1. Leading Response-to-Intervention
(RTI)