Over the years it has been a constant struggle to find a way that I can reach all of my

students and help them become successful no matter the challenges they face, especially in the

area of reading. Having taught many years and in different school systems, I have had the

pleasure of learning and implementing the latest “new and improved” strategy to be used at a

specific time. However, when I accepted a teaching job in a local private school I was met with

the challenge of really learning how to teach every child how to read. Therefore, I began my

journey to learn all I could about reading instruction so that I could help our school grow and

change to meet the demands of our every changing population. It was on this journey that I

discovered Response to Intervention.

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tiered approach to help struggling readers

(“What is RTI?”, n.d.). RTI begins with high quality instruction and progress monitoring in the

general education classroom. Through the use of progress monitoring, teachers are able to

identify students who may need interventions and therefore can adjust their instruction to meet

the needs of those students. The goal is to intervene early when a problem arises and to help

identify students who require a special education referral and further testing. According to

Prasse (“Why Adopt an RTI Model?”, n.d.), adopting an RTI model is about adopting best

professional practice, insisting that we do what is best and necessary for all students in our

schools.

RTI is a great program and I highly recommend its use by all schools, public and private.

It is a great program with many benefits. I look forward to sharing what I have learned about

RTI with my colleagues and hope to see it implemented in many more classrooms in my school.

I believe that it will not only help our school to become stronger in reading, but it will also

bridge the gap between public and private schools when students transfer from one to the other.
 References

Prasse, David Dr. (n.d.). Why Adopt an RTI Model?. RTI Action Network. Retrieved from:

http://www.rtinetwork.org.

What is RTI? (n.d.). RTI Action Network. Retrieved from: http://www.rtinetwork.org