MODULE 7: CHOICE ONE

The CRES Intervention Model Caitlin Foster University of New England

MODULE 7: CHOICE ONE The York School Departments mission statement clearly expresses the high achieving learning environment our schools strive for. Our mission is to educate, inspire, and challenge all learners to be ethical citizens who will make a difference in a changing and complex world. However, even with these high expectations, students still experience difficulty learning and do not meet the districts expectations. As a PLC school we have worked very hard to create and implement a system of interventions that meets the needs of all our learners, even those at risk. At Coastal Ridge Elementary School we have created a system that monitors student learning and then provides needed interventions along the way. This system mirrors both the RTI initiative and the idea of a Pyramid of Intervention (Dufour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2008). Our model, entitled The CRES Intervention Model is best described like a pyramid with a solid foundation starting in the classroom. DuFour et. al (2008) discuss the importance of high quality instruction by explaining that no system of intervention will compensate for ineffective teaching. (p. 255). The first tier of the CRES Intervention Model promises that each child be taught based on best practice and each will receive classroom accommodations based on formal and informal assessment data. This first tier will hopefully include 80-90% of our students. The other 10-20% of students fall into tier two, three, or four of our model. These at risk students are identified through formal and informal assessments including the CPAA, Everyday Math Assessment, Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment, NWEAs, and classroom observation. Expectations and benchmarks for each assessment are set by the teachers and administrators working within our professional learning communities. At each tier timely goals are set, the intervention provided, and students reassessed. It is our hope that students will not need to advance all the way to the fourth tier. If a student meets

MODULE 7: CHOICE ONE the set expectations after an intervention they will move back into tier one. As DuFour et al. (2008) suggests, this model is based on the premise that special education should serve as a last resort, rather than a first response when students experience academic difficulty (p. 269). Students who do not meet the set expectations are moved up in our pyramid. Each tier outlines interventions such as small RTI groups, tutoring sessions, Title One reading and math services, Student Assistance Team referrals, etc. Interventions become more intensive as the child moves up in tiers. The success of our intervention is evident in the growth of individual students test scores, but also in our test scores as an entire school. On their most recent NWEAs our current 3rd and 4th graders scored among the top ten schools in the state of Maine in reading and in the top five in math. These scores represent our highest yet here at CRES. Our administration and staff stand as the most important part of this success. Although our model was initiated by our administrators, every professional staff member has a role in executing this model. Classroom teachers provide interventions while support staff cover classrooms, pick up duties, and fill in as they are needed. DuFour et al. (2008) explains that in order to implement a successful model of intervention into a school, educators must create a system to fit their individual school. CRES has spent many years creating and implementing a system of intervention that is unique to our students. As described above we address the problems of at risk students as a true PLC school. CRESs Intervention Model gives every child, even those at risk, the tools they need to be learn and become successful life-long learners.

MODULE 7: CHOICE ONE References DuFour, R., DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning communities at work: New insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.