Southern Maine Area Resource Team (SMART) for Schools Rachel Brown-Chidsey, Ph.D., NCSP [email protected] Response to Intervention: Schedules

Southern Maine Area Resource Team (SMART) for Schools

Rachel Brown-Chidsey, Ph.D. , NCSP

[email protected]

Response to Intervention:Schedules

© SMART for Schools 2011 2

Why are schedules important for RTI?

What are ideal schedules for RTI?

How are schedules best developed to support RTI?

Where do we start?

Overview


Why Are Schedules Important?

• Having enough time for learning has been shown to be a key variable in student outcomes

• School schedules help optimize time on learning for students

• Schedules also provide routine for the school day• Some types of instruction needs to be

highly structured• Some students prefer routine


Schedules are an Instructional Tool

• Time is one of the most valuable resources teachers need

• When compared to schools in other industrial countries, U.S. schools allocate far less time to instruction

• Added demands in the curriculum have created time pressures on teachers


Setting Priorities• Before deciding when during each

day to do what…• We must create instructional priorities• What are the “non-negotiables” which

must be in the daily schedule?• Instructional content• Breaks, transportation, etc.

• What are the highest and lowest priorities?


Scheduling is Crucial

• For RTI to work, there must be enough time for instruction based on students’ needs

• Grouping variables are an important consideration:

• Within classrooms

• By classroom

• By grades• T

his can be done in classroom settings and across classrooms by grade levels


What Are Ideal Schedules?

• No schedule is perfect, but there are models for Tiers 1, 2, 3

• Keep in mind that it may take a few years to develop an ideal schedule for your school

• Schedules need to be reviewed annually and revised as needed


Tier 1 Schedules• Include a mix of whole group and

small group activities

• Include differentiated instruction based on student needs

• Reading instruction• 90 minutes per day, K-5

• Math instruction• 60 minutes per day, K-5

• Social Skills• 5-10 minute lessons per day



“Walk to Read/Math”

When all classrooms of the same grade have reading or math at the same time, it’s possible to group students across classrooms into flexible instructional groups

Students walk to another room for instruction

Important to realize that these groups are revised every 6 weeks based on student progress


Tier 2 Schedules

For students who need the additional instruction of Tier 2, a time block for it to happen needs to be in the schedule

The best way to do this is to create a “skills” or “intervention” block as part of the daily schedule for all students

Typically 20-30 minutes each day

These blocks can be used for both remedial and enrichment instruction


Sample Skills Block Schedules The following slides include examples of

daily schedules for grades K-5 and middle school

These come from schools around the U.S.

These schedules reflect a commitment to ensuring that there is time in the day for students who need additional instruction

Keep in mind that students will change what they do during skills time over the year


Kindergarten


Grade 1


Grade 2


Grade 3


Grade 4


Grade 5

19

Middle School

© SMART for Schools 2011


Tier 2 Schedule Options• No all students will need daily

sessions• Can schedule some students for 2-3

days per week and this frees up “slots” for other students

• Good to reduce frequency of sessions over time before a student ends intervention

• Groups need to be reviewed often to ensure instructional match


Tier 3 Schedules• The amount of time needed to get

students “on track” grows by grade level and by level of student need

• In Kindergarten we can catch up a student in 20 minutes per day

• By 5th grade we need much more time because the skill gap is likely to be bigger

• Tier 3 requires large chunks of time for intensive instruction


Tier 3 Options• In order to get the time needed at Tier

3 there are two options:• Add more intervention time by replacing

other instruction• Add 30 minutes of math instruction in place

of science or music

• Replace core instruction with a highly intensive program and keep the Tier 2 intervention time• Use Touch Math as the replacement core

and keep the 30 minutes of intervention

How Are Schedules Best Developed?• Developing an effective schedule is a

process not a moment in time event• All stakeholders need to be included

in the process• Sometimes hard choices are needed• Sometimes very small changes make

all the difference• 3 minutes off lunch


Stakeholders in the Process• Teachers

• General• Special

• Parents• Bus drivers• Paraprofessionals• Food staff• Administrators are not key

stakeholders but instead facilitators


Where Do We Start?• Plan to have many meetings• Start with a school-wide discussion of

how the current schedule is working• What is working well• What is not working or missing?

• Identify what needs to change and why

• Post these change items so everyone can see them during all meetings


Create a Process• Determine how schedule decisions

will be made• Create a timeline for decision making• Empower everyone to have a voice• Remind those whose voices are too

powerful that the schedule needs to work for students first, not just for staff

• Once a new schedule is made try it out for a specific duration then review it and determine if change is needed


Summary• Effective schedules are critical for RTI

to succeed• Setting instructional priorities is a first

step• There must be time in the day for

each priority activity• When changing schedules, remember

it’s a process• The schedule should foster success

for all students

Documents

Southern Maine Area Resource Team (SMART) for Schools Rachel Brown-Chidsey, Ph.D., NCSP [email protected] Response to Intervention: Schedules