CEC's RTI Blog

Just Imagine: The Promise of RTI

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

Imagine this: You are a fifth-grade general-education classroom teacher with 25 students. On a weekly basis, you are able to determine how every student is progressing, which ones need additional instructional time and support, and which ones are ready to move ahead. You meet regularly with school colleagues to discuss alternative strategies that you can use in your classroom to meet the needs of every student. Special-education teachers and specialists are available to work with small groups in your classroom and individualized instruction is provided to those students in your class who have identified disabilities.

Does this situation already exist in your school? If so, maybe it's because your district or school has implemented a well-defined and effective Response to Intervention (RTI) process.

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?

RTI -- A Transformative General Education Initiative

By Dr. Patti Ralabate
NEA Senior Policy Analyst on Special and Gifted Education
 
Those of us who've been engaged in the education profession long enough have seen many "hot" topics come and go like fashion fads, without seeing much fundamental change. But once in a while an initiative surfaces that is transformative in nature -- Response to Intervention (RTI) is surely one.
 
How can I make such a broad statement? Every day I talk with educators across the country who share how difficult it is to meet the needs of growing diversity in their classrooms while budgets are shrinking, resources are diminishing, and demand for higher achievement is increasing. All of the students who are struggling are not likely to qualify for special education services -- which is sometimes the only way to provide extra academic or behavioral support in many districts. Effectively implemented, RTI offers support to students who need it by focusing assistance on them without labeling or putting them through a complicated process. Educators who have been fortunate to work in districts and states that are using a well-designed RTI approach are excited about how it helps them address the needs of students who are having difficulty. They are delighted to see the system working for those students who need it most.