March 16, 2010 ACTION UPDATE

Schools, Families, and Response to Intervention When families and schools work together, student outcomes are enhanced. In this article, Dr. Amy L. Reschly of the University of Georgia highlights the necessity and promise of including families and family-school partnerships in the RTI framework. Read more to learn how RTI allows for the creation of engaged partnerships between educators and families through collaborative, structured problem-solving efforts.     Upcoming RTI Talk: Engaging Families in RTI March 17, 2010 at 3 p.m. ET Join Markay L. Winston, Ph.D., Director for the Department of Student Services with the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), during our next RTI Talk as she answers your questions about creating positive, engaged relationships that center around supporting student learning, sharing of data and decision making, interventions, and collaborative problem-solving. Dr. Winston will also offer tips based on lessons she learned while educating parents about and collaborating with them on CPS’s RTI model, the "Pyramid of Interventions." Submit advance questions for the discussion now or simply join the chat live on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 3 p.m. ET.   RTI Blog In a new RTI blog, Dr. Dawn Miller, Innovative Projects Facilitator for the Shawnee Mission Public Schools in Kansas, notes that RTI provides an opportunity for educators to be proactive about the involvement of families within a school improvement process. Find out how parents can assist with both RTI planning and implementation, and how RTI systems can be designed to increase communication and involvement. Read this blog and comment today!

QUESTION OF THE MONTH What are the legal issues we should consider, including parental consent, when exploring options for universal screenings for behavior/emotional problems? Dr. Mary Beth Klotz, the National Association of School Psychologists' (NASP) Director of IDEA Projects and Technical Assistance, stresses that although universal screening for this purpose would not require parent consent, parental involvement is considered an essential component to successful RTI implementation. In her response, she elaborates on why it is critical to keep parents informed and involved with important school initiatives, programs, and assessments.   Read her full response to this question of the month. »

A Parent’s Guide to Response to Intervention Like any successful school initiative, parents play a critical role in RTI. NCLD's Parent Advocacy Brief is a resource that parents can use to learn how this process may be used to support their children's learning needs. The publication also offers tips for becoming involved and questions that they can ask their child's teacher and school. Download this resource for yourself or the parents in your school today.

		NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS IRA RTI Webinar On Tuesday, March 23rd at 8 p.m. ET, the International Reading Association (IRA) will present a webinar on "RTI and Differentiated Instruction—Guiding Principles." Learn RTI principles to guide instruction or intervention that is flexible enough to respond to evidence from student performance and teaching interactions. To register (no cost), email your name, phone number, and email address to: irawash@reading.org. Space is limited to 100 registrants! NASP Publication The third edition of one of the National Association of School Psychologists' (NASP) most popular publications, Interventions for Achievement and Behavior Problems in a Three-Tier Model Including RTI, offers educators a practical, cohesive roadmap to implementing a comprehensive and multitiered approach to helping all students succeed. To learn more, visit the NASP Web site. TESOL and CEC RTI Colloquium Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) will be hosting a joint colloquium on RTI, "Promises and Challenges of RTI for ELLs" on Friday, March 26th from 10-11:45 a.m., at the 44th TESOL Convention & Exhibit in Boston, Massachusetts. The convention will be held from March 24-27, 2010 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Help Us Make a Big Difference! We're always looking to improve what we do here at the RTI Action Network, and now we're asking for your help to do it! We'd like to know how we have helped you, your students, your school, or your community. Please take a few moments and send us your comments (just 1-2 sentences) explaining how the RTI Action Network has had an impact on your work. Please submit your comments and your full name, occupation, and city and state to RTIANFeedback@ncld.org. Thank you for helping to make a difference!

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