FloridaRtIf

1. A collaborative project between the Florida Department of Education and the University of South Florida FloridaRtI.usf.edu

2. Welcome! Presenters • Michael Curtis, Co-director - Florida’s PS/RtI Project • Heather Diamond – Bureau of Exceptional Education • and Student Services (BEESS) • Clark Dorman, Project Leader - Florida’s PS/RtI Project Panel Members • Amelia VanName Larson, Student Services Supervisor and District PS/RtI Facilitator– Pasco County School District • Monica Verra, Director of Exceptional Student Education – Pasco County School District • Elizabeth Bondy, Professor, School of Teaching and Learning - University of Florida • Patty McHatton, Director of Project Expertise- University of South Florida • Daphne Thomas, Chair of Department of Special Education - University of South Florida

3. Overview of the Day Morning Session • FLDOE Perspective on PS/RtI • The PS/RtI Model: Conceptual Foundation, Practical Issues in Application, Implementation Issues, Knowledge and Skills Needed for Success; The Florida Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project • Lunch (on your own)

4. Overview (cont’d) Afternoon Session • School District Views of PS/RtI: Implementation Issues, Knowledge and Skills Needed by Personnel Already in the Field and those Entering the Workforce • University Perspectives from General and Special Education – Preparing Personnel for PS/RtI; Where We Are vs Where We Need to Be; Potential Barriers to Getting There; Potential Strategies • Questions and Answers, Discussion

5. Overview (cont’d) • Within University Small Group Discussion • Where are you in preparing for PS/RtI? • Where do you need to be? • What are significant barriers to getting there? • Next steps: strategies to reduce and/or eliminate barriers. • Report Out from Small Groups, Large Group Discussion, and Wrap Up

6. Advance Organizer for Morning Florida’s Response to Intervention: Application in General and Special Education The PS/RtI Model: Conceptual Foundation Practical Issues in Application/Implementation Issues, Knowledge and Skills Needed for Success The Florida Problem Solving/Response to Intervention Project

7. Outcomes of State Efforts • Introductory RtI TAP disseminated on March 3, 2006; can be accessed at: http://www.fldoe.org/ese/pdf/y2006-8.pdf • Collaboration and Emphasis on General Education Involvement/Leadership • Problem-Solving/RtI Florida Project is accessible at: http://floridarti.usf.edu/ • PS/RtI – • Teaching Learning Connection (TLC): academic focus • Positive Behavior Support: behavior focus • State-wide PS/RtI Implementation Plan • Relevant Rule Revisions: E/BD, Proposed Administrative, Draft SLD, Draft LI

8. Florida Department of Education PS/RtI Integrates Efforts PS / RtI

9. State-Level Collaborators • Bureau of School Improvement, FLDOE • Just Read, Florida!, FLDOE • Florida Center for Reading Research, FSU • LD Research Project, FSU • PS/RtI Pilot Project, USF • RtI-TLC Project, UCF • Positive Behavior Support Project, USF • Student Support Services Project, USF • FL Center for Research – STEM, FSU • Office of Math and Science, FLDOE • Bureau of Exceptional Student Education and Student Services, FLDOE • Reading First Professional Development, RFPD • Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, FND • Florida Educators Association, FEA

10. What does the State Plan do? • Provides an overview of Florida’s perspective and approach to RtI. • Connects and integrates terms and concepts with existing initiatives. • Specifies foundational beliefs about how to create ideal conditions to promote student achievement. • Calls for active engagement of parents. • Discusses positive impact on school improvement, student achievement, and disproportionate representation of minority populations in special education programs.

11. What does the State Plan Do? • Specifies State and District responsibilities in the scaling-up process. • Outlines the state team infrastructure. • Policy leadership team • Implementation team • Advisory group • Reports current and future activities. • Suggests flexible funding considerations. • Applies to English language learners (ELL). • Applies to Special Education eligibility. • Contains links to resources and related efforts to assist the reader in next steps.

12. Tools to Support Efforts • District/School Self-Assessment Tool • Guidance for District/School Planning • On-line Training Module(s): • Introductory course housed at USF • Currently used by pre-service students in counseling, school psychology & social work • Will soon be accessible to all

13. What is RtI? RTI is the practice of (1) providing high quality instruction/intervention matched to student needs and, (2) using level of performance and learning rate over time to (3) make important educational decisions to guide instruction. National Association of State Directors of Special Education, 2005

14. Core Principles of RtI • A process designed to maximize achievement for all students • Frequent data collection on student performance • Early identification of students at risk • Early intervention (K-3) • Multi-tiered model of service delivery • Research-based, scientifically validated instruction/interventions • Ongoing progress monitoring - interventions evaluated and modified • Data-based decision making - all decisions made with data • Focused on outcomes

