RtI: Tier I

           Does your school participate in Response to Intervention?  My school does and tomorrow is our school's big Rti meeting!  We try to make this long day as pleasant as we can.  Our principal provides snacks (chips, salsa, Chex Mix, candies, drinks -think pop, water, coffee!).  We also have a fabulous cook who also just happens to be a teacher.  She makes homemade cookies, brownies, or whatever we ask for.  Last year, I asked for cheesecake and sure enough, we had a couple different ones for our meeting!  She is fabulous (did I already say that?)!!  I cannot wait to see what she brings for us to munch on tomorrow.  The teachers even bring down their comfy chairs to sit in since we will be at it literally all day long.  We will be making a lot of important decisions for our students so we try to make it as pleasant of a day as possible.
          
           Today I thought I would talk a little about Tier I of the RtI pyramid.  Tier I is where most of your school's students should be at (80%).  This tier is usually taught in the classroom with classroom teachers.  Your school's core curriculum goes in this tier.  If you are finding that too many of your school population is not making it in Tier I, your curriculum committee may need to take a second look at your core curriculum and how it is being taught.  Differentiated instruction should be happening in the classroom to further help the students.  A lot of RtI is what classroom teachers are already doing.  Sometimes the terms have been changed a little or things have been put into a new graphic, but good teaching is still good teaching!