To get more of an insight to the RTI process I had conducted an
interview with Cynthia Riddick, a 5th/6th grade Instructional Special
Education Teacher in Einstein School. In the interview we touched base
on the RTI model and the process that teaches go through as well has her
own experience.
INTERVIEW:
Q1. What is your over all opinion on the RTI model?
A; I
think the RTI model has been a big help in finding and addressing the
needs of children who would otherwise "fall between the cracks", as well
as identifying those students who are in need of more enrichment
activities to further stretch them.
Q2. Which tier in the RTI model do you find to be most difficult?
A; The
tier that I find to be the most difficult to show growth in is tier 3.
Typically these children (1% to 10%) are children who are several years
below grade level and it is often these children who display very
involved issues with learning disabilities, communication processing and
deficits in short term memory. These children have big hurdles to
cross and their teachers need to be very concise and targeted in their
interventions for these students in order for them to show growth.
Another difficulty with this population of children is that they lose
much of what they have gained during the long summer months. So it
feels like we are always trying to catch them up. Progress can be very
slow.
Q3. What do you personally look for when identifying children that have learning & behavior needs?
A; Typically
the children I receive have already been identified either with a
learning disability or some behavioral/emotional need. Generally, they
have been referred by the general education teacher because they are not
showing appropriate growth on district and state assessments as well as
on classroom assessments. Generally these students would be put into
Tier 2 instruction for an extra "dip" of reading and math acceleration
and referred to the Child Study Team for further progress monitoring.
If appropriate growth is not shown within an acceptable amount of time,
they might be referred for a 504 (extra classroom and assessment
accommodations) and possibly brought up for a case study to see if they
require special education services.
Q4. Do you think
the time length for each step in the RIT model is appropriate? If not,
what changes would you like to see be made?
A; I
think it varies between children and needs to be considered on a person
by person bases. Because I am not a general education teacher and work
with students that are already in Tier 3, I do not have a lot of
experience moving kids through the tiers.
Q5. Can you give an example from your experience on what the typical procedure of the RTI process is like?
A; I
know from working with teams in our building, that students who are
below the 40% in Map at the beginning of the year are identified as
needing tier two support. These students are then put into math and
reading acceleration groups based on scores and need. They receive an
extra 30 min of reading and an extra 30 min of math instruction each day
hoping that this will help them close the gap. These services are
adjusted as the results of the second round of Map testing take place.
As a school we are still struggling with what to do with children who
are in tier three and are still in the general education classes and not
making much progress. Typically these children are already identified
as Special needs students and are also progressed monitored by a special
education teacher.
Q6. What advice would you give to first time educations when concerning the RTI model and process?
A; I
think the most important advice I could give to a new teacher is to
stress the importance of working closely with your team members and
learn from them the procedures and skills necessary to put the RTI model
into action. This model is highly dependent on team work and lots of
collaboration. You need to be a team player and be open and listen to
your grade level partners. Never be afraid to ask for help or put your
ideas out for discussion. In this way you will grow and obtain the
experience from others that you in turn will be able to use as you
develop in your own personal craft of teaching.