15. Response to Intervention is Not: • About the identification of LD • An instructional program. It is a framework to make decisions about instructional needs based on student data • A way to avoid special education placement • A hoop to jump through to ensure Sp. Ed. placement • Intended to promote or encourage placement for students • Intended to focus only on students who are below expected levels of proficiency • Possible to implement alone; it is a cooperative effort of teachers, administrators, and support staff

16. What’s it look like?What does it do? Characteristics of a Building with RtI a. Frequent data collection on students in critical areas b. Early identification of students at risk c. Early intervention (kindergarten) d. Interventions evaluated and modified (if necessary) frequently e. Tiered levels of service delivery f. All decisions made with or verified by data Outcomes of RtI a. Improved rate of academic and behavior performance b. Significantly reduced disproportionality c. Reductions in special education referrals and placements

17. Big Ideas

18. Educational disability results from the complex interaction between curriculum, instruction, the environment, and learner characteristics. Educational needs vary widely within and across disability categories Auditory Learners Visual Learners Kinesthetic Learners Aptitude by Treatment interactions (ATIs) have not been proven. Auditory Reading Methods Visual Reading Methods Kinesthetic Reading Methods Ideas What We Now Know What We Used to Think Thorough understanding of the intrapersonal (within person) causes of educational disabilities is the most critical factor in determining appropriate treatment. Persons within disability categories have similar educational needs that are different in educationally important ways from persons in other disability categories. Matching treatments to underlying characteristics will result in maximally effective interventions.

19. J J L Intervention L Consider ESE J Monitor Progress J Monitor Progress L Regular Education Intervention L Intervention Consider ESE If necessary Traditionalvs.Response to Intervention Intervention Traditional- Intervention J 19 Response to Intervention-

20. How we got here… Referral for Psychoeducational Evaluation Psychoeducational Evaluation Conducted Teacher Recognizes Problem Intervention Brainstorming Intervention Brainstorming Eligibility Determination Data Analyzed To Determine Systemic v. Individual Student Problem Teacher/ School Level Screening Recognizes Problem Disability Characteristics Determined Monitoring of Response to Intervention Monitoring of Response to Intervention Discovery of Student Need Informed Intervention Intervention Revision Eligibility Determination Assessment 20

21. A Shift in Thinking The central question is not: “What about the students is causing the performance discrepancy?” but “What about the interaction of the curriculum, instruction, learners and learning environment should be altered so that the students will learn?” This shift alters everything else Ken Howell

22. We Need A New Logic • Begin with the idea that the purpose of the system is student achievement • Acknowledge that student needs exist on a continuum rather than in typological groupings • Organize resources to make educational resources available in direct proportion to student need David Tilly 2004

23. Three Tiered Model of School Supports: Example of an Infrastructure Resource Inventory Academic Systems Behavioral Systems Tier III: Comprehensive and Intensive Interventions ( Few Students) Students who need Individualized Interventions Tier III: Intensive Interventions ( Few Students) Students who need Individual Intervention Tier II: Strategic Interventions (Some Students) Students who need more support in addition to the core curriculum Tier II: Targeted Group Interventions (Some Students) Students who need more support in addition to school-wide positive behavior program Tier I: Universal Interventions All students; all settings Tier I: Core Curriculum All students 23

25. Behavioral Systems Academic Systems Three Tiered Model of School Supports: Example of an Infrastructure Resource Inventory Tier 3: Comprehensive and Intensive Interventions Individual Students or Small Group (2-3) Reading: Scholastic Program, Reading,Mastery, ALL, Soar to Success, Leap Track, Fundations Tier 3: Intensive Interventions Individual Counseling FBA/BIP Teach, Reinforce, and Prevent (TRP) Assessment-based Intense, durable procedures 1-5% Tier 2: Strategic Interventions Students not responding to core curriculum Reading: Soar to Success, Leap Frog, CRISS strategies, CCC Lab Math: Extended Day Writing: Small Group, CRISS strategies, and “Just Write Narrative” by K. Robinson Tier 2: Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) Small Group Counseling Parent Training (Behavior & Academic) Bullying Prevention Program FBA/BIP Classroom Management Techniques, Professional Development Small Group Parent Training ,Data 5-10% Tier 1: Core Curriculum All students Reading: Houghton Mifflin Math: Harcourt Writing: Six Traits Of Writing Learning Focus Strategies Tier 1: Universal Interventions All settings, all students Committee, Preventive, proactive strategies School Wide Rules/ Expectations Positive Reinforcement System (Tickets & 200 Club) School Wide Consequence System School Wide Social Skills Program, Data (Discipline, Surveys, etc.) Professional Development (behavior) Classroom Management Techniques,Parent Training 80-90% Students

