RTI at the Secondary Level - Whatcha doin’ about it?

Andrea Reichenberger contributed today's thinking.

The question I hear the most often in regards to what is happening at the high school level is “What are you doing about RtI?”  For those of you who may have been living under a rock or are new to the planet, RTI stands for Response to Intervention.  RtI is an organizational framework for achieving higher level of academic and behavioral success for all students. Using an RtI framework allows us to build a school system that meets the needs of all students (and allows us to meet the requirements of the SLD eligibility rule).

RtI and I have a love-hate relationship. I love it because it embraces the mindset that all students can learn and forces us to evaluate our instructional practices in order to ensure learning for everyone.  I hate that it has forced a push toward so much data---and I love data, but feel that in some cases our students are being over tested.  Also, with RtI and the SLD rule, we have to assess students in specific areas of reading and math.  If a student gets to the high school level and we realize that there is a deficit in one of these areas, there is a system of interventions that needs to be implemented and much data to be collected before the special education referral process can begin. High school teachers aren't prepared for this and neither are coaches.  The role of interventionist often falls to the coaches if there aren't any designated interventionists in a school or district.

Unfortunately, most high schools aren't designed to handle this process of intervention as the interventions themselves, for the most part, are very elementary focused.  This also means that there are very few progress monitoring tools and probes available at the high school level that won’t make students feel like they are in a remedial class.  We have to get creative. The good news is that schools leaders in our area have been reaching out to each other and sharing ideas.   In fact, one area coach, who is also a dear friend, recently sent me these links that I think others at the secondary level will find useful.

http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/Practice%20Brief-Struggling%20Readers1.pdf

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide.aspx?sid=8

http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/Secondary_Literacy_Instruction_Intervention_Guide.pdf

Our CESA (CESA 6) has also purchased school licenses for programs such as AIMS Web and Achieve 3000 so schools in the area can purchase a smaller number of licenses for Tier 3 interventions. This will be helpful as we continue to evaluate resources and try to be more cost conscious.

Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, and resources you have found helpful in the comments section.  We look forward to hearing about your struggles and successes!

What Are You Reading: January 2015

1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Carrie says, "If you loved Eleanor and Park, this novel, by the same author, offers the same realistic and intriguing characters!"

2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Diane says, "I am reading The Alchemist by Paul Coelho.  This came recommended to me by a friend who is coaching me to follow my heart.  It is a mystical story about a shepherd boy who feels the need to travel to other worlds to find the treasures in life. His journey leads him to taking the road less traveled and riches of a different and more satisfying kind."

3. "Leader, Teacher, Diagnostician, Colleague, and Change Agent: A Synthesis on the Research of the Role of the Reading Specialist in This Era of RtI-Based LIteracy Reform" by Emily Phillips Galloway and Nonie K. Lesaux (from April 2014 issue of The Reading Teacher). Jaimie says, Discusses how the role of the reading specialist has evolved over the years and how many more duties and much more knowledge are required to do the job well."

4. Having Hard Conversations by Jennifer Abrams. Andrea picked out a few quotes to share:

• "Telling the truth to one another, as coaches, as administrators, and as colleagues, is one of the most important ways that we grow personally and professionally" (p. 3).
• "Relationships are everything in the field of education and we actively shy away from causing bad feelings" (p. 2).
• "Having hard conversations is a skill for which many of us have no training and little experience" (p. 3).

5. Heather is using/referencing Write Like This by Kelly Gallagher - especially the sections on inform and explain and inquire and explore.

6. Julie is reading TDQ: Text-Dependent Questions by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey.

7. Heather is using/referencing Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning by Doug Buehl, especially the section on "Question the Author."

8. "Should We Teach Students At Their Reading Levels" by Timothy Shanahan (from the September/October 2014 issue of IRA Reading Today). Jaimie says, "Interesting article debating whether students should ALWAYS be reading text at their instructional or independent level. Gives reasons why we should also be using 'frustrational' level texts with students."

9. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler. Barb says, "I downloaded this immediately after hearing an interview on NPR, and my new best friend, Amy, has been keeping me company in the car ever since. It's funny, touching, realistic, and light."

Use the comments to continue the conversation by telling us what you're reading.

Assessment: How Much Is Necessary?

Jaimie Howe contributed today's thinking. To learn more, read Jaimie's post about education initiatives.

