary ‘rule’ being “do no two minutes each day with them to talk cator Janice, and their preschool daughter Lai- harm,” Restorative Practices becomes a about anything but school na. Connect with Gary on Twitter @mr_abud. ADVERTISEMENT

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C OMMENTARY

Published March 17, 2016, in Education Week’s Finding Common Ground Blog D o Teachers Need Response to Intervention? By Daisy Dyer Duerr

esponse to Intervention (RTI) is something we talk about quite a bit in education. In fact, there are few successful schools you can enter today Student RTI Rthat don’t have far-reaching RTI systems T ier 3 of support for their students. When students struggle, they may need something Personalized extra to help them along, and other students need an intervention that may be a little more in depth. As a former school principal, I under- Tier 2 stand the benefits of RTI. Having been the Principal of a failing school where success- Individualized ful RTI implementation was instrumental in changing school culture and improving student learning outcomes, I can speak firsthand to the powerful impact of RTI practices. But first...the basics. Chris Weber and Tom Hierck, authors Tier 1 of “The RTI Roadmap for School Leaders” Differentiated & “RTI is a Verb” say the following about RTI: Tier 1 is Differentiated, Tier 2 is In- dividualized, and Tier 3 is Personalized.

• Some students will require differentia- tion and scaffolds to optimally succeed and grow in Tier 1. • Some students will need more time and alternative supports at the completion of units of instruction, as revealed by Tier 3 evidence, to master core priorities AND Teacher RTI others will be ready for greater levels of Personalized complexity and will greatly benefit from Mentor teacher/IBD study opportunities to delve into priorities at greater levels of depth - Tier 2. • Some students will be in desperate need of immediate, intensive, and targeted Tier 2 supports to ameliorate significant defi- Individualized cits in foundational skills AND other students will benefit from opportunities Coaching by for students to dive deep into a passion - administrator (CIR) highly specialized supports to meet students’ at, and nudge them from, their zones of proximal development - Tier 3. Tier 1 Differentiated What About RTI for Teachers? Walk-throughs/meet-ups/ Keeping those general principles in place as defined by Weber & Heirck let’s set schedule at least two think about how to create a Pyramid of times per term Interventions for Response to Interven- Response to Intervention / edweek.org 10

tion for Educators. What might a non- son could be improved in the future (if a school building leader. The job of being a evaluative systematic process of supports it could be) and what the teacher will do leader can definitely prevent leaders from for educators accomplish. We already moving forward. taking on their version of an instructional have models to follow; highly developed The outcome is NOT an evaluation, coaching role...and that’s where we go back systems working for our students in our nor a “one and done” interaction, but the to lackluster evaluation processes. most successful schools; why wouldn’t we beginning of an ongoing series of collabo- I do believe there is a happy medium. use these same, proven principles and rations and open dialogue between the I have never worked in a district where constructs for our educators? administrator and the teacher to improve my duties as Principal would have al- RTI for students can be beneficial, in instructional outcomes. This clearly takes lowed for me to spend an entire day fact, I’d contend it’s transformational a great deal of relational trust. doing instructional coaching during when done properly at all levels; this I While involved in this practice both the week, but I have done ½ days of in- know from my experience as a Principal. the administrator and the teacher are en- structional coaching often. I believe it’s As I work as a consultant I apply this ex- gaged in best practices for student learn- a matter of being intentional with our perience...only I’m working with teachers ing and have a vested interest in success- time as Principals. There was a consen- instead of their students. ful outcomes. sus in the Vox that principals must be For example, this January I began It’s my assertion: Highly Developed instructional leaders. working with a large district’s secondary RTI Systems for Educators will result in I don’t believe this is possible if you principals and assistant principals. My higher quality Tier 1 Interventions; caus- don’t model and “do the work” in the class- job has been coaching them on how to use ing the need for Tier 2 & Tier 3 interven- rooms with your teachers. We must find the International Center for Leadership tions for students to decrease. “our way” of making this happen. in Education’s (ICLE) Collaborative In- structional Review. ICLE’s Collaborative Instructional How Do Leaders Provide RTI for Proficiency and Beyond! Review is a process that involves the Teachers? We ask for proficiency and beyond from administrator collaborating with the Today’s teacher/educator evaluation our students; yet we provide their instruc- teacher on lesson plans; following rubrics systems don’t provide for improvement/ tors with little to no supports to get them established for: instructional help for educators...in fact there. Educators need a culture where many are still reliant on a “check the box RTI/Coaching/Interventions is the norm 1. Rigor: This Rubric supports educa- system.” In the check the box system, for them; just like our students. Profes- tors in building effective instruction feedback is rarely provided to teachers, sional development at the beginning of the based on indicators of rigorous instruc- so the evaluation becomes a waste of time year is not enough. We need timely, sys- tion from three areas: thoughtful work, (for more on that read Peter’s blog about tematic, supports available on a contin- high-level questioning, and academic observations). uum. This is how we will meet the needs discussion. Observations should be based on cycles of more students at Tier 1. It’s time...we 2. Relevance: This Rubric supports that include deeper conversations, and make time. educators in building effective instruc- trusting relationships built between edu- tion based on indicators of relevant in- cators that result in improvement in in- Daisy Dyer Duerr is a former school struction from three areas: meaningful struction and student learning outcomes. principal who is now a national speaker and work, authentic resources, and learning It should not be a piece of paper or some- consultant. connections. thing you get on your inbox describing 3. Learner Engagement: This Rubric your lesson in “check box” terms. supports educators in creating & imple- One of the ways to have observations menting an effective learner environ- with more impact is for administra- ment that is engaging & aligned to tors to take on the instructional learner needs based on these three in- coaching philosophy in their dicators: active participation, learning school. In order for school lead- environment, and formative processes ers to provide RTI to their and tools. teachers, they need to work in partnership (Knight) The administrator observes the lesson with their teachers on a co- the two co-constructed together, takes co- constructed goal. pious notes while observing, then after One of the suggestions some time to calibrate, they debrief togeth- from a colleague on Voxer er. Besides the co-construction of the lesson was that leaders intention- the other integral part is that the leader is ally schedule their week so observing student learning more than they they had a full day a week are observing the teacher teaching. of instructional coaching. After all, if the students don’t under- Leaders can observe and have stand the lesson, why teach it in the first partnership conversations place? with their teachers. However, During the debriefing there is discus- as enthusiastic as the tone of the sion of what went well, what didn’t go well conversation began, the ever daunt- and why? They also discuss how the les- ing task is how to approach coaching as Response to Intervention / edweek.org 11

