Edward S. Shapiro
Director,
Center for Promoting Research to Practice
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Planning for the Implementation of RTI:Lessons Learned from Project MP3
Initial Planning Stage
Implementation would require change
Rethink how instructional decisions made
Change is difficult!
Comprehensive planning was critical to success of project
Selection of Schools
Roll out of Model
Professional development and training
Sustainability
Preparation began several months prior to implementation
Assessing Readiness for Change
Prior to planning, evaluated district’s level of readiness
“Creative Tension” (Green & Ethridge, 2001) evident
District administration recognized importance of RTI
Internal evaluation- current practices not sufficient
RTI implemented in only 1 of 13 schools
DIBELS data collected but not used
Year Prior to Implementation
Develop Model
Meet with District
Administration
Meet with Building
Administration
Meet with School 1
Staff
Meet with School 2
Staff
Meet with School 3
Staff
First Year of Implementation
ProfessionalDevelopment
For School 1
Training with
Core Team
Coaching
Consultationand
Support
No Intervention for School 2 and School 3
Professional Development Session with All Schools
PD Sessions
Core TeamTraining
Coaching
Consultationand Support
Core TeamTeaching
Coaching
Consultationand Support
Schools 2 & 3
Second Year of Implementation
Professional Development-School 1
•School year prior to implementation
–4- 45 minute sessions with entire staff
•Summer prior to implementation
–5 days with data team
–2 days with entire staff prior to start of school
•During first implementation year
–7- 45 minute sessions throughout school year
–2- 2 hour in-services
–1- full day training
Professional Development-Schools 2 & 3
•School year prior to implementation
–1- 2 hour in-service with entire staff
–2- 45 minute sessions with staff
–1-full day training
•Summer prior to implementation
–5 days with data team
–2 days with entire staff prior to start of school
•During first implementation year
–2- 2 hour in-services
–Training conducted by district staff at additional professionaldevelopment sessions
Initial Planning Meeting
Held 8 months prior to implementation in schools
All stakeholders involved
Key administrators from district
PaTTAN
Project Staff
Discussed topics related to planning
Overview of model
Proposed timeline
Identified participating schools
School level needs
Readiness for change
Building leadership
Presentation of Model to schools
Meeting with Principals
Met with principals from three participating schools
Provided overview of model
Question and Answer
Discussed Professional Development Needs
Discussed how to present to staff
Staff Meetings
Met with teachers at each building
Provided overview of project
Question and Answer
Teachers completed staff development survey
Results used to plan future professional developments
Professional Development
Ongoing throughout the course of project
Attempted to provide as much training prior toimplementation as possible
Started with four 45 minute sessions held in Spring ofyear prior to implementation
Session 1:Overview and Question and Answer
Session 2-4: Developed based on results of needs assessment
Professional Development
Results of PD surveys indicated that teachers wantedadditional training in use of data to make instructionaldecisions
PD sessions focused on
Rationale for data-based decision making
Methods for using data to guide instruction
Opportunities to practice
Additional Professional Development
Week long training in summer for data team
Data team members to serve as facilitators
Principal, Reading Specialist, Instructional Support Teacher, SchoolPsychologist, Key Teachers 1 per grade, 1 Special Ed teacher
Training topics
Progress Monitoring
AIMSweb
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Data-based decision making
Additional Professional Development
Two day training for all staff at start of school year
Progress monitoring
5 Big Ideas of reading instruction
Interventions: Tiered interventions
Provided multiple opportunities for discussion and practice
Met with some resistance
Teacher concerns –
“Can’t make decisions off of numbers.”
“How can we fit this in a day of school?”
“How much time will we waste moving kids around the school?”
“Extra work placed on classroom teacher, like progress monitoring?”
Additional Professional Development
Additional sessions held throughout the school year
Contracted 2 meetings per month prior to school- One wasgrade level meeting, One was professional development
Differentiated Instruction
Vocabulary Instruction
AIMSweb
Advanced data analysis
Interventions
Sessions conducted by school staff to promote sustainability
Worked with Reading Specialist, IST with our help and support sothey could continue after we left
Professional Development Sessions
Skills built upon those presented in the past
reviewed info from past sessions
provided practice with learned skills
introduced new information
In vivo training and support provided throughout the course ofthe project
Always followed didactic with in-classroom mentoring, coaching,modeling
Not always Lehigh staff, could also be district personnel with our support
Needs assessed and support faded when possible to facilitatesustainability
Assessment of Readiness
Use the RTI Readiness and Implementation Self-Assessment
Staff at school rate the components
We also rated each school
Ratings represent collective viewpoints of primarystakeholders
RTI Self Assessment Tool-School 1 – Implemented 2 years
SAPSS
Standards Aligned Curriculum2.82.5
Universal Screening3.03.0
Shared Ownership3.03.0
Data-based Decision making3.02.4
Tiered Interventions3.03.0
Parent Engagement2.32.5
Behavior1.01.0
Eligibility Determination2.52.5
Leadership3.02.7
Professional Development3.03.0
SA= Self Assessment; PSS= Project Staff Assessment
RTI Self Assessment Tool-School 2 – Implemented 1 year
SAPSS
Standards Aligned Curriculum2.32.3
Universal Screening3.02.7
Shared Ownership2.51.0
Data-based Decision making2.82.0
Tiered Interventions3.02.2
Parent Engagement1.82.3
Behavior2.01.2
Eligibility Determination3.02.0
Leadership3.02.3
Professional Development3.02.2
SA= Self Assessment; PSS= Project Staff Assessment
RTI Self Assessment Tool-School 3 – Implemented 1 year
SAPSS
Standards Aligned Curriculum2.82.8
Universal Screening3.02.7
Shared Ownership2.53.0
Data-based Decision making2.83.0
Tiered Interventions2.82.8
Parent Engagement2.31.3
Behavior1.61.4
Eligibility Determination2.52.5
Leadership3.02.7
Professional Development2.62.2
SA= Self Assessment; PSS= Project Staff Assessment
Disclaimer
This webinar was made possible by the support of the U.S.Department of Education Office of SpecialEducation Programs.
Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do notnecessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department ofEducation.