Three years ago our district did a huge overhaul of our elementary English language arts assessment system.   We wanted to align with the balanced assessment suggestions of the RtI model. We made sure we had a common screening and diagnostic assessment, as well as common formative assessment options documented for the entire district.  The diagnostic assessment we chose was the DRA2. Every K-5 teacher was trained and then required to assess all of their students in the fall, winter, and spring.  Although there was push back to begin with, the DRA came to be a “must have” to most teachers.  Having the DRA2 data strengthened our collaboration and instruction tremendously.

Fast forward to the present.  We now have PALS in grades K-2.  This test is considered a screener; yet, is also diagnostic and provides great information and reports.  With the gradual implementation of PALS to first kindergarten, then first grade, and now second grade, we have continued to keep the DRA2 as a requirement.  I have been struggling with the idea of whether or not the DRA2 is still necessary for ALL students, especially in first and second grade where an oral reading passage is a required component of PALS.  Do we need another one from the DRA2, too?  I still believe the DRA2 is extremely valuable, but teachers just do not have the time to assess all students on PALS AND all students on the DRA2.  Although the DRA2 gives us such great information, can we get most of that same information from PALS, our state required assessment?

I keep wondering if it will be more beneficial to take away the DRA2 or make it optional. If we required PALS in the winter (instead of DRA2), we would have three common data points with the same assessment - comparing apples to apples. Teachers would have more time for instruction because they aren’t spending so much time assessing.   Teachers could use the DRA2 for those students that were ID’d on PALS for more information if needed; however, I do feel that PALS offers enough information for us to pinpoint student needs and tailor our instruction accordingly.

Although there are so many great resources and assessments on the market, we can’t do or use them all.  It all comes back to quality and not quantity.

Back to Basics

Julie Schwartzbauer contributed today's thinking. To understand more, begin with Julie's first post about her district's Back to Basics plan.

The district goal of the Back to Basics plan is for coaches to support teachers in deepening their understanding of the workshop framework, by refining their practices and developing expertise in the components of balanced literacy.

The coaching Professional Learning Community (PLC) meets bi-weekly each month and consists of building literacy coaches across the district. At each PLC the focus is on a pre-selected component of balanced literacy.  The focus on each component will last for approximately two months, or as needed, determined through observations and reflections on the initial goals and objectives.

During each coaching PLC the following questions are discussed…

• How can we use our data and student work to guide our instruction in each component?
• How can each component be used as a tool to reach student learning objectives/I Can Statements ?
• What can I learn from my colleagues in this area?

Coaching PLC’s will focus on DuFour's essential questions…

• What is it we want students to learn (standard, skill, I Can statement)?
• What is your goal and how can this component help students learn?
• How will we know when students have learned it?
• What do we do for students who haven’t learned it?
• What do we do for students who already know it?

Below, you will find a table displaying the coaching cycle for the Back to Basics plan.  In my next blog I will reflect on how our district uses the coaching continuum to differentiate for coaches across the district.

First PLC	Second PLC	Third PLC	Fourth PLC
PLC will establish a district goal on component.  What are our shared beliefs and understandings of the component? PLC will dig deeper into several resources related to focus component.	Coaches will return to PLC with observations of instruction of focus component in their buildings. Coaches will reflect on the following: What made the instruction in the focus component good? What did you notice about the teacher’s use of language, planning, instruction, etc.? What did you notice about teacher/student interaction? Coaches will develop a coaching plan for their building focusing on the component.	Discussion at PLC will focus on updates of coach’s plan. District coaches will differentiate for coaches based on building and coaches need. Coaches will reflect on the Coaching Continuum and their current placement in regards to coaching on the focus component. Coaches will reflect on the component and set final goals for the next two weeks of coaching.	Final reflections on focus component, district goal and coaching plans.

Ongoing

• Coaches will use the Coaching Continuum.
• Coaches will observe teachers’ instruction in component area.
• COaches will focus on student-centered learning.

Sharing with Department Heads

Lisa Weiss contributed today's post. For more information, read Lisa's first post about her district's "laser-like focus on the intentional use of literacy in the service of our contents."

How does one go about sharing such a vision with high school department heads? Like all teaching: thoughtfully and intentionally. It is a common practice for department head retreat to be held each summer. This year I was given the better part of a day to share the thinking behind a number of literacy-related items.

