How Can RTI Be Transformational?

By Dr. Patti Ralabate
NEA Senior Policy Analyst on Special and Gifted Education

Right now, an exciting thing is happening across the country: people who are not special education teachers are talking about RTI. Who are these people? They are general education classroom teachers, specialists, paraeducators, parents, superintendents, school principals, union leaders, state department of education staff, school board members, and attorneys. They are attending professional development sessions or conferences, participating in district or school level meetings, and maybe even reading this blog.

This is a critical juncture. Will they come to the conclusion that RTI is an approach that can transform how schools do business, or will they see it as another way to label and sort children? Will they integrate RTI into their vision of effective practice enabling all students to be successful, or will they relegate it to a time-consuming series of tasks that they don't really want to do?

What makes a significant difference is how people first experience RTI. As you learn about RTI and think about effective RTI implementation, consider these points:

1) Vision - RTI needs to be aligned vertically and horizontally with other initiatives and not piled on as just one more isolated "add-on." For example, efforts to improve school environment should be conducted within a positive behavioral support framework that uses an RTI approach.

2) Leadership - Cross-stakeholder RTI leadership teams should be established at the local, district, and state levels. These teams must be empowered to make decisions and represent all the key voices (e.g., general education teachers, school leaders, parents, students, specialists, and special education personnel).

3) Resources - Effective implementation requires more than simply purchasing a new student data system. In addition to high-quality professional development, educators need time to collaborate and learn from one another. Several coaching models, professional learning committee models, and communities of practice are now available to guide teams in their implementation process. One is provided by the IDEA Partnership at www.ideapartnership.org. Other readily available support includes blogs such as this one and the discussion boards of the RTI Action Network (www.rtinetwork.org).

If RTI leadership teams keep a "big idea" and "big tent" point of view, looking for opportunities to fundamentally change practice across grade levels and curriculum areas, then RTI has a transformational impact.

Have you seen this? Did your first experience with RTI cause you to view your curriculum and instructional practice differently? Or is your district's or school's approach focused only on sorting students into "RTI programs" that are simply new ways of pulling them out of the general education classroom? How transformational is RTI for you?

Comments

[Athena Oden, PT]

You are right! I am NOT a special education teacher and I am reading this blog! I am excited about the transformational possibilities of RTI and am working to help implement changes in some areas I hope will make an impact. I am a physical therapist (related-service personnel) and have helped create a curriculum for elementary level general education. The focus is on evidence-based motor activities that build a support system for the child to succeed academically. There is much evidence available about the connection of motor control, physical activity and learning for ALL students. Our curriculum includes all students in the motor class, with extra support available for those students who may need it (along with developing a measurement tool and screening tool). We see changes in academics, behavior, and in the 'big picture.' In some elementary schools and early childhood programs, we have been able to implement this support as a standard effective practice for all students. As a physical therapist, I feel we should use our training and expertise to enrich the general education environment and truly be a part of the team invested in change.

[Patti Ralabate]

Congratulations Athena! What you and your school team are doing is exactly what will make RTI a transformational approach. All the students are benefiting from your expertise and, at the same time, those students with specific motor needs benefit too. I'm particularly interested in the screening tool you mentioned. Is it evidence-based and available to others to use as a universal screening tool? Thanks for sharing your work with us.

[Charles Johns]

Patti:
This is really an insightful post. We have found that huge transformations really did happen when we ratched up our RtI system. It seemed like a whole different array of issues "mattered" and we saw wide scale improvement in academics and behavior. While many people don't realize it, there is a change in leadership as well. It is far more important that leadership respond to the needs rather than manage resources. We often describe the change as turning administration upside down. Now the impetus for programs comes from the classroom, rather than from decree.

[Lori Smith]

Patti,
I believe that your points about successful RtI implementation parallel my experiences as a school principal at Cheyenne Mountain Junior High. As we enter year 5 of implementation, our "vision" of RtI has fully evolved into the driving force for school improvement and increased student achievement. All of our team decisions around curriculum are driven by what our intervention audits tell us.
Your second point, regarding leadership, also serves as one of the most important sustaining factors of RtI. Without continual evaluation and revision of our problem-solving process, we would not be able to include as many stakeholders into our meetings as we do. Meetings always include myself and my assistant principal, counselors, district intervention specialist, and special education teachers as part of our core team. This core team consistency has been invaluable because we have maintained the same members for 5 years. Also, having the variety of expertise around the table is critical to evolving and making improvements to our interventions and processes.
Lastly, your point on resources has been the toughest part of our decision-making over the past 5 years and the point that requires the most man-power, research, and evaluation. We have found it critical to break our core team up into research teams based on our needs. Once we have our plan for needed resources, we strategically plan ahead at least one year due to budget shortfalls and budget cuts that we have experienced. In doing so, we have been able to purchase instructional materials, technology, and other resources associated with our three levels of interventions.
We are truly a team with a vision and consistent drive to continue improving student achievement. Excellent post- RtI can most definitely be transformation if those three key points can be consistently monitored and evaluated.

[Patti Ralabate]

Thanks Charles and Lori for sharing your experiences. It is very exciting to see enlightened school leadership guiding RTI implemention with a "vision" that includes key voices, is proactive, and builds reflective practice. Your respect for the expertise of your teams and the team decison-making process is obvious in your comments. I hope others have the chance to learn from your successes.

[Rickie]

My school is in the beginning stages of implementing RTI. Your blog was helpful at giving some insight to successful implementation of the process.

[Katharine]

As we are just beginning our discussions of RTI, and I use the word discussions lightly as it has mostly been mentioned in passing, and as I read this blog, I wonder if my district will have the financial resources to implement the training involved in RTI. We are in a dire financial situation and it looks like it is going to get worse before it gets better.

It will be unfortunate and decrease the success rate if we are expected to implement the system without proper training.