Greenfield, R., Rinaldi, C., Proctor, P., & Cardarelli, A. (2010). Teachers’ perceptions of RTI reform in an urban elementary school: A consensual qualitative analysis. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 21(2), 47-63.
Abstract:
Federal policies to increase student achievement and improve teacher quality underlie this study. After the first year of implementation, eight elementary teachers were interviewed about how they viewed a Response to Intervention (RTI) reform effort. RTI is a federal policy intended to reform instruction by using a tiered, school-wide system. The following question drove our research: After the first year of implementation, how do educators view the RTI change process? Data were analyzed using a consensual qualitative methodology. Results indicated that teachers positively viewed the reform effort. However, many teachers expressed concerns about the implementation of RTI. The majority of teachers associated the following positive outcomes with the first year of reform: using data to inform instructional planning, using progress monitoring to measure the effectiveness of the instruction, and better knowing “when” to refer English language learners for special education services. Teachers identified the culture of the school as “positively mixed,” meaning positive shifts are taking place and teachers are working along a continuum of understanding and adoption practices. Key concerns of implementation are also presented as implications for effective adoption of the model at the elementary school level.
As I get ready for the Forum and Networking Event: Response to Intervention (RtI): Operative Implementation for English Language Learners (ELLs) 1 day Institute on May 15th from 8:30-1:30. http://forumonrtiandells.eventbrite.com/
I received a wonderful give away prize KOLOBOK.
Kolovok is an innovative and charming new children’s tale from Natash Bochkov from Lingvaerium Books, LLC. They so graciously donated three books for a give away at the one day institute I am hosting with the MABE (see link about for more information and registration).
The hardcover work offers a wonderful tale that is presented in high quality paper, with wonderful pictures and with the ability to select a second, third, and fourth language (i.e. Spanish, Chinese, Russian). Of course you can also just select one or two languages alone! The books is layout out in English and sticker pages are provided to adapt the other language(s). What I love about it is that as a parent or teacher we can prioritize the child’s native language in the actual book rather than other bilingual books which always have the child’s native language under English! I love that, Thank you Natasha.
Their website is wonderful and provides activities for teachers and parents to follow the reading of the book. The educational resources include adapted lesson plans for grades K-2nd, based on the national and Massachusetts educational standards, coloring books and much more. Please visit and support this new innovative type of children literature at http://www.lingvaerium.com
Also don’t forget to register for the RTI event (lunch included) for only $75 dollars. We are having Dr. Janette Klingner, a national leader in the field of bilingual and special education, do the keynote! Considerations when Implementing RTI with English Language Learners. In this session, the presenter will discuss successes and challenges faced by educators implementing RTI in culturally and linguistically diverse schools as well as some of the assumptions underlying RTI than can be problematic for English language learners. She will provide recommendations for practice.
Forums will follow with highlights and outcomes on actual school implementation of RTI from my funded research project.
We have few spaces left so please register ASAP. Looking forward to meeting you all!
Claudia
ARE WE REALLY ADDRESSING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP FOR LATINO STUDENTS?
Today in the Boston Globe
First state targeted for not addressing the educational achievement gap between Latino bilingual students and our Anglo counter parts -California is Mass. next? Certainly Boston is next according to a major article in the Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/03/27/us__to_investigate_english_teaching__efforts_in_hub/?page=2
The government wants real action to address the significant achievement gap for bilingual ELLs.
School Employees pushing parents to do English only programs discourage bilingual programs because of poor staffing is only the first problem they will have to respond to the fed….
Let’s hope the Obama administration really does address the need of bilingual learners specially for Latino students who represent 20% of students in Boston and a growing population in the US.
Help this happen– support and demand TWO WAY Bilingual Education Programs like the one at the Hurley Elementary in Boston.
Maria Luisa Portuondo was awarded the BC John A. Dinneen, SJ, Hispanic Alumni Community Service Award.
Ms. Portuondo is a Boston College graduate who received her masters’ degree in Special Education in 1973. Since then, Ms. Portuondo has been a tireless driver of school reform for bilingual students with disabilities in order to improve the life chances for a “better life”. One of very few Latina women with masters’ degrees back in the 1970s, she understood that without an education she couldn’t help bilingual students accomplish all they could! She also knew that the Latino community was growing and that children needed an educator who could understand what is was like to be a minority and an English language learner. She understood Latino families needed help in learning how to navigate the education system in the US and she knew she could help!
