Is My Kid Learning!? What is RTI?!

A new catch phrase in education today is RTI , which stands for Response to Intervention. RTI is part of the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Response to Intervention is supposed to help students who struggle with learning at the same rate and pace as his or her peers. Students who fall behind are indentified and given proper instruction through the RTI process. RTI defines problems by using data. The problems can be addressed in the school setting by a creation of interventions tied to the students’ needs. If a student does not make adequate progress over a period of time then the student is referred to special education.

Test scores, class participation, records and routine progress monitoring are used to identify a student in need. If the student is moderate to high risk, he or she is given specialized intervention or more support that is suppose to help the student make the appropriate gains. Constant assessments are to be given on a regular basis to address the student’s deficits and help modify the curriculum to meet the student’s educational necessities.

This plan is a great plan!! Is it the answer to the problems in education? No. The people who coined RTI had a great idea in theory. If all teachers could be trained to look for nuances in learning, use assessments to drive instruction and know how to motivate and support struggling learners, RTI would not be needed. Just because the plan for RTI exist it does not mean it will work in a struggling school or with all struggling students.

Struggling schools are struggling for a reason. The dynamics and climate is one that overlooks student needs. The needs and educational holes are so great that only the high priority problems get met and the lower needs are shelved. That’s how students that need a little support go unnoticed. It’s a snowball effect and attention should be given to it.

Parents, forget the long teacher conference meetings about nothing. Ask to see the data that proves your child is progressing. Ask to see the portfolio of work that shows a progression. Ask developmental questions as well as concrete questions of your child’s teacher. If you are not satisfied move your child to a better school. Time is too short to have precious years wasted.

New Aged Kindergarten?

Remember your early school experiences in kindergarten? Those days were filled with learning how to use scissors, sharing and sitting on the carpet while you admired your new teacher. The old kindergarten is a distant memory compared to changes in early education today.

The standards and content for kindergarten are more rigorous and students cannot successfully perform in today’s typical kindergarten classroom without knowledge in language and content (colors, body parts, counting, etc.) ability in motor skills, self-care and social skills.

The state of Florida’s Board of Education increased state funded preschool programs because of the overwhelming number of students who were not prepared for kindergarten.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, pre-K providers in Florida are being scrutinized by the state on how they prepare students for school. Florida has developed a tool to review pre-K programs. Those programs that fail are deemed “low performing”. The Florida Department of Education is projecting 39% of pre-K programs will earn “low performing” marks in the up coming year.

The state of California has taken a different approach toward early classroom success. Recently, a law called the Kindergarten Readiness Act passed. This law will move the birthday cutoff date for new kindergartners from December to September.

This new kind of class is called Transitional Kindergarten. Educational theorists think that Transitional Kindergarten, will better prepare children to be successful.

The law also requires school districts to offer a new grade level for young children who have fall birthdays and have typically been too young to start kindergarten.

According to Mercury News.com “children with birthdays between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2 — those who would have been eligible for kindergarten under the old system — will be guaranteed a slot once the program is fully implemented in 2014.” Students will have an opportunity to attend school for two years to prepare for 1st grade.

Kindergarten changed and a variety of programs are available to help prepare your child to be successful. Check your state Department of Education website for changes in policy and programs of support.

First published on on Technorati as New Aged Kindergarten.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

Even with a dedicated teacher the educational system has failed Pete. He has spent too much time alone. Lonely repetitive scripts are Pete’s default nowadays. Pete has retreated into himself for comfort and protection. The brief connections I have with Pete are followed by continued soothing scripts.



It takes a village to raise a child and I did not have a village to assist me with connecting to Pete. As my workload increased, I was pulled away from my engagement with Pete. When I finally saw him he was so withdrawn. I was unable to connect with him for any period of time.


Why does this happen? It is heartbreaking to watch Pete pulled away. Pete is not lost. Constant engagement will bring him back to longer and more meaningful interactions.



I will not give up even though it is very hard to feel helpless. Politically, Pete represents hundreds or even thousands of children in our educational system. I will always fight for these children who are over looked, misplaced and unengaged in learning and social interactions. This is a setback but it is not the end.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

I had some great exchanges with Pete today! I used his script, “Rick ruins everything!” as a jumping off place to create a story. I made up a short story line then asked Pete to continue with more details. What a funny, hilarious story we created! Pete was laughing and producing ideas so quickly.



Next time I see him we will write the story or make a play so we can invite in his peers to participate. Pete was connecting and relating. I consider this to be education.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

When a staff member who is assigned to my room cannot show up it creates a big hole. I am often told sorry I cannot come to your class someone else needs me more. When there is not enough staff I can usually handle it. Is it optimal no?

I did not have enough staff to cover the students that needed more assistance yesterday. In addition the administration had given me mandatory extra work to do which included hours of testing students. This meant I could not spend time with Pete. It was heartbreaking!



Pete did not understand why he was moved to a office with more supervision. He said he would be good. This was the heartbreak. I told him he was good; he was great. I tried to explain that I had so much work that I could not spend time with him.

I protested and stated the students would suffer with no avail.

This is how the system looses the good ones. The system wants the paper work done and unfortunately it is at the expense of student learning. This system is broke.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

Pete missed a few days of school last week. While he was gone his teacher called me to ask what I was doing in my class to deal with Pete's behavior. According to his teacher Pete is just horrible in her class and she wants to know what I am doing that is different.

One of the educational staff from Pete’s room came to my class to ask the same question about Pete’s behavior. When I started to explain how I built a relationship with Pete, the staff member kept interrupting. She really didn’t want to know. The woman went on to tell me that staff in her class thinks that Pete is afraid of me so he behaves.



Pete is happy in my class and completing classwork. It has to be someone's fault that his teacher does not understand him. This is a common practice of people who are not willing to get to know students or accept them for who they are.

I will continue to support Pete and his family regardless of what people say.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

During spring break I sent my student Pete a postcard from the San Diego Aquarium.

It said: Hi Pete, I went to this cool aquarium in San Diego. I saw fish, eels, seahorses and a couple of leopard sharks. Hope you had a great spring break; see ya at school. Ms. J

Pete returned to school with two phenomenal days where he made it through the entire period without disrupting the class mostly independently.

On the second day the most amazing thing happened. At the end of the period Pete used his time he earned to talk to me. This time other students were present and listened to Pete’s story script. The other students were familiar with the story and Pete led a conversation about his script. How empowering! He proved a point to the students about a detail and the look of self-accomplishment was astounding!

Pete is a successful student.