The Tiered Approach:Referral/Intervention for At-Risk Students

Presented By: Kerri Draper

LST @ Cambridge St. P.S.OCDSB

Introduction

Education for AllThe Report of Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy

Instruction for Students With Special Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade 12

(2005) Inclusion Universal Design Differentiation Knowing your students

Tiered Approach

• Sequentially increases the intensity of instructional interventions

• Assessment/progress monitoring is ongoing• Students who do not meet progress in one tier

are then provided with the next tier of support

• Prevention model rather than a “wait and fail” model

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Classroom Instruction•Evidence-Based•Progress is Monitored

In-School Support Team•Targeted and more Intensive instruction for more at-risk students

Multi-D Intervention•Students referred for more extensive assessment•Received more specialized instructions

Tier 1 – The Foundation• Classroom teacher collects data to create class

profile• Instructional program taught by classroom

teacher (differentiated programming)• Progress monitoring of all students• Flagging at-risk learners• Professional development provided in

assessment practices, progress monitoring and intervention strategies

Tier 2 – Supplemental Instruction• Students who do not make progress in Tier 1

are provided with more intensive instruction• Classroom teacher creates student profile to

determine strengths/needs of at-risk student• Classroom teacher consults with in-school

team to develop Tier 2 interventions• Consultation with appropriate member of

multi-disciplinary team• Student progress is closely monitored

Tier 2 – Continued:

Tier 2 interventions may include:individual or small group instructionInvolvement of Learning Support Teacher

(LST), Learning Resource Teacher (LRT) or Educational Assistant (EA)

Instruction that is more structured, explicit and systematic

More frequent progress monitoring

Tier 3 – Multi-D Intervention• For students who do not exhibit growth in response

to Tier 1 and 2 instructional layers• Referred for more extensive assessment to Special

Services for more individualized intervention• Information from assessment and information from

teachers/school team is used to guide more specialized instruction

• Case-Conference with in-school team and multi-disciplinary team.

Why a Tiered Approach?

• Addresses needs of students who do not show adequate growth

• Tiered approach promotes early identification and remediation of children at-risk for learning problems – PREVENTION model

• Direct link between assessment, identification process and intervention

Tiered Approach

• Sequentially increasing the intensity of instructional interventions and continuous progress monitoring dramatically reduces the number of students who experience learning difficulties

The Referral Process

• Tiered Approach is linked to the current referral process found in the Special Education Plan

Prevention modelLearning issues are presentedInterventions/strategies are exploredStudents may receive special education supports and

services

Education for AllIf students aren’t learning the waywe teach…

Then we need to teach them theway to learn.

Dunn and Dunn

Student Support Referral ProcessReview

1. Review the student’s OSR thoroughly and make note of any previous difficulties, interventions, and ELL history.

2. Develop and implement classroom strategies using resources such as the Tier 1 Intervention Chart and the Student Support Folder on the school Conference.

3. Contact parents to discuss concerns and to seek feedback based on previous experiences.

Student Support Referral ProcessReview

4. Forward the name of the student and their class to LST (a beam will be sent out a few days in advance asking for any names for the agenda). The student will be brought forward at the bi-weekly support team meeting and the referring teacher must attend.

5. Prior to the meeting, pick up a Student Support Consultation Form from the LST, fill it out as thoroughly as possible and bring it with you.

6. Bring the student’s OSR to the meeting so that the team can review it as necessary. It may be helpful to bring samples of student work to the meeting. Please come ready to discuss the interventions you have already tried.

Student Support Referral ProcessReview

7. During the meeting, the team will problem solve and make suggestions for next steps. Possible suggestions include things like:

• in-class modification strategies (academic and behavioural)• in-class observation• tailored instructional approaches• an educational assessment• strategies for parents – suggested parent/teacher/student

conferences• further referral to a member of our multi-disciplinary team

(psychologist, speech/language pathologist, and social worker)

8. Parents should be contacted and kept informed as to any changes in programming or new strategies put in place.