RtI: Reaching All Students Through Schoolwide Models of Reading and Behavior Support

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• RtI Reaching All Students Through Schoolwide
  Models of Reading and Behavior Support
• Margie McGlinchey
• Kathryn Schallmo
• Steve Goodman
• Michigan Reading First
• August 16, 2007

www.cenmi.org/miblsi
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Three Important Themes

• Create systems, not just programs, to support
  each and all students
• Earlier rather than later
• Evidence, not opinion

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Steps to School-wide Implementation of RtI

• Gain Commitment
• Build a leadership team
• Complete a school audit
• Create an action plan
• Implement action plan
• Evaluate

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Step 1 Gain Commitment

• Begin with the end in mind
• Our national goal as articulated in NCLB All
  children on grade level by grade 3.
• A safe school with effective structures and
  organization promoted by caring, nurturing, and
  protective staff

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Questions to ask ourselves

• Where does our school stand, relative to the
  national goal?
• Are we satisfied with our current student
  achievement?
• If we dont do anything different, will our
  student achievement improve?

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We are asking schools to change the way they do
things, and it is important acknowledge this in
your conversations with school staff
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All innovations worth their salt call upon
people to question and in some respects change
their behavior and their beliefs-even in cases
where innovations are pursued voluntarily.
(Fullen, 2001)
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Commitment must happen at multiple levels

• Building Principal
• They allocate time, resources, and materials to
  this effort
• More importantly, encourage, support, and guide
  staff through this process for the long term

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Commitment must happen at multiple levels

• The school staff
• Gain the commitment of at least 80 of your
  school staff before moving forward.
• Creates momentum, and common goals

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Commitment must happen at multiple levels

• District
• The unit of change is the individual school
  building but,
• District support reduces competing district
  initiatives that may slow implementation

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the more district-level control or constraints
put on a school, the lower the chances of the
school being organized in an effective manner.
(Marzano, 2003)
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How is Commitment Established?

• Conversations about Student Achievement
• Teaching staff about current best practices
• Showing examples of other schools that have
  accomplished the change process
• Acknowledging that it is a process

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Committing to what?

• To use student data and information to guide
  decision making
• To set up systems that support and sustain the
  collection and use of student data
• To invest the time (3-5yrs.) required for
  meaningful school improvement

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One Schools Experience

• Urban elementary school
• 80 Free and Reduced Lunch Status
• Enrollment 500 students

Example School
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Step 1 Gain Commitment

• Conversation at staff meeting
• Presentation of the school-wide model of
  intervention
• Conversation about current student achievement
• A staff vote confidential and in writing.

Example School
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High Stakes Test Reading Results Michigan
Educational Assessment Program
Example School
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Step 2 Build a leadership team

• The principals role is important, but one
  individual cant accomplish this level of school
  reform
• The charge of this team is to guide the staff
  through the process in an ongoing way

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Who is on the team?

• Principal
• A person with data expertise
• A person with reading expertise
• A person with behavioral expertise
• Classroom/program teachers
• Coach/Facilitator

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Team Functions

• Schedule ongoing meetings with structures to
  support data based decision making
• Share information with school staff
• Assist in setting up systems to support ongoing
  problem solving
• Create and complete action plans

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Step 2 Build a leadership team

• Principal
• Upper grade level teachers
• Lower grade level teachers
• School psychologist
• Special education teacher

Example School
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Step 3 Complete a school audit

• The school audit tells us what is working and
  what needs to be improved
• Different sources of information
• Process Data
• Student Data

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Process and Systems Data

• Where are we in relation to the steps of
  implementation and critical support features?
• Examples
• Implementation checklists
• Planning Evaluation Tool
• Effective Behavior Support Survey

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Student Data

• Student performance data must include outcome
  measures as well as a universal screening tool
• Examples
• Standardized Tests
• Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills
  (DIBELS)

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Outcome Measures

• In most states, there is a state mandated test by
  which local schools are judged.
• All tests used to evaluate student performance or
  a schools performance should be reliable and valid

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Universal Screening

• A critical feature of a school-wide model of
  prevention and intervention
• Must be reliable and valid
• Must be able to identify students at risk before
  they fail
• Must be predictive of later performance and
  achievement
• Must be relatively quick and easy

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Step 3 Complete a school audit

• Universal Screening DIBELS
• Implementation checklist Effective Behavior
  Support Team Implementation Checklist
• Planning Evaluation Tool

Example School
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Schools Major Discipline Referral Data
Example School
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DIBELS Kindergarten ISF
Example School
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DIBELS First Grade NWF
Example School
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Step 4 Create an Action Plan

• Team uses school audit to guide actions
• Priorities are based on student performance
• Action plans are documented with timelines and
  continuous review