Maria Luisa has been a teacher, mentor, director, speaker, advocate, cultural advisor, volunteer, and consultant for bilingual children with special education needs and continues to tirelessly support this mission. She has held a variety of positions in our community and has made significant impact for the Latino community in every one of these positions. As a teacher she has impacted many students by helping them be prepared to be contributing members of the society, as teacher educator, she has trained teachers in many capacities to be able to be more culturally responsive to students from different backgrounds and languages. As a leader she has helped shape policy efforts that support the maintenance of bilingual students native language to support development of English by working for the MA Department of Education and disseminated knowledge to support this via conference presentations, research projects, and workshop trainings. Although now retired she continues to provide consultation service for parents teachers, schools, and professional organizations because she know people need to know how to serve bilingual children with special education needs and there are not enough people with her rich experience working with Latino children and their families right now.
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Last Thursday February 25th, I hosted the 2nd Response to Intervention (RTI) networking event. The event hosted 45 teachers, principals, and other education administrators from Boston area elementary schools involved in a research study.
The goals of the event were to:
1. allow teachers and administrators to interact in meaningful ways about a RTI model being implemented in their schools
2. celebrate the professionalism of these educators making change for all students
3. showcase the educational research that has resulted from the study by presenting relevant findings and articles.
The event was divided into two sections. A short presentation on the effectiveness of RTI and in particular the impact we are having on the reading outcomes for ELLs, and then roundtable discussion facilitated by highly effective teachers in the participating schools. The roundtables discussions addresses core reading curriculum at all K-5 grades, Effective and Engagement Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions (specific focus on interventions for English Language Learners (ELL), and scheduling and progress monitoring strategies in a school implementing RTI. The pictures below showcase the event:
“A Collaborative Planning Framework for Teachers Implementing Tiered Instruction” by Shannon Stuart & Claudia Rinaldi.
Thank you for your feedback on our manuscript and for your questions. Please find the recommendations within your questions.
I am writing in regard to your journal article, A Collaborative Planning Framework for Teachers Implementing Tiered Instructions in the Nov/Dec. Teaching Exceptional Children. Your article is very helpful. Thank you. In the school division where I work, we are using a PLC framework regarding literacy and Positive Behaviour Supports to address the social behavioural instruction and intervention. I also work at the ministry level on the RTI model specifically related to social behaviour.
I have some questions about the groups that meet to address the needs of students at the 3 tiers.
I understand that grade level teams meet regularly to plan for instruction at the Tier 1 level.
* Are all the teachers for a given grade level on the grade level team? YES, IDELALLY ALL REGULAR EDUCATION, SPECIAL EDUCATION, ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGE SPECIALIST AND SOMETIMES PARAPROFESSIONALS OR AIDE. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE RESOURCES WITHIN THE SCHOOL IN ORDER TO THAT. SOMETIMES THEY MEET WHEN STUDENTS ARE IN ART OR PHYSICAL EDUCATION OTHER TIME THEY MEET WHILE THE PARAPROFESSIONALS ARE TAKING THE STUDENTS ON RECESS OR IN TRANSITION TO A SUBJECT.
* How often and for how long does this team meet? THEY USUALLY MEET BETWEEN 45 MINUTES TO 1 HOUR THE EQUIVALENT TO A PERIOD IN THE US. THIS TIME ALSO ALLOWS, ONCE THE STRUCTURE IS IN PLACE, FOR THE TEAM TO GO OVER TIER 2 AND 3 STUDENTS (ABOUT 4-5 PER MEETING) ON THE RECOMMENDED PROGRESS MONITORING SCHEDULE OR TIER 2 MONTHLLY AND TIER 3 WEEKLY OR TWICE PER MONTH (MORE REALISTIC)– OF COURSE FOLLOWING THE PROTOCOLS IDENTIFEID IN THE ARTICLE IN TEC
* Can you tell me any strategies that schools use to provide additional planning time for grade level teachers and the special education teacher? THE SCHOOLS INTEGRATED A BLOCK SCHEDULE TO ALLOW FOR PERSONELL AND MEETING TIME SO THAT THERE WAS ONLY TWO GRADE LEVEL AT A TIME DOING READING INSTRUCTION. I DON’T’ KNOW MUCH MORE BUT NONE OF THE PRINCIPALS HAD PROBLEMS INSITUTING THIS ASPECT- OF INDIVIDUAL AND GRADED LEVEL PLANNING TIME.
