 | RtI: a casual conversation
 | | Dave Riebel |
“The (RtI) journey taken by the staff at Lewiston-Altura can be categorized by three building blocks: building infrastructure, utilizing assessments, and implementing interventions.”
Best Practices in Instructional Leadership (December 2008)
Dave Riebel, principal
Lewiston-Altura Elementary
“Is your school doing RtI?” asked Shane, a teacher whom I had met for the first time. Shane and I were at a reception and engaged in some chitchat when it became known that we both worked in elementary schools. His school was undertaking what he termed “the big initiative of the year,” Response to Intervention. We got into a good discussion about what he and his colleagues were learning. They were involved in several initiatives in order to move towards utilizing Response to Intervention at his school.
Response to Intervention is definitely a hot topic, and can be an overwhelming staff development initiative. Schools around the state range from baseline involvement up to several years of experience and expertise. The discussion with Shane made me ponder just what any school needs in order to proclaim that it utilizes Response to Intervention. While I know that our staff does not have all the answers, our experiences over the past several years gave me the chance to offer some thoughts to Shane. The journey taken by the staff at Lewiston-Altura can be categorized by three building blocks: building infrastructure, utilizing assessments, and implementing interventions.
Building Infrastructure: Shane expressed frustration that he and his 4th grade teaching partner are having a hard time collaborating about RtI because she has a different style and uses some different materials than he does. Six years ago, our district’s curriculum review process brought forth the opportunity to thoroughly study best practices in teaching reading, writing, and then math. The curriculum adoption process got the staff involved in finding a research-based, common curriculum that has consistent implementation K-6. Building this common, consistent infrastructure allows for needed collaboration within and across grade levels.
Utilizing Assessments: Shane also wanted to know what we used to monitor reading fluency. Shane had just experienced his first in-service with the AIMSweb assessments and definitely demonstrated the intrinsic excitement that fluency data can bring to a classroom teacher. Whether you are using AIMSweb or another assessment system, receiving direct, individual assessment information lets teachers know where their instruction levels should be and also provides the feedback that indicates whether their instructional efforts have been effective. An assessment system for comprehension also becomes needed as students progress into the upper elementary grades. Building in-progress monitoring assessments while instruction is taking place allows a staff to utilize the summative and formative benefits of the tests.
Implementing Interventions: I have personally been thankful that our staff began the processes of building infrastructure and implementing assessments prior to the RTI buzz. With the curricular infrastructure in place and assessments to inform instruction, we are able to develop a list of prescriptions for the various reading and math ailments that we detect. We were lucky to get our building blocks in place, so that now our staff learning can focus on monitoring which prescribed intervention materials and processes produce the desired results in student learning and performance.
Even though it was a casual conversation, it was great to see the passion and desire for learning within Shane. I hope you all have teachers that share the same passion and excitement towards Response to Intervention.
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