RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION (RTI)

RTI FRAMEWORK WILL SUPPORT STUDENTS IN BOTH THE ACADEMIC AND BEHAVIORAL AREAS

Recently the New York State Education Department released the document, "Response to Intervention: Guidance for New York State School Districts." The Warwick Valley Central School District is in year three of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI).

Response to Intervention is the practice of providing high-quality instruction/intervention related to student needs, and using learning rate over time, and level of performance, to make important educational decisions about individual students. (National Association of State Directors of Special Education - 2006.) RTI begins with high-quality, research-based instruction in the general education setting provided by general education teachers.

All K-8 staff is working towards having the following RTI requirements in place by July 2012:

• Quality, research-based instruction

• Three screenings a year for all students

• Instruction matched to student needs

• Progress monitoring to assess student progress toward meeting goals

• Data driven decision making

• Parent notification

The Warwick RTI framework will support students in both the academic and behavioral areas. Each K-8 building has an Instructional Support Team (IST). This is a problem-solving team responsible for reviewing data on student progress and conferring with teachers working with students who are struggling with academic and/or behavioral expectations. It is the responsibility of the IST to make decisions based on student needs.

Over the coming months, parents will receive more information on the Warwick RTI model. If you would like to review the NY State Guideline document, please go to www.nysrti.org and click on NYSED RTI Guideline Document pdf on the left side of the page.

If you have any questions regarding RTI, please contact Marijane Reinhard, Ed.D, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instructional Services, at 987-3053 or by email at mreinhard@wvcsd.org.