When students are identified as needing Tier 2 supports, is it the original grade-level team that determines the intervention plan or is there a different team that addresses these needs? THE IDENTIFICATION IS DONE THREE TIMES A YEAR (FALL, WINTER, AND SPRING) AT THIS POINT WE DO THE UNIVERSAL SCREENING USING THE DIBELS INDICATORS AND USE THE EXISTING DISTRICT REQUIREMENT OF USING A CRITERION-REFERNCE READING COMPREHENSION TEST. AT THAT POINT BOTH SCORES ARE USE TO MAKE A “FORMULA” WHERE IF THE STUDENT IS IN HIGH RISK IN DIBELS AND AT LEAST TWO GUIDED READING LEVELS BEHIND THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A TIER 3 STUDENT. IF THE DIBLES INDICATORS IS AT SOME RISK AND THE COMPREHENSION LEVEL IS JUST BELOW GRADE LEVEL THAT WOULD BE A TIER 2 STUDENT OR IF ONE, DIBLES INDICATOR OR ORF OR COMPREHENSION IS SIGNIFICANT BELOW BUT NOT THE OTHER THEN THE STUDENT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A TIER 2 STUDENT. ONCE THE TEACHERS GO OVER THE LIST THEN ADDITIONAL TEACHER JUDGEMENT CAN HELP MAKE THAT DECISION AS WELL BUT SUPPORTED WITH THE DATA FROM ORF AND COMPREHENSION. THE SAME PROCESS IS FOLLOWING 3 TO 4 MOTNTHS LATER DURING THE WINTER AND WE COMPARED PROGRESS MONITORING AND THE BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS AGAIN AND RE-TIERED USING THE SAME PROCESS DISCUSSED ABOVE.
* When a student requires Tier 3 supports, is this a different team from the original team or the same one?
IN THE PARTICULAR SCHOOLS WE ARE WORKING WITH TIER 3 IS DELIVERED BY THE SAME GRADE LEVEL TEAM BUT CERTAIN CONSIDERATIONS ARE TAKEN— WE LOOK AT WHO, WHEN, INTENSITY OF THE INTERVENTION AND THEN ASSESS WHAT CAN OR NEEDS TO BE CHANGED PERHAPS FROM THE SUPPORT PERSONNEL OR CLASSROOM TEACHER TO THE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER DELIVERING THE TIER 3 NOW OR PERHAPS MORE INTENSITY FROM 3 DAYS TO POTENTIALLY 4 OR 5 DAYS OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH. ALL THRE ASPECTS ARE CONSIDERED WHILE PROBLEM SOLVING.
* Does the same team plan for supports for the academic areas as well as the social-behavioural areas?
WE HAVE NOT BEGAN TO IMPLEMENT POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL SUPPORTS SCHOOL WIDE. HOWEVER NOW THAT THE TEACHERS HAVE THE FRAMEWORK WORKING IN READING THEY ARE EVALUATING TOOLS FOR RUNNING IT FOR MATH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR NEEDS.
I HOPE THESE RESPONSES HELP. Please feel free to visit my project webpage for additional documents and links that have supported the schools implementing the RTI models in reading. If I can be of any further assistance please let me know and thank you for your readership of my work.
CLAUDIA
Claudia Rinaldi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Lynch School of Education
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Ave
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
(617) 552-4195
email: rinaldic@bc.edu
Edublog: http://www.bilingualspecialed.com
RTI Project website: http://groups.google.com/group/BC-RTI
They are pleased to announce the expansion of their catalogue of Spanish-language resources. The STAR Legacy Modules—Collaborating with Families and You’re in Charge! Developing Your Own Comprehensive Behavior Management Plan—are now available in Spanish and can be found by clicking the En español button on the IRIS homepage or by accessing the IRIS Resource Locator.
• Collaborating with Families is designed to help teachers build positive relationships with families by highlighting the diversity of families and addressing the factors that school personnel should understand about working with the families of children with disabilities.
• You’re in Charge! Developing Your Own Comprehensive Behavior Management Plan neatly complements the first behavior module, Who’s in Charge? Developing a Comprehensive Behavior Management System, encouraging students to create and print rules and procedures for their own classrooms based on the PAR model.