COMMENTARY to reflect midstream performance. Use of planned instructional trials between Published January 5, 2016, in Education Week assessment occasions, or “gated screening,” improves the accuracy and efficien- cy of screening decisions to pinpoint the small group of students who really need Four Steps to Implement stepped-up interventions—Tier 2 or Tier 3, in RTI parlance—when core instruction is working well. RTI Correctly In jargon-free terms, schools should administer only one low-cost screening By Amanda VanDerHeyden, tool to rule out or address a systemic, core- instruction problem first. They should Matthew Burns, Rachel Brown, conduct a series of brief follow-up assess- Mark R. Shinn, Stevan Kukic, ments, with only the small group of stu- Kim Gibbons, dents who appear to be at risk on either the first screening or the year-end test George Batsche, from the preceding year. Schools can & W. David Tilly minimize screening costs by select- ing efficient measures and admin- With the 2001 passage of istering them well. the No Child Left Behind Act, These assessments, however, the national education agenda cannot be allowed to interfere shifted from a focus on process with teaching. Assessments are and access to a focus on results. powerful, but there is a point In this new education climate, of diminishing returns. We be- Response to Intervention, or lieve that most schools are in RTI, spread like the latest diet this zone of diminished returns fad because it offered schools a because they are not assessing way to get better results for stu- strategically. dents. Second, the focus of effec- RTI refers to a collection of tive RTI implementation must practices that involve identifying be core instruction. Core instruc- academic risk, intervening prior to tion is where the teacher, student, full-blown academic failure with in- and content meet every day for roughly creasingly intensive interventions, and 32 weeks. Every teacher should be sup- monitoring student growth. RTI is de- ported to know exactly what students are signed to remove the oh-so-human temp- expected to learn within their grade level, tation to speculate and slowly mull over to map a calendar of instruction onto that learning problems, and instead spur pearls for schools that want to attain bet- timeline using resources beyond the text- teachers into action to improve learning, ter results with RTI: book, and to assess student mastery of see if the actions worked, and make ad- First, it is time for smarter screen- skills. justments in a continuous loop. ing. Schools are in an overtesting real- When core instruction is strong, a ma- Guided by assessment data, children ity. Time spent on assessments is costly jority of students perform in the “not-at- progress through a series of instructional both in resources and lost instructional risk” range on screening. When there is a tiers experiencing increasingly intensive time. We routinely work with school sys- systemwide problem, it is foolish to try to instruction as needed. We—a group of tems that allocate 25 percent or more of provide interventions to all of those chil- education leaders and researchers—have their time to assessment. Because most dren as a first step in RTI. When many heard it said, “Being against RTI is like schools are not clear about how they children score in the “risk” range on a being against motherhood.” After all, who will use the assessment information—or screening, it is not possible to figure out does not want children to grow? what their actual decisionmaking needs who truly needs help. As a result, a teach- However, knowing what works and do- are, for that matter—schools often hedge er will likely end up providing intervening what works are two different endeavors. their bets and opt to collect more data. tion to the wrong students, if he or she It is difficult for people to successfully follow Most administrators have heard how works only with a select group. diets, stick to budgets, and, yes, to imple- powerful assessment can be, so they feel The process of trying to provide inter- ment RTI. The key challenge, we believe, is confident that more assessment is not vention to more than 20 percent of stu- getting the already-busy people in schools harmful, even if it does not seem incred- dents rapidly overwhelms the system’s re- to implement RTI like an effective weight- ibly helpful. This type of blind screening sources. When large numbers of children loss plan, with a commitment to attaining does more harm than good. are at risk, the first step should be core- long-term improvements for all students. Year-end test scores can be used to instruction improvements and effectively What are the actions that count in RTI? indicate program health, and one or two delivered classwide intervention. Here are four common implementation single universal screenings can be used Classwide intervention is a high-yield Response to Intervention / edweek.org 12

