Response to Intervention: Safe Spaces for Math and Literacy (Transcript)

Teacher: We’re going to do some practice, okay? Did you hear “e” in “feet”? Thumbs up!

Dawn: Since we’ve implemented our current Response to Intervention structure, we are providing such intensive interventions that students are getting caught up and are not ending up in special education.

Teacher: Did we hear “e” in “fuss”? No. Good job.

Dawn: We all believe that kids can be a hundred percent successful if we give them what they need. The Response to Intervention Program is built to have all students meeting those standards.

Teacher: Is that what everybody got?

Class: Yeah!

Teacher: All right.

Nicole: So Tier 1 at Drew is just your typical instruction, what happens in every classroom, and all students get that. What we do for Tier 2 Interventions, in the morning, we have an hour-long intervention block. And we do this K-2, so that by the time they get to third grade we don’t have such a large number of kids who need really intensive interventions. And then, of course, those kids that do are coming to the Literacy Center.

Barbara: Tier 3 is where the Literacy Center would come in. Not only the Literacy Center, but the Math Lab, too.

Teacher: Here you go.

Barbara: We have created a Literacy Center and a Math Lab. And we’re taking those children that need that added assistance, and they’re getting targeted interventions that are really specific to what their deficits are.

Nicole: So the first year of the Literacy Center, we realized what we were currently doing wasn’t working. Kids were getting pulled out in large groups, out of grade level instruction, to try to catch them up, and the gap was just not closing. So at Drew, the kids go to two Enrichment Classes. So they’ll go to PE, and Art. And we looked at how can we use that time to provide some of the interventions rather than pulling them out of their reading class?

Dawn: Our goal is to make it a different enrichment option for them, instead of going to Music, they get to come to the Literacy Center. Or instead of going to Robotics, they get to go to the Math Lab.

India: We see about 20 percent of the school population. These are the students with the greatest need. And we specialize in very intense modified instruction. And this is to pinpoint their exact areas of difficulty.

India: Can you write down your explanation?

Student: Okay.

India: Okay.

India: The kids are missing numeracy skills. If their framework in the numbers is very weak, we know that we need to target those students and start right away with them.

Marlowe: If it’s something you don’t understand, you just have to ask for help, and she’ll break it down. But in the regular classroom, the teachers don’t have enough time to do that.

Nicole: What we tried to do is keep the groups very small, so we’re really able to create groups with kids that have a similar area of weakness, and really push them through.

Dawn: What they do in here is always built around learning to decode, and read fluently. But it’s also built around having fun. And they do have to burn some energy, because it is their time away from the general classroom. So there has to be opportunities for them to talk, to move, to get up and down. They might write in shaving cream. They might write in sand. We let them write on the tables. Things that are fun for them. Opportunities to get lots and lots of praise.

Dawn: Shout! Awesome! You’re definitely getting one of these awesome stickers.

Dawn: You know, that’s their time to really feel safe, and to really feel secure, and to, you know, be the best and be in charge of something.

Melissa: And how many sounds was it, Thomas?

Thomas: Three!

Melissa: Three! I think you guys are ready to do this on your own. So we’re going to get out the dot-to-dot sheet.

Nicole: Definitely something we had to look at over the years was the programs that we were using in order to provide the interventions. Now, we use a stand-alone phonics program K-2. So it’s the same program that we’re using in the Lit Center. So they get it from their teachers in the classroom, and then they get a double dose of it in the Literacy Center, and that has really impacted students meeting their goals here.

Nicole: Mr. Jocks, is this one of yours?

Jocks: Yes, that’s one of my students.

Nicole: All right, let’s see here.

Nicole: We do progress monitoring weekly. As a team, we look at that data and decide, “Is the intervention working for these kids?”

Nicole: She’s right on that goal line. So let’s just keep going with what we’re currently doing with her.

India: We retest the children in December. Students who have made substantial gains, may exit the Math Lab or the Literacy Center if they reach their goals. Typically about 30 to 40 percent of the children exit out after the first year.

India: If you have any questions, let me know, okay? All right! Good job!

Dawn: Since the Literacy Center has come along, it’s rare that you get kids in your classroom who can’t decode the words. Which is obviously a great thing as a classroom teacher.

Melissa: The RTI has had some wonderful effects in my classroom. Sometimes it is hard to juggle everything, and to know that we have colleagues giving our students extra support in reading and math, it lessens the burden a little bit.

Nicole: Since we’ve implemented our current Response to Intervention structure, our percent of students who qualify for Special Ed has dropped from thirteen percent to eight percent. Almost all of our kids pass the State test every year. And we even have some exceed.

Schools That Work

Charles R. Drew Charter School