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Step 4 Complete an Action Plan

• A school improvement plan reflected work for
  multiple years.
• The plan was reviewed 3 times per year.
• Multi-tiered interventions were developed to
  match intensity of student needs
• Progress monitoring was put in place
• Grade level team meetings were established

Example School
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Results

• Reading DIBELS, MEAP, and Planning Evaluation
  Tool
• Behavior Office Discipline Referral Data

Example School
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DIBELS Kindergarten Measure Initial Sound Fluency
Example School
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DIBELS First Grade Measure Nonsense Word Fluency
Example School
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Major Discipline Referrals
Example School
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High Stakes Test Reading Results Michigan
Educational Assessment Program
Began Implementation Fall 2001
Example School
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• So, how do we do this in Michigan

www.cenmi.org/miblsi
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FirstA Story of Prevention and Intervention
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• In a small town, a group of fishermen gathered
  down at the river. Not long after they got there,
  a child came floating down the rapids calling for
  help. One of the group on
  the shore quickly
  dived in and pulled
• the child out.

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• Minutes later another child came, then another,
  and then many more children were coming down the
  river. Soon everyone was diving in and dragging
  children to the shore,
• then jumping
• back in to save
• as many as
• they could.

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• In the midst of all this frenzy, one of the group
  was seen walking away. Her colleagues were irate.
  How could she leave when there were so many
  children to save? After long hours, to everyones
  relief, the flow of children stopped, and the
  group could finally catch their breath.
• At that moment, their colleague came back. They
  turned on her and angrily shouted
• HOW COULD YOU WALK
• OFF WHEN WE NEEDED
• EVERYONE HERE TO SAVE
• THE CHILDREN?

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• She replied, It occurred to me that someone ought
  to go upstream and find out why so many kids were
  falling into the river. What I found is that the
  old wooden bridge had several planks missing, and
  when some children tried to jump over the gap,
  they couldnt make it and fell through into the
• river. So I got someone
• to fix the bridge.

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School-Wide Support Systems for Student Success
1-5
7-15
80
Behavior
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Mission Statement

• To develop support systems and sustained
  implementation of a data-driven, problem solving
  model in schools to help students become better
  readers with social skills necessary for success.

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A logic for linking Behavior and Literacy Supports

• Improving the social behavior of students results
  in
• More minutes spent in academic instruction
• Better acquisition during engaged minutes
• High quality instruction engages students, and
  leads to reduction in problem behavior.

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A logic for linking Behavior and Literacy Supports

• Children who fall behind academically will be
  more likely to
• A) Find academic work aversive
• B) Find escape-maintained problem behaviors
  reinforcing.

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Implications

• Invest in prevention (high quality primary
  settings)
• Progress monitoring
• Early Intervention
• Data-based decision-making
• Functional behavioral assessment
• Inclusion of academic interventions as PART of
  behavior support plans for escape-maintained
  problem behavior.

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Big Ideas to Improve Behavior

• Specify appropriate behavior
• Teach appropriate behavior
• Monitor behavior
• Encourage appropriate behavior
• Correct inappropriate behavior

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Teaching Behavior Expectations in HallwayEast
Elementary
Reduction in Major Discipline Referrals
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We want to create a culture of positive behavior
support within schools with shared values,
language, expectations and experiences.
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Criteria on Team Implementation Checklist and
Effect on Student Behavior
n 22
n 31
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Major Discipline Referrals per 100 Students by
Cohort
n 8
n 18
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Big Ideas to Improve Reading

• Clear goals/objectives
• Research-based instructional practices
• Instructional time
• Instructional leadership
• Responsive intervention program
• Assessment
• Professional development

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Looking at Julias data

• Context Matters

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End of Year goal is to demonstrate this skill at
35 phonemes per minute-grey area
As an educator, do you have a concern about this
childs progress on the end of year goal/skill
(remember she is only in Kindergarten)
Based on her performance and progress, would you
think she may have some sort of developmental
delay?
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End of Year goal is to demonstrate this skill at
35 phonemes per minute-grey area
The environmental background is a significant
factor in a schools achievement, given that so
many children start below, and end below
expectations.
And now the rest of the class.
Now that you see this student in the context of
the whole class. What are your thoughts regarding
the lack of significant growth?
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If you were the instructional leader in this
building, what might you do?

