Flagler County

John Seaton, School Psychologist/District RtI Team Leader

Lori Highsmith, Behavior SpecialistTeresa Shipp, Guidance Counselor

Natascha Terry, School Psychologist

District Demographics

10639 Total Students (not including Adult Ed)

.04% American Indian

10.6% Hispanic

2.6% Asian

15.4% Black

64.1% White

6.8% Not Reported

21.6% ESE Students (including ESE Pre-K)

2.6% ELL Students

RtI HierarchyRtI is a joint venture of the curriculum and ESE departments in Flagler County. Although ESE tends to take the lead as far as development of policies and procedures, forms, and training, our RtI database is found on the Curriculum and Instruction Department page of our website and the two departments work in tandem on all aspects of RtI.

District RtI Leadership TeamStaffing Specialists

Elementary Guidance Counselors/Alternative Middle School Guidance Counselor

District Behavior Specialists

Elementary Principals

Middle School ESE & General Ed Teachers

Elementary Academic Coaches

High School Assistant Principals

Charter School Teachers

School Psychologists

ESE Director

District Curriculum Specialist

Meets once per month for three hours

RtI “Supports”Administration – School Leader

Sets vision for PS/RtI process in their schoolAllocates resourcesMonitors staff support/climateFacilitates review of fidelity of implementation

Guidance Counselors – Coordinator/Facilitator

Collaborate with teachers to track documentationSchedule students for TPST meetingsFacilitate meetings

Academic CoachIntervention FacilitatorData AnalysisAcademic Problem Solving ExpertiseSupport colleagues via mentoring and coachingMonitors fidelity of intervention

Behavior SpecialistCollaborates with TPST to perform FBA’s and develop PBIP’sObserves students to help identify intervention strategies, identify barriers to intervention success, collect behavior RtI data

School Psychologists – Case ManagerMonitors procedural complianceOngoing consultationIdentifying team training needs and providing same or obtaining other appropriate trainersData interpretationStudent observationsEvaluate student’s relevant academic, behavioral & emotional functioningProvide small group behavioral interventions

Classroom Teachers – Identify, implement, document, and analyze evidence-based academic and behavioral interventionsDifferentiate InstructionCollaborate with parents and other school personnel in data collection and analysisProvide fidelity of implementation

Parents –Collaborative member of RtI TeamProvides relevant home/community/medical/social informationAccesses appropriate community resources

School-Based RtI Implementation Structure

Leadership Teams tie PS/RtI and PBS togetherFacilitate scheduling of personnelFacilitate scheduling of interventionsMany members serve on school-based RtI Core Team

Leadership Source(s)

Flagler County’s RtI Project is a product of a 50/50 collaboration between general education and exceptional student education. This shared structure has existed since the earliest stages of RtI in Flagler County and has facilitated our success with the implementation of RtI to date.

Our district primarily funds RtI through the general budget. In addition, Title I funds allow the use of academic coaches to support RtI implementation.

Rationale for RtI Implementation in Flagler County

Through the implementation of RtI, our district hopes to achieve:

success for all students, avoid having any children “fall through the cracks”,truly leave no child behind, and provide teachers with the supports they need to do their jobs effectively.

Our district mission is “Raising Student Achievement Every Day, Every Way” That says it all. RtI is viewed as an integral piece of the district’s plan for bringing that mission to reality.

RtI is not specifically addressed as part of our district evaluation process, but it is certainly the vehicle to monitor individual student growth. And it is the expectation at each of our schools that RtI be used to evaluate programs and personnel.

District RtI PlanOur district RtI plan was developed with the guidance of the RtI staff at P. K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville. Throughout late 2006 and early 2007, our team participated in regular training and collaboration sessions with the PK Yonge team, who facilitated the formation of the district RtI plan.

In the spring of 2007, our district team developed a 5-year RtI Implementation Plan. Implementation was actually completed in just over three years.

