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!