Response To Intervention
What is it?
How does it help students?
Here at Saint Bernard’s we strive to make sure that all students are making, not just adequate progress, but certain and steady academic skills acquisition. We work to see that each student is showing true strength in academic gains in their classrooms. A teacher may not see strong advancement and suspect that there may be something impairing a student’s ability to learn or to develop the skills needed for success. Beyond differentiating the instruction, s/he may begin individualized intervention strategies that directly address any specific difficulties the student may have. Working closely with the learning specialist at Saint Bernard's throughout this process provides the classroom teacher with needed support. Determining if or how the student responds to this individualized program is the focus behind ‘Response To Intervention’.
‘Response To Intervention’ is a model put in place in order to effectively determine whether or not a student meets eligibility criteria for Specific Learning Disabilities. It helps assure that school failure is most likely due to processing and learning difficulties, and NOT due to the lack of appropriate instruction.
In order for a student to be eligible for Special Education Services, s/he must be diagnosed with what federal law terms “Specific Learning Disability”. An SLD is defined as: “A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.”
Public Law 801 -146
Good Reasons for using RTI
RTI is beneficial for early identification and treatment of learning problems.
It helps schools meet accountability guidelines and ensures the use of strong instructional strategies. Elements of the typical RTI model include:
- Universal screening of all children (seen in St Paul Public School district at the early childhood level)
- Identification of specific strengths and weaknesses (by measuring response to previous teaching and interventions, and reviewing standardized tests to pinpoint areas of difficulty)
- Comprehensive Diagnostic Testing (administered by trained professionals such as speech pathologists and licensed psychologists)
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