Current Status of RtI Implementation5 elementary, 2 middle, 2 high, 3 charters, 1 alternative school

RtI was fully implemented in our elementary schools as of July 1, 2009. Implementation is in its initial stages at the middle and high school levels.

Academic coaches have helped support the implementation of academic PS/RtI in our elementary and middle schools, but behavioral RtI has been an uphill struggle.

Elementary schools have embraced the integration of academic and behavioral RtI more so than has secondary. Of particular importance to the success of integrating academic and behavioral RtI is WHO at the school is driving it!

Facilitators to Successful RtI

ImplementationComprehensive and fluid RtI Manual

Shared Curriculum & ESE Responsibility

Having an ESE Directory and Curriculum Dept staff who are knowledgeable about RtI

Consistent grading guideline for elementary reading and math allows for comparison across grade levels and schools

Giving teachers a greater voice in developing supports for students

Partnerships with local & state agencies, e.g. SEDNET, FDLRS, NEFEC, etc.

Sharing RtI successes among schools within the district

Support from Administration at many sites

BarriersClass size has impacted schools having the flexibility with staff to support RtI implementation.

Lack of standardized Tier 1 curriculum and grading guidelines at secondary level

Lack of centralized data

Lack of administrative support at some sites

Dwindling resources (financial and human)

Inability to make the necessary paradigm shift

Lack of understanding:Differentiated InstructionAccommodations vs. InterventionsHow data drives decisionsFair doesn’t always mean equal

Addressing Topic AreasLEADERSHIP:

We are addressing leadership issues on both a district and school level

Full representation on our District RtI Team from each schoolWorking with principals to bring them all on board with RtI, particularly secondarySeeking more active support from our Superintendent and other directors. Currently, we have “passive” support, but we are looking for more “active “ support.

K-12 ALIGNMENT - How is the district addressing RtI implementation across all levels?

MIS system increasing automation to ease transfer of data and increase consistency of recording dataDeveloping standardized procedures for transfer of hard copy RtI information when students move from one school to anotherOngoing professional development opportunities provided for administrative, instructional, and non-instructional staffAnnual review of procedures and forms to discover what worked, what didn’t work, and what changes need to be made to the process so that it works for everyone involved.

EVALUATION/ACCOUNTABILITYLevels of implementation

SAPSI completed 3x yrPerceptions of Skills Survey completed 2X yrBeliefs Survey completed 1x yrPerceptions of Practices Survey completed 2x yr

Implementation integrityAddressing on an ongoing basisStruggling with how best to monitor it and address it

Professional development Good pool of in-house expertsMany offerings, but they are not mandatoryThose who need to participate often do not

Staff skills, satisfactionPerceptions of Skills Survey completed 2X yrBeliefs Survey completed 1x yrInformal in-house surveys

Student outcomesGMADE/GRADE/FCAT/FAIRGradebookPerformance Matters

System outcomes (e.g., attendance, ESE placements)

Attendance issues are being addressed by the District RtI Team in its monthly meetingsSchool-based teams are also using attendance data when discussing interventions, movement among the tiers, and referrals for ESE staffings.ESE placements have decreased 79% from the same time two years ago (our last year using only the discrepancy method for ESE eligibility).

COACHING- several of the Title I schools are using academic coaches to support RtI implementation.

DATA-BASED PROBLEM-SOLVING/DATA SYSTEMS

Skyward (our management information system)Performance Matters starting SY 2011-2012Currently, data is still located in several different places, and some is not accessible at all to people who need it, but we are working on resolving these issues.

SUSTAINABILITYThis continues to be an issue with dwindling human and financial resourcesElementary level staff has, by and large, embraced RtI and its sustainability is not in question. Secondary level staff are still too new to the process

Flagler County is extremely proud of the PS/RTI system it has developed. Although we continue to experience the same “growing pains” as everyone else, we believe we have created a system that is well on the way to making our mission (Raising Student Achievement, Every Day, Every Way!) a reality.

The End