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Good practices morph and mature: Response to Intervention
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P. Fred Storti, MESPA Executive Director
May 2008 --
Report from MESPA Executive Director P. Fred Storti

"What we didn’t have 20 years ago and have today are better data, more frequent and appropriate assessments, and more effective classroom interventions."

Twenty years ago when I was a principal in Roseville, one of our school challenges was getting general education and special education teachers to work more closely together to maximize student achievement. We developed a co-teaching model in which classroom, Title I, and special education teachers planned and taught together with a focus on helping our emerging readers. We developed a Problem Solving Team, through which classroom teachers, Title I and special education teachers, the school psychologist, and the principal met on a regular basis to brainstorm teaching strategies, problem solve, and develop solutions.

Sound familiar? Principals, as instructional leaders, are always looking for ways to more effectively raise student achievement through the use of data and instructional effectiveness. What we didn’t have 20 years ago and have today are better data, more frequent and appropriate assessments, and more effective classroom interventions. Over the years, this approach has morphed and matured into Response to Intervention (RtI), an approach that many principals across the state are implementing on a continuum of breadth and depth.

This year at our members’ request, we developed Data Leadership seminars that were facilitated around the state. The seminars, taught by Dr. Ben Silberglitt from TIES, were well received by principals. The suggestion we heard from our MESPA members was: “We need a seminar, retreat and/or professional development opportunity that would bring teachers and the principal together as a team to review data and develop a Response to Intervention strategy in our school.”

In December, MESPA President-Elect Jon Millerhagen attended a national conference on RtI in Washington D.C. which involved teams of educators from 40 of our 50 states. The charge from the National Center on Response to Intervention was to develop and scale up RtI initiatives in each state. (For more information on the National Center for RtI, visit www.rti4success.org.)

The Minnesota RtI team consisted of: several individuals from the Minnesota Department of Education -- Assistant Commissioner Christy Hovanetz Lassila, Eric Kloos from Special Education, Jesse Montano from Title I, Pat  King from School Improvement; Marcia Averbook from Education Minnesota; Charlie Kyte from MASA; Paula Goldberg from PACER; and Jon Millerhagen from MESPA. They developed the following one-year goals – and have been meeting in Minnesota to address the goals.
  1. We will have developed a better level of communication between, and within, MDE, the education associations, and the school districts.
  2. We will collaborate at a better level than we have done in the past. The collaboration will be broad-based.
  3. We will have a state framework on RtI developed for districts to use as a guide. There will be agreement on the basic components and the framework will be widely communicated.
MESPA RtI Data Retreat, August 11-12
Through the collaborative efforts of MESPA, TIES, and the MN RtI Center, we developed a two-day RtI Data Retreat on August 11-12 for principal and teacher leadership teams. Our goal is to propel RtI initiatives in our schools. (For registration information visit the MESPA Web site at www.mespa.net. Click on Professional Development.)

We know that schools across the state are on a continuum of implementation with RtI. The purpose of our RtI Data Retreat is to energize and build skills to bring RtI to the next level in your school. We have the experts involved in presenting:
  • Dr. Kim Gibbons, executive director, St. Croix River Education District (SCRED)
  • Dr. Ann Casey, director, MN Response to Intervention Center
  • Dr. Ben Silberglitt, manager, Data Services, TIES
  • And a panel of experienced RtI MESPA principals.
Thinking back, I only wish that 20 years ago I had the knowledge, measurement tools, problem solving and instructional strategies to match what is available today. Have a great end to the school year!




Mission: The Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association is dedicated to promoting and improving education for children and youth, strengthening the role as educational leader for elementary and middle level principals, and collaborating with partners in education to assist in achieving these goals.

Leading schools toward excellence through the MESPA vision to be the premiere resource for preparing today's principals for tomorrow and a strong leading voice for public education.

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