EL Centro IRIS se complace en anunciar la expansión de su catálogo de recursos en español. Tres más de nuestros módulos Star Legacy – Colaborar con las familias y ¡Usted está a cargo! Desarrollar un plan global del manejo de la conducta – están disponibles ahora en español y se pueden encontrar al presionar el enlace En español en la página inicial IRIS o al acceder el localizador de recursos (“Resource Locator”) IRIS.
• Colaborar con las familias está diseñado para ayudar a los maestros a crear relaciones positivas con las familias al destacar la diversidad de las familias y al tratar los factores que el personal de la escuela debe entender en cuanto a trabajar con las familias de los niños de discapacidades.
• ¡Usted está a cargo! Desarrollar un plan global del manejo de la conducta complementa claramente el primer módulo de conducta, ¿Quién está a cargo? Desarrollando un sistema global del manejo de la conducta, animando a los estudiantes a crear e imprimir reglas y procedimientos para sus propios salones de clases basado en el modelo PAR.
Asegúrese de explorar el sitio web IRIS para echar un vistazo a todos nuestros ofrecimientos en español. Como siempre, le animamos a usted a compartir todos nuestros materiales http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/indexspan.html con sus colegas y estudiantes.
The Miami Herald (Oct. 14, 2009) and picked up by world news featured an article on the benefits of bilingualism as a way to maintain heritage, culture, and be bilingual. This article really hit home as it emphasizes the struggle I live each day trying to foster the use of the Spanish language with my two boys. It recognizes that my generation of 30s and 40s feel that being bilingual will be an asset and a way to stay connected to our culture. I have lived in this country for 28 years more than what I live in my native country of Colombia and I still feel very Colombian, spanish speaker, and I love all the family, foods, and activities I did as a child and I also love my life here in the US and I want my kids to love, understand and communicate in both worlds.
So the article really reports on the efforts that many highly educated and successful parents are trying to do while recognizing how hard it is but how great and unique it is to be bicultural and bilingual and that is is important for our children to be that too!
In my home, my husband speak a little Spanish and I speak only Spanish to the boys, they go to two-way bilingual schools and yet the dominance of English is very clear by their choice of communication. I believe its fine for them to feel more comfortable in the language spoken where we live, English US, but they need to know how to speak the language of the mom’s heart and grandparents and family. Its hard to loose a connection to something that is part of the family life and the life of my family. So what I don’t understand is why some choose not to support bilingualism! If you don’t agree here is a thought for you from a very wise Educational Research, Maria Estela Brisk !
She speaks often of this phenomenon: Children who speak another language other than English who come to this country in the early years are send a clear message by our politics, schools, community– learn English at whatever expense (i.e. their native language and language of their families), but once children get to high school we require that they learn a new language — because they will need to be prepared for a global economy– so America which is it? Why is it one or the other? Why not both for every child!
Support the Joseph H. Hurley Elementary School in Boston, MA – a school committed to a true bilingual education where all children are taught to be literate in two languages!
So read the article, get informed about research happening around the world like in Europe where the norm is to know at least 3 languages! Read my blog and support others in the effort. Support moms by speaking to their children in their language so children learn that it is valued to be bilingual, give bilingual books, watch movies in other languages, talk about the world at large, embrace a multicultural community, learn a new language, support your extended family if they are trying to raise bilingual children! Value Value Values bilingualism!!!
Great book to get you started even if you are not bilingual yourself:
7 Ways to Raise a Bilingual Child
by Naomi Steiner MD (Author), Susan L. Hayes (Author), Steven Parker M.D. (Foreword)
Key Phrases: bilingual child, bilingual coach, bilingual goals, United States, Bilingual Action Plan, Making It Happen (more…)
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews) in amazon!
Or if you prefer a more academic book
Bilingual Education: From Compensatory to Quality Schooling by Maria Estela Brisk and otehr
Aqui puedes encontrar informacion para toda tu familia pero esta es mi pagina favorita– como ensenar que tus hijos les guste los libros y que significa leer y alfabetizacion en su futuro.
This is a new find that has information for the whole family. My favorite page teaches Spanish speaking parents the importance of reading to your children and the impact in can have on their literacy skills and advancement in school.
Please pass on this information
Mandale este espacio web a otro padre que lo necesite!
http://todobebe.com/criando/a-leer-con-todobebe/aprender-a-leer-y-escribir-como-y-cuando