A number of years ago I was a literacy coach at one of the high schools, so I feel as though, because I had relationships with many of the department heads at that school, and some successful coaching and professional development experiences behind me there, I’d have a somewhat receptive audience. On the flip side of that sun-shiny thinking is the realist in me--the part of me that fully understands that the topic of literacy is not one that all will embrace--even if they respect or like me, and...I had another set of department heads who never heard my name, didn’t know my agenda, how I operate as a literacy coach, nor as a literacy coordinator!

I admit, I was nervous, because I had all kinds of information that was going to be new thinking for the group, and the level of receptivity was going to vary, but I also felt confident because my plan was solid, simple, and one that I thought would be appealing to most teachers. The agenda for the day included starting with a self-reflective set of questions that had the department heads thinking about how often they want and/or require their students to be engaged in literacy processes.

After that short, but powerful activity, I got the group moving and thinking more about the kinds of literacy that are used in their individual content courses by engaging them in a carousel brainstorm. I split the group of 40-45 teachers and administrators into six different groups, each group representing one of the six literacy processes: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and graphically representing. Each group had an opportunity to think and write, for approximately 5 minutes, about how they engaged kids in each one of the literacy processes, and then, with the walls full of ideas surrounding us,  we debriefed the process, which led to a working definition of what is meant by disciplinary literacy--what it is, and what it is not.

Here are some of the disciplinary literacy talking points we discussed:

• Something you already are doing--it was important to the administrators for me to continually show the department heads, throughout the day, how they are already engaging kids in literacy processes, so it did not feel as this is, yet another, entirely new initiative.
• Something we will work to do systematically, consistently, and with intentionality. It was clear from the carousel brainstorm that our students are using literacy processes in content courses, but now, as teachers, we are going to think about engaging students in these processes frequently, with purpose, and supporting students with this work.
• Something we require of students because “using literacy in the service of your content” is how we help students to process your content goals. (Doug Buehl)
• You are not being asked to teach English for the ELA teachers, or to “help out” the ELA teachers. We discussed how the writing of a lab conclusion differs from writing a character analysis, and how that differs from a cause and effect paper, and how that differs from a reflection on a performance, so that the point was that you model and teach students how to write in your class so your expectations are made visible, so that kids see you muddle through the messy work of modeling writing, and so that students see how the kind of writing you are asking for is different and similar to what they write in ELA. It’s about effective communication of your course content via literacy processes!
• You are not being asked to ditch your content so that kids can start reading novels or writing essays in place of your content. An example was that if you teach physical education, you are still going to require students to participate in the physical activity your content standards require, however, the writing you could engage kids in is of a reflective nature, using the data from food and exercise logs to reflect upon goals being met (or not), and setting new goals. We are not asking for radical changes in your curriculum, just thoughtful ones that require your students to make sense of content while using literacy as the processing tool!

Next post: Other highlights from the department head retreat, and the rest of the agenda

Materials from Face-to-Face Meeting

The following materials were used at the December 12, 2014, face-to-face meeting of the Statewide Literacy Coach Network.

Agenda
Introductory PowerPoint
Questions from Table Discussions
Handouts from Coaching Demonstration and Practice

Google+: Our Online PLC

The Literacy Booth blog is a place to go to read in-depth thinking and reflection from some of Wisconsin's outstanding literacy coaches. You can respond to posts by sharing your thinking in the comments. You can copy the link to posts and share on social media (such as Facebook or Twitter).

But, there is another way to communicate with other literacy coaches in Wisconsin - the Wisconsin Literacy Coach Google+ Community.

The community is a place where anyone can ask a question or share a resource. Possible topics include:

• I just found this really great article. You should read it! (including a link to the article)
• Who knows something about ___________? (insert name of resource your district is considering)
• I just finished reading __________. It would make a great mentor text for __________.
• I'm signed up to attend ________________. Who is interested in coming with me? (including a link to the registration information)

Step 1. Get on Google+. You can sign in with any Google account. There are detailed directions in this document.

Step 2. Join the community. Use this link to find the community or search for "WI DPI LITERACY COACHES PLC" in Google +. Select "Communities" within the search results.

Step 3. Say hello. Introduce yourself. Share a resource. Say something.

Step 4. Check back regularly. You can sign up for notifications (to receive information in your email about what is being shared), or you can regularly visit Google+ to see what is new in the community.