Stage 3: Initial Implementation

There is a common saying that is used in the world of fitness, "No Pain, No Gain." This saying should  actually be the slogan for the initial implementation of RtI. I am not going to pretend that implementing RtI is an easy or short process... It is neither of those. However, just like going to the gym, seeing your progress does not happen overnight. The initial implementation of RtI can take anywhere from one to two years. Let me repeat that... Initial Implementation can take anywhere from ONE TO TWO YEARS! The RtI Network gives a great list of issues that leaders and principals should expect to happen during the initial implementation phase. 

Let's take a deeper look into some of the bumps that are likely to occur on the first year of initial implementation journey. 

1st and 2nd Quarter

The first month of school all of the staff will be excited on on board with implementation. But then October comes and the wheels of enthusiasm train start to come off. Teachers tend to have uncertainty about the data collection and how to interpret the data. It is human nature to respond to uncertainty with negative thoughts and feelings. 

If and when this happens, it is extremely important for the leaders and principals to address teacher concerns and make them feel as supported and heard as possible.

3rd and 4th Quarter

This is the point in the year where the enthusiasm goes one of two ways. Teachers are either still riding the train because their data shows progress or they are derailed with stress and anxiety about not seeing the results that they want (sounds like my relationship with the gym). 

I am going to repeat the mantra of... If and when this happens, it is extremely important for the leaders and principals to address teacher concerns and make them feel as supported and heard as possible. And remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Bottom Line

The bottom line to remember about the initial phase of implementation is that as a leader you must be there as a support system for the teachers and staff to listen and encourage them to stay on the implementation path. Just like the gym, it is so easy to get discouraged when you don't see immediate results and want to give up... DON'T!  Instead come up with creative solutions such as creating an intervention block into the school schedule or early release Wednesdays for team meetings. Whatever ideas you have, try them out and support your team. It may seem unobtainable now, but in the end it is totally worth it!

Stage 2: Installation

Once the team makes the decision to move forward with the RtI process, we move into the "start-up stage." In this stage the team should focus on building "buy-in" from staff members, team building, and taking an inventory of resources. The most important part of this stage is to remember that it is supposed to take time! When I say it takes time, I mean 2 to 6 months kind of time. Let's take a closer look at what to focus on within this stage. 

Building "Buy-In"

This is an extremely important first step that is often missed. As surprising as it sounds, building "buy-in" can and should be planned. As I have mentioned in an earlier blog post... find the leaders! Hone in on them and start planting the RtI seed. However, it is just as important to identify the "negative" influencers (i.e. the people the are anti-change). The RtI Network  goes into more detail about how to give "jobs" to both groups of leaders and influencers in order to build "buy-in." I highly suggest you read the article prior to jumping into the "buy-in" pool. 

Team Building

In order for RtI implementation to be successful, there has to be a strong foundational team. In order to have a strong foundational team, we need to have a strong specials team (e.g. special education teachers, classroom teachers, speech language pathologists, ESL teachers, etc.) as well as strong grade level team(s). We need to ensure that there is positive and clear collaboration between these two teams in order to build that foundational team. Every single team member that comes in contact with a student with a learning disability should have equal involvement in the decision making process towards the instructional path for that student. The RtI Network gives a great resource for every team member to have an intervention log in order to determine the amount and frequency of intervention each team member is providing. 

Inventory of Resources

When determining the resources that the school has and needs for motivating the school to implement RtI, they need to ask a few questions. The RtI Network lists the following questions for the team to ask:  

Staffing—who will provide the intervention instruction?

Assessment tools—do we need to purchase or license any?

Curriculum inventory—what do we have, and what will we need?

Administrative leadership—what steps do the leaders need to take to support this initiative?

Teacher training—what kind of support, coaching, or professional development (PD) will be needed?

Teacher background knowledge—what exists and what will we need to provide?

Budget/funding—how much may be needed, and what are the potential funding sources?

Finally, click here for two awesome activities that you can implement with your RtI team during this stage! 

