Response to Intervention Process

Universal screening for all students will be conducted three times per year (fall, winter, spring) in grades K-9. All K-8 students will take NWEA Reading assessment and those that flag will have a secondary screener using The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS.) Ninth grade students will take a PSAT reading assessment at the beginning of each trimester with a Pre-AP course.  In addition, common formative grade level reading assessments will also be administered at least monthly. These assessments will monitor student progress and identify student grade level proficiency in comparison to grade level expectations. 

Collaborative Action Teams including a child’s classroom teacher, principal, instructional coach, reading interventionist, resource room teacher, speech and language pathologist (grades K-1), and school psychologist will meet three times a year on all students and approximately every 6 weeks for Tier III students to analyze reading performance and progress monitoring of interventions. This information will determine if students need to have a change in intervention, continued work in an intervention, or if they have met benchmarks that will dismiss them from Tier III intervention.  

The RtI process uses a multi-tiered system of reading instruction and intervention. Each tier has instructional support structures or interventions that help teachers implement research-based curriculum, instructional practices and interventions to improve student achievement.

• Tier I Instruction is grade level reading instruction for all students.  Grade level literacy CCSS standards are taught using a common resource and pacing guide to ensure a guaranteed and viable curriculum.  
• Flex Time Intervention is for reteaching or extending priority reading standards based on student evidence of understanding through common formative assessments.  Flex time occurs during the 120 minute literacy block for grades K-5 and there are opportunities daily for 30 minutes in grades 6-8.  9th grade students have flex time two times a week. Bi-weekly PLC meetings will provide the time to analyze the common formative assessment data and determine which interventions are needed for which students. 
• Tier III Intervention is for students needing direct, intensive literacy intervention for skills well below current grade level benchmarks. Students will receive Tier III intervention in addition to both Tier I core classroom reading instruction and targeted Flex Time intervention. For grades K-5 this will include an additional 30-50 minutes of remedial instruction 4-5 times a week and is provided by a Resource Room teacher or Reading Interventionist who has specialized training for the targeted area of learning. Grades 6-9 students will attend a Reading Lab Class one period a day in addition to their ELA class.  Tier III is progress monitored weekly to check growth towards grade level content standards. Progress will be reviewed by the Collaborative Action Team monthly. Students are able to enter and exit Tier III monthly as determined by progress monitoring data. 

Categorically eligible children are included in addition to this process.  The Rockford Public Schools’ 31a list will be used for reference to identify these students during each universal screening process so they have appropriate services provided.