Response-to-Intervention

Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership Fellow Chiffon Winston learned during her fellowship that educators must practice doing things with families, rather than to families. An educator herself, this was an easy practice for her classroom that would ensure the success of her students at McNabb Elementary in Paducah.

Chiffon pulled her families together (virtually) to address a gap she knew could be resolved through partnering with her parents and guardians. She hosted a Facebook Live and Zoom to help families understand Response-to-Intervention, also known at RTI.

“RTI, is thirty minutes of one-on-one intervention with an educator. It has three tiers. Tier one is whole group instruction, where the whole class learns together. Tier two is for students who are not making progress in a whole group instruction. Tier three is an intense and individualized instruction that requires them to leave their classroom and work with a specialist,” Chiffon shared.

“I explained how this program will help their children if they are struggling with learning. I answered questions and provided resources. Some of the parents had students in RTI but it was not explained to them what it consisted of.” As result, Chiffon saw significant growth in literacy, especially with minority students. She also increased communication with her families, who now see themselves as partners in their children’s education.