Stage 1: Exploration

When we look to our leaders to help implement the RtI process, we must look at the different stages of implementation... Six in all, but we are only going to be focusing on Stage 1.  One of the biggest mistakes that schools and districts make when implementing RtI is "biting off more than they can chew." By doing this, the team becomes overwhelmed, loses all motivation and the next thing you know RtI is no longer obtainable. 

The RtI Network  goes into detail on each stage of the implementation process and in Stage 1: Exploration, they discuss three other activities (look at the bottom of the site) that one can do in order to help gain a better understanding of what your district needs and how to move forward in the implementation process. 

The very first thing that the leader should do in order to find out what the "next step" is in the implementation process for his/her school/district is to complete the Self-Assessment of Problem Solving Implementation (SAPSI) form. Once you have an idea of the direction that you need to go moving forward, you will need to develop a 3-5 year timetable with your school/district in order to make implementation seem manageable. Take a look at the link for the three other activities once you have the SAPSI results and see if any of the activities will work in your school/district. 

I am very curious to hear your feedback! What were some of the results that you found after completing the SAPSI form? 

Calling All Leaders!

I've been thinking a lot about what the next steps should be in the RtI collaboration process. I have thought about creating a Professional Development program, but the district said there was no time. I have thought about sending out an informational PowerPoint, but many staff said they wouldn't read it (brutally honest). THEREFORE, I have to think smaller... I realized that I need to find the leaders in my schools and have them "drink the RtI Kool-Aid!" 

I did some research on what types of leaders are needed in order to help implement RtI and in what areas those leaders should focus on. I went to the RtI Network's website and read a fantastic article called "RtI Leadership That Works." I really liked how the article focuses on the four major roles of leadership and sites Steven Covey's model of being an effective leader. I think it's important information to share with everyone. 

Modeling

Covey and the author of the article discuss that as a leader it is important to model what you are wanting others on your team to implement. The most important part of modeling is trustworthiness.  

Trustworthiness: A combination of character and competence

What do you think character and competence means in terms of being trustworthy? 

Covey and the author describes character as having both integrity and maturity as well as being an "abundant leader." 

"The abundant leader provides leadership with optimism and a sense that limited resources will never determine outcomes for the students in his or her stewardship."

Pathfinding

"Pathfinding is the act of matching what the organization is passionate about with what its stakeholders want and need." 

When we look at Pathfinding from an RtI perspective, it is important to keep in mind that student success is the main focus and what leaders need to be dedicated to. Leaders need to take this dedication to student success and pair it with what the school wants and needs, which is high achievement in testing.  

Aligning

"The aligning leader focuses on a simple rule. If it works, keep doing it. If it doesn’t, stop doing it."

In order to get all of the "stakeholders" on board, it is important to have them all become dedicated to the idea that ALL students CAN learn and ALL students WILL learn. 

Empowering

"For RtI to work, the leader must facilitate the establishment of a dynamic, empowering culture that brings forward the strength of all stakeholders around achieving better results for all students."

One person cannot make others feel or be empowered, it is each individuals decision to feel or be empowered. The best way to get others on the empowerment train is to delegate and help them to see that as a leader, you too need assistance and support. 

So What is the Bottom Line?!?!

"The bottom line IS that we must do whatever it takes to ensure that all students succeed. What it takes is personal commitment — personal commitment to evidence-based principles that ensure better results for ALL students, NO exceptions!"

I am going to become a leader at the schools I visit in order to help ALL students be successful as well as help shape more leaders amongst the staff. 

What are you going to do to help shape leaders in your schools? 

So What!?!?!

You may be asking yourself, "So what?!?! Why do debunking any of these myths matter?!? What am I going to do with any of this new information?" Those are all valid questions and there are so many routes you can take. Here are three ideas I have for putting this new information to good use! 

Step 1: Spread the word! 

Whether it is in a formal collaborative team meeting in your schools or word of mouth, let administrators, teachers and staff know what the myths are and truths behind the myths. 