and easy-to-deploy intervention tactic and the Achilles’ heel of all promising that, while not new, is not as widely used practices in education—is poor implemen- as it could be. One experimental study tation. Implementers can work smarter found that for every seven children who by investing in core-instructional support received classwide mathematics inter- with renewed vigor, implementing class- vention, one child was prevented from wide intervention supplements, paring failing the year-end state test in mathe- down screening while using the data more matics. Improvements to core instruction effectively, and changing the way they op- require serious teamwork, trust, and a erationalize intensity. paradigm shift in schools in which teach- If the number of students attaining ers may be accustomed to working in iso- proficiency does not grow across screen- lation. These teachers may even fear a ings and years, then RTI is not working loss of autonomy or vulnerability in doing for your school and should be adjusted. the work required to upgrade their core- Knowing how to adjust is pretty clear, but instructional program. getting people to do the work with you is Third, schools need effective in- the hard part. tervention systems that match student need. Many schools struggle to Amanda VanDerHeyden is president of Educa- implement effective supplemental inter- tion Research & Consulting in Fairhope, Ala. ventions. At the surface level, targeting Matthew Burns is the associate dean for re- reading fluency, comprehension, vocabu- search for the college of education at the Univer- lary, phonics, and phonemic awareness sity of Missouri. Rachel Brown is an associate for the weakest students sounds great. professor of educational and school psychology But intervening without consideration for at the University of Southern Maine. Mark R. what a student specifically needs is like Shinn is a professor of school psychology at choosing an antibiotic without identifying National Louis University in Chicago. Stevan the bacteria causing an infection. Kukic is the consulting director for school trans- For some children, the intervention formation at the National Center for Learning will appear to work because they would Disabilities. Kim Gibbons is the associate di- have done fine without intervention. For rector of the Center for Applied Research and some children, the intervention will work Educational Improvement at the University of because it happened by chance to be a Minnesota. George Batsche is the director of good match. And for others, the interven- the Institute for School Reform and co-director tion just won’t work. of the Florida MTSS Project at the University In most schools, Tier 2 or 3 interven- of South Florida. W. David Tilly is the deputy tion is a prescription that lasts about 20 director at the Iowa Department of Education weeks, in which all students get the same and the administrator of the Division of Learn- thing, whether they need it or not. It is ing and Results. time to align Tier 2 and Tier 3 practices with student learning needs and require adults to be more responsive to whether these tactics actually improve learning. Copyright ©2018 by Editorial Fourth, intervention intensity is Projects in Education, Inc. All rights not the same as “longer and loud- reserved. No part of this publication er.” The ways in which RTI has tried to shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval operationalize intervention intensity are system, or transmitted by any means, out of sync with the best available evi- electronic or otherwise, without the dence on what makes for more intensive written permission of the copyright holder. instruction. Schools can improve implementation by considering research evi- Readers may make up to 5 print copies of dence to select instructional actions that this publication at no cost for personal, produce strong returns on student learn- non-commercial use, provided that each includes a full citation of the source. ing. Such tools include aligning intervention strategy with student proficiency, For additional print or electronic copies increasing the number of learning trials of a Spotlight or to buy in bulk, visit within an intervention session, provid- www.edweek.org/info/about/reprints.html ing more frequent and precise feedback to students, and adjusting intervention Published by Editorial Projects tactics between sessions based on student in Education, Inc. growth (or lack thereof). 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100 Research has shown that RTI practic- Bethesda, MD, 20814 es can work to improve student outcomes. Phone: (301) 280-3100 Yet, the most pernicious threat to RTI— www.edweek.org Spotlight Get the information and perspective you need on the education issues you care about most with education week Spotlights