• Organize a parent meeting to help parents
  understand the importance of preschool and early
  stimulation
• Change the curriculum
• Offer professional development for all
  Kindergarten teachers
• Put the teacher on a plan of support
• Ask the district office for paraprofessional
  support to address such a large group of needy
  students

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Same building different teacher
Would it make a difference at the classroom
level?
Would having this information, make a difference
in your instructional decisions at a building
level?
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Steps for Successful Readers (Schools in
Kalamazoo County 2004-2006)
Probability of Staying on Track
Probability of Catching-Up
Phonemic Awareness (Spr, Kdg)
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Relationship of Reading Rate and MEAP
Performance One School
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Importance of Protected Reading Block
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Outcomes-Driven Model at all three levels of
implementation
Identify/ Validate Need
Plan Support
Implement Support
Evaluate Effectiveness of Support
Review Outcomes
adapted from Roland Good
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Percent of Students at DIBELS Benchmark level
Schoolwide
n 20
n 29
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(No Transcript)
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Prerequisites for MiBLSi Implementation

• Commitment by
• 80 of building staff
• Administration at building and district levels
• Agreement to implement for at least two years
• Reading/Behavior one of top three building goals
• Building team and coach identified

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MiBLSi Support Structure
National Initiatives Connection
Funding/ Professional Development
Reading/ Discipline Information
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State Trainers

• Thirty state trainers
• In the areas Reading Support, Behavior Support or
  both
• Current and retired school staff psychologists,
  social workers, principals, special education
  teachers, general education teachers, educational
  consultants, special education administrator
• Trainers meet to create materials and
  review/evaluate training sessions
• Trainers provide repeated sessions in different
  regions (to increase familiarity with materials
  and reduce prep time)
• Trainers supported through technology
• Conferencing software/phone conferencing
• Supporting webpage

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Coaching Support

• Coaches identified during application process
  (one for behavior, one for reading, or one person
  for both areas)
• Coaches meet with teams at least once/month in
  addition to team training session
• Coaches meet additional 4 days per year
• Additional coaching support strategies
• Phone conferences with coaches prior to training
  session
• Principal and Coaches meet one hour prior to
  training session or meeting outside of team
  training
• Coaches have supporting webpage

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Impact of Coaching on Student OutcomesAverage
Major Discipline Referrals per Day per Month
Coach returns from leave
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How do we do this in our school?

• Use existing teams/committees as much as possible
• Embed project activities into current initiatives
  (i.e., school improvement, safe schools,
  character education, etc.)
• Establish three levels of implementation, each
  with different functions
• School-wide
• Grade level
• Individual student

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Three Levels of Implementation

• School Improvement Team
• ? Provide guidance with school-wide assessments,
  school improvement planning/ implementation and
  evaluation of the improvement process.
• Communicate and celebrate with school/community
• Emphasis on Prevention
• Grade Level Team
• ? Guide assessments at the grade/student level,
  provide instructional planning, implementation
  and evaluation for reading instruction and
  behavior management
• Primary emphasis on Prevention
• Secondary emphasis on Intervention
• Student Assistance/Child Study Team
• Provide guidance with individual assessments,
  linking assessment results to intervention
  planning, implementation and evaluation of plan
  for reading and/or behavior
• Primary emphasis on Intervention

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Process of Inquiry Through this process of
inquiry, we are using data to determine if we
have the critical information (quantity and
quality) to design and evaluate student support
programs.

• Do we have a problem?
• What are the standards? (goals, benchmarks, etc.)
• What is the actual performance?
• Is the actual performance acceptable? (if no,
  continue)
• Where are the concerns?
• Why is this problem occurring?
• Is the right thing being done at the right
  time?
• Do we have the information needed to
  develop/enhance student support?

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Providing support at all three levels
Importance of setting up systems of support
Implement Intensive Intervention

Students needing intensive/ individualized
Interventions
Implement Targeted Intervention
Students needing strategic/targeted
interventions
Students performing at desired levels
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As the magnitude of the problem increases.
The need to enhance environmental structures
increases
The frequency for collecting and acting upon
information increases
The required resources to address the problem
increases
Core Support Program Provided to all, intended
to reach most.
Continuum of Supports
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Major Dangers Things to Avoid

• Begin implementation without staff commitment
• Begin implementation without resources.
• Implement without a coach.
• Rely on coach or lead person to do it all
• Implement insufficient elements, and obtain no
  effect.
• E.g. Failure to teach behavioral expectations
• Implement so slowly that commitment is lost.
• Implementation without on-going evaluation.
• Focus first on extent to which elements are
  implemented
• Focus second on impact on students

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Integration of four critical elements (Sugai,
2001)
Supporting Staff Behavior
Supporting Decision Making
OUTCOMES
SYSTEMS
INFORMATION
PRACTICES
Supporting Student Behavior
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Cheshire, Alice began rather timidly, Would
you tell me please, which way I ought to go from
here? That depends a good deal on where you
want to get to, said the Cat. I dont much
care- said Alice. Then it doesnt matter which
way you go, said the Cat. Alices Adventures in
Wonderland by Lewis Carrol