Many define Response To Intervention (RTI) by the process of identifying students who need additional academic and/or social/emotional support. RTI is not just a process of implementing a series of academic and/or behavioral support steps. It is a way of thinking about how educators can ensure each student receives the time and support needed to achieve academic and social/emotional success in the blended learning environment. The key to effective RTI is collaborative teaching teams who align assessments and practices with the standards and students individual needs. In order to ensure the focus is primarily on the specific and targeted support, we must remember to develop these three key solution points:

Create a toolbox of effective interventions. When it comes to students, one size does not fit all. Each student learns and processes at different rates and speeds. This may be due to a myriad of factors, such as their academic readiness, attendance, motivation and/or social/emotional maturity. So, we need to ensure we have multiple interventions and teaching and learning strategies for students in the blended learning environment. It is critical that we utilize the appropriate assessment, observations, academic history and student interview to find which interventions are best for each student. There is always a reason why a student is struggle, we just have to use various sources to discover the underlying issue and provide the proven and targeted intervention(s).

Provide timely, targeted, and systematic interventions to all students who demonstrate the need. The underlying premise of RTI is that schools should not delay providing help for struggling students until they fall far enough behind to qualify for special education or 504 services. That’s why it is imperative that teachers collaborate regularly regarding students and identify which students require more immediate support. We should create a proactive process to identify students who need help, include the student/family in the process, place the student in the proper intervention(s), monitor their progress frequently, revise interventions as needed, and determine when students no longer need the additional support.

Be ready to address complex issues such as motivation, attendance, behavior, as well as academic performance. There are many factors that contribute to a student’s success or failure. During the RTI process, we should take into consideration all factors before designing a plan of intervention. Students enter the learning process at varying levels of academic readiness, but their behavior, attendance and motivation may be key factors in their academic struggles. Identifying interventions for motivation can be more difficult than identifying academic interventions. If the student’s lack of academic readiness is because of a lack of motivation regarding his/her education, which has led to a habitual attendance issue, then we must start with targeted strategies and interventions to address these factors first. Once we develop a plan for addressing the non-academic factors, we may determine that the student does not need further academic support.

--posted by Charmaine Carter, Educational Consultant - Louisiana, AdvancePath Academics