Response to Intervention for Literacy

Project Description

The Response-To-Intervention model (RTI) is a system of support for struggling students. The intent of the model is to provide targeted support to these students in an attempt to improve reading, writing and communication skills before referring them to the special education system.

The Response-to-Intervention for Literacy (RTI-Lit) Program will provide technical assistance and support five pilot schools to improve reading, writing, and language skills for students struggling with literacy. Schools will be selected through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process. Personnel will receive on-site training and resources to develop recommended practices and strategies in reading instruction. Students will be selected for the project based on their difficulties in demonstrating reading proficiency but who have not yet been identified as requiring special educational services.

Through this pilot program, classroom teachers, reading specialists and special educators will receive technical assistance and professional development related to literacy instruction. They will also learn to use universal and student-specific assessment. Participating staff will complete a needs assessment, created by this project, which indicates current literacy teaching practices and areas of difficulty. Half-day professional development workshops, based on the Response-to-Intervention model, will focus on three tiers of increasingly intensive literacy instruction provided for struggling students. Educators from the five pilot schools will come together to learn teaching strategies and techniques, the research supporting these strategies, and have time to reflect with one another about the process of teaching older students literacy skills.

Response-To-Intervention for Literacy (RTI-Lit) teams will be formed at each pilot school and consist of 8-10 staff members, consisting of educators and administrators. Additional team members might be computer technology support staff, librarians, speech and language pathologists, or others who may provide support to staff or students as part of this project. The primary purpose of the RTI-Lit teams is to create a system to provide literacy support to struggling students. Each pilot school's RTI-Lit team will determine: (a) eligibility criteria for students; (b) assessment procedures; (c) logistical support to teachers; and (d) evaluation of the project for the students in their school.

Project staff will support teachers to evaluate and monitor their students' progress within their classrooms. Teachers will assess students on a regular basis, identifying those in need of additional reading and writing support and instruction, and report assessment and progress results to the RTI-Lit team. Additionally, project staff will inform the NH Department of Education of activities, data analysis results, and recommendations based on the work of the pilot schools. An evaluation of the overall program effectiveness will also be conducted using both formative and summative evaluation methods.

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Project Staff and Contacts

Leigh Rohde, Project Director
603-862-0791
leigh.rohde@unh.edu

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