26. Tiers of Service Delivery 1. Problem Identification-What’s the problem? Tier I Tier II Tier III 4. Response to Intervention- Is it working? 2. Problem Analysis- Why is it occurring? 3. Intervention Design/Implementation- What are we going to do about it? 26

27. Implications for Activitiesat Various Tiers More Less Instructional Time Applicable evidence-based interventions Measurement Frequency Measurement Precision Group Size Measurement Focus Depth of Problem Analysis 27 Less More

28. A systematic and structured process that uses the skills of professionals from different disciplines to develop, implement, and evaluate intervention plans that result in the significant improvement (closing the gap) of student performance Problem Solving

29. Multiple Levels of PS: State District School Grade Level Classroom Student PS occurs continually during all tiers of the RtI model The PS/RtI Relationship

30. Step 1 – Problem Identification: What is the problem? To identify a problem, you need to start with three pieces of data • Expected level of performance • Student level of performance • Peer level of performance

31. Peers Expectation Student Problem ID % compliance weeks 31

32. Peers Problem ID % compliance Expectation Student weeks 32

33. Problem ID % compliance Expectation Peers Student weeks 33

34. The development of hypotheses about probable causes for the identified problem Assessment data are collected to validate hypotheses Step 2 - Problem Analysis: Why is it occurring?

35. Problem Analysis The problem is occurring because ________________. If ____________ would occur, the problem would be reduced.

36. Step 2 - Problem Analysis: Why is it occurring? RIOT by ICEL

37. Step 3 – Intervention Design: What are we going to do about it? • Effective teaching strategies consider both what to teach and how to teach it. • Making good decisions will increase student progress. • It is critical that the instruction be matched to the problem. Howell & Nolet, 2000

38. Step 3 – Intervention Design: What are we going to do about it? • Match intervention type and intensity to student(s), setting, problem • Interventions must focus on teaching desired behavior • Select evidence-based interventions that match context of school/classroom culture • Provide support for implementation • Coaching • Evaluation of implementation integrity

39. Goal Step 4 – Progress Monitoring: Is it working? • Making instructional / intervention decisions based on review and analysis of student data • Progress monitoring always includes graphing Classroom Intervention I Classroom Intervention 2 39

40. Positive Questionable Poor Goal Response to Intervention Classroom Intervention Performance Expected Rate Observed Rate Time

41. Application Issues:Challenges - Data • Collection • What is collected and who collects it? • How frequently is it collected? • Organization • Disaggregated by grade, gender, race, language, SES? • Designed to answer specific questions (Tier 1/2 effectiveness?

42. Application Issues:Challenges - Data • Management • Technology is imperative • AIMS-WEB, Wireless Generation • Local Programs • Display-necessary to evaluate RtI • Goals/Benchmarks • Aimline • Trendline • Rate

43. Application Issues:Challenges - Integrating Tiers • Tier 1 (Core) instruction present at all three levels • Purpose of Tier 2 is to improve success in Tier 1 • Purpose of Tier 3 is to improve success in Tier 2 • Is there a single “intervention” plan made up of different Tier services?

44. Application Issues:Challenges - Intervention Support • Intervention plans should be developed based on student need and skills of staff • All intervention plans should have intervention support • Principals should ensure that intervention plans have intervention support • Teachers should not be expected to implement plans for which there is no support

45. Need for Systems Change • PS/RtI is not another project or program • PS/RtI represents a new way of thinking about how we educate all students • PS/RtI represents a New Way of Work • Implementation of a PS/RtI model requires major systemic change

46. Change Model Consensus Infrastructure Implementation

47. Stages of Implementing Problem-Solving/RtI • Consensus • Belief is shared • Vision is agreed upon • Implementation requirements understood • Infrastructure Development • Regulations • Training/Technical Assistance • Model (e.g., Standard Protocol) • Tier I and II intervention systems • E.g., K-3 Academic Support Plan • Data Management • Technology support • Decision-making criteria established • Implementation

48. The Process of Systems Change • Until, and unless, Consensus (understanding the need and trusting in the support) is reached no support will exist to establish the Infrastructure. Until, and unless, the Infrastructure is in place Implementation will not take place. • A fatal error is to attempt Implementation without Consensus and Infrastructure • Leadership must come both from all levels

49. What changes need to occur? Beliefs Knowledge Skills

50. Beliefs • Making the shift to a new paradigm, like PS/RtI, does not simply involve accepting a new set of skills. It also involves giving up certain beliefs in favor of others. • PS/RtI requires systemic change in the way we educate all students Ken Howell