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SEPTEMBER 2011

1 Education W EEK Spotlight on i mplementing common S tandard S n edweek.org 2012

On Teacher Evaluation On Implementing Common Standards Editor’s Note: Assessing teacher Published February 2, 2011, in Education Week On Data-Driven Decision Making performance is a complicated issue, raising questions of how to Editor’s Note: In order to implement the Common Core Published June 30, 2011 in Education Week best measure teacher effectiveness. This Spotlight State Standards, educators Editor’s Note: Access to quality examines ways to assess teaching Wanted: Ways to Assess need instructional materials and data provides district leaders with assessments. But not all states and efforts to improve teacher the opportunity to make informed are moving at the same pace, Schools Find Uses for evaluation. instructional and management and some districts are finding decisions. This Spotlight the Majority of Teachers common-core resources in

examines the potential risks and INTERACTIVE CONTENTS: short supply. This Spotlight advantages of data systems and Predictive Data Techniques By Stephen Sawchuk highlights the curriculum, the various ways in which data can 1 Wanted: Ways to Assess professional development, and By Sarah D. Sparks the Majority of Teachers online resources available to be used to improve learning. They’ve long been a standard in the he debate about “value added” measures of teaching may help districts prepare for the 4 Gates Analysis Offers Clues be the most divisive topic in teacher-quality policy today. he use of analytic tools to predict business world—both credit scores and common core. INTERACTIVE CONTENTS: student performance is exploding car-insurance premiums are calculated to Identification of Teacher It has generated sharp-tongued exchanges in public forums, with predictive analytic tools. Yet they have Effectiveness InteractIve 1 Schools Find Uses for Predictive in higher education, and experts say in news stories, and on editorial cOntentS: T been slower to take hold in education.an- Data Techniques the tools show even more promise for K-12 5 State Group Piloting Teacher pages.T And it has produced enough 1 Educators in Search of “School districts are great at looking schools, in everything from teacher place- Prelicensing Exam Common-Core Resources 4 Leading the Charge for Real-Time policy briefs to fell whole forests. ment to dropout prevention. nually at things, doing summative assess- Data 6 Report: Six Steps for Upgrading But for most of the nation’s 4 Higher Ed. Gets Voting Use of such statistical techniques is ments and looking back, but very few are 0-stu- Teacher Evaluation Systems teachers, who do not teach sub- Rights on Assessments 6 Proposed Data-Privacy Rules hindered in precollegiate schools, however, looking forward,” said Bill Erlendson, the assistant superintendent for the 32,00 Seen as Timely for States by a lack of researchers trained to help 7 Peer Review Undergoing jects or grades in which value- 6 Common Core’s Focus on dent San José Unified School District in Revitalization ‘Close Reading’ Stirs Worries 7 States Make Swift Progress on districts make sense of the data, according added data are available, that California. “Considering our economy sur- Student-Data Technology to education watchers. debate is also largely irrel- 7 Few States Cite Full Plans vives on predictive analytics, it’s amazing to COMMENTARY: Predictive analytics include an array of me that predictive analytics evant. Now, teachers’ unions, for Carrying Out Standards 8 Surviving a Data Crash don’t drive public edu- 10 Moving Beyond Test Scores statistical methods, such as data cation. Maybe in content-area experts, and 8 Common Core Poses Published February 29, 2012, in Education Week 9 ‘Data Mining’ Gains Traction mining and modeling, 12 My Students Help Assess administrators in many states Challenges for Preschools in Education used to identify My Teaching the factors that and communities are hard at work 10 Common Core Raises PD 13 Taking Teacher Evaluation COMMENTARY: predict the examining measures that could be Opportunities, Questions to Extremes Educators in Search 11 My Nine ‘Truths’ of Data Analysis likelihood of cOmmentary: used to weigh teachers’ contributions to a speciﬁ c 15 Value-Added: It’s Not Perfect, 11 Standards: A Golden 12 Education as a Data-Driven learning in subjects ranging from career and technical But It Makes Sense Opportunity for K-16 Enterprise result. education to art, music, and history—the subjects, of Common-Core Resources Collaboration

13 Data Rich But Information Poor PAGE 2> RESOURCES: 12 The Common-Core 17 Resources on Teacher Evaluation Contradiction By Catherine Gewertz RESOURCES: s states and districts begin the work of turning com 15 Resources on Data-Driven re SOurceS: mon academic standards into curriculum Decision Making 14 Resources on - Common Core tion, educators searching for teaching resources and instruc are often finding that process frustrating and fruitless.- A Teachers and curriculum developers who ar road maps that reflect the Common Core State Standards can e trying to craft

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