RtI In Action

I have spent two days this week visiting Lakeview and Elizabeth Ide. On these visits, I spent an entire day at the building to observe teachers' teaching, students' learning and the general operation of the building. During my visits this week, I have had the opportunity to observe first hand the operation of the RtI program at these two buildings. The RtI program is based on skill-based instructional groups, rigorous research based classroom instruction, frequent monitoring of progress and flexibility. In the RtI program, students are instructed in “skill-based” groups so the instruction which is research based can be focused to meet their specific needs in the area of reading. At the elementary level this means students work in flexible groups with more than one teacher during a concentrated instructional block. I was very pleased to see the intensity and rigor of the instruction. Our teachers and building administrators have worked very hard to plan and implement this program that should help support the achievement of all district students. At the middle school level, this program becomes an additional specialized reading support class that is an extension of the regular reading program. We will continue to monitor the implement of this state mandated program.