I have found that bringing it up in causal conversation with several school staff has been very effective. Through using this strategy, I have been able to get the conversation started and the topic on the agenda for the next staff meeting!

Step 2: Get More Information!

Do some research! Find out what your states "permissive or mandatory" guidelines are for RtI. Then determine what your local district(s) model of RtI is or if they even are using RtI. If your district(s) are not using RtI, find out why! Is it lack of knowledge, lack of funding, lack of someone taking the initiative? For a few of the districts that I visit, the answer to those questions are primarily lack of knowledge and lack of someone taking the initiative. Therefore, my solution is to help spread the knowledge and give ideas for schools to create teams that take the initiative of implementing RtI. 

Step 3: Create a Visual!

Pamphlets, PowerPoints, posters... whatever tickles your fancy really! Statistics show that 65% of people are visual learners, which makes creating a visual that much more important. Personally, I know when someone verbally tells me something without having some sort of visual to go along with the information, it's all over. I can guarantee that I will most likely not recall the important parts of whatever was said. Things that gain people's attention... relatable pictures, humor, and color (not the Skittles rainbow, but something more than just black... blah!). 

What are you going to do now? 

Can you think of other ideas that can be used now that you have the truths behind RtI? What action steps are you going to take in your districts in order to create more collaboration and implementation of RtI? 

Please share in the comments section! I would love to hear your ideas! 

Where is all of this RtI stuff happening anyway?

There have been a few requests for a map of the United States that shows which states are using Response to Intervention. This is the closet map that I could find that depicts which states are using what method. Does any of this information surprise you? Is there a particular color you think we should be seeing more of? 

The Change Up!

Here we go... I'm throwing a change up into the mix! While doing my research on how schools determine what RtI model to use, I stumbled across a the RtI Networks website, which listed the 11 Common Myths about RtI. I was so intrigued by these myths that I thought I would share some them in hopes that you will be just as enlightened as I now feel after learning the truth! 

Since everyone is capable of reading this article on your own, I am going to give a brief summary of the truths that I felt were most eye-opening for me. Lets get started! 

Myth #1: 

The various state and local provisions for general education interventions, such as instructional support teams and school-based problem solving teams, legally qualify as RTI.

Truth... Any other forms of general education interventions do not qualify as RtI interventions, they are simply precursors to RtI interventions. Interventions must fall into the four distinguishing characteristics of the RtI model (click here to see the four characteristics).  (**Be sure to look under 11 Myths #1). 

I think this is a huge myth that is believed to be a truth many schools across the states. I have been in a number of schools in both Hawaii and Colorado that when asked if they are using RtI, they say yes and list the collaborative teams and that's where the conversation generally ends. 

Myth #2: 

The IDEA provides specific requirements for RTI, such as the number of tiers and the duration of the intervention at each tier.

Truth... IDEA's intent was to avoid setting boundaries on one specific model, this thought process also falls into the duration of interventions. Each state can determine either "permissive or mandatory" guidelines for RtI. 

I was under the impression that the RtI model varied from state to state, but had a similar model across the board. This was really helpful information for me, personally! 

Myth#3: The IDEA provides for the use of RTI beyond identification of students with specific learning disabilities (SLD).

Truth...  "A careful review of the IDEA legislation and regulations clearly reveals that the only reference to and recognition of the use of 'a process that determines if the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention' (i.e., RTI) is limited to the identification of students with SLD" (20 U.S.C. § 1414[b][6][B]; 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.307, 300.309, and 300.311). 

Myth #4: The IDEA requires the use of RTI. 

Truth... It is up to each local school district and/or agency. 

I was under the impression that RtI was a state mandated program... this is good to know and explains why each schools use, or lack there of, of RtI is so different. 

As stated above, there are 11 myths that the RtI Network busts and I only touched on the first four! The website reviews all 11 myths, all of which are very informative. After learning about the busted myths, I feel like I have more clarity on the legality of RtI and its implementation. 

Do you feel as though you have more clarity? Did any of these busted myths change your view of RtI's implementation?