I agree that we need to stop the referral to special ed as the first resort instead of the last and am hopeful that RtI will help. This is a federal mandate, not a state mandate, but if I understand, state can submit various plans for approval.
Cathy K-5 DE -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [email protected] Sent: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 11:07 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] RTI In NYS, I believe, eventual RTI (response to intervention) involvement is not optional. It is part of the state push to lower special education classification numbers. The idea is that we make sure we have given a child the best possible intervention before we make assumptions about learning disabilities. It also includes the idea that even if a child does have a learning disability, we need to have a real and concrete plan for addressing the child's learning needs. In the past we worked with the discrepancy model which looked for a certain gap between a child's actual achievement and their expected potential. That model assumed that the child was receiving the best possible intervention, which isn't always the case. The tiers indicate the child's level of instruction, tier three being the most needy and perhaps will end up being classified with a learning disability. Tier one, grade level and doing fine. In our school, use of this model has been ok. I have found that special education teachers and reading teachers are working much more closely together. This is a good thing. It's all a continuum of learning needs, in my opinion. We have had experiences with children that we were pretty sure would end up under the Committee for Special Education who did not after the "tier 3" intervention we were able to provide. This intervention for the most needy learners has worked out to be that sometimes a child will have 3 reading lessons a day, planned pretty congruently: one from the Title I Reading teacher, one from the special education teacher and one from their classroom teacher. I've been a teacher for a long time and I do have mixed feelings about this stuff. Overall, I am ok with it and have been able to shape my piece in it to contain what I believe to be best for my students in Title I. I work in a small district in which we are able to contribute specifically with the direction our programs go. I am curious to hear other people's experiences. Cathy Title I Reading NYS ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. ________________________________________________________________________ Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
