Response To Interventions (RTI)

When you are looking at the performance of your child in school, one of the factors that will be used is what is commonly known as RTI, Response to Intervention.  This RTI is aimed to help identify struggling students early in their academic career in hopes that they do not continue to fall behind. The goal is that the school would step in and intervene. These RTIs are not just children with IEPs or 504s either. The teacher can provide targeted “teaching” or interventions to help get these kiddos caught up. A large part of RTI process is to monitor the child’s performance, this can also be an indicator that your child may have some learning disabilities and further evaluations may be needed if the interventions are not supporting the growth of the child. Keep in mind that RTI is not a type of teaching, and schools are not required to give families a written intervention plan. The only information needed to be conveyed to families is that their child is getting extra support and that you have the right to request an evaluation for special education services.  There is no single way of doing RTI, but it is often a three-tiered system of support available to the student based on need.  Remember that at any time you can request to meet with your child’s teacher and discuss their progress as well as request the school to provide you with a copy of your child’s progress monitoring after every assessment.  Addressing the issue early on will help to create a game plan for your child as they navigate their way though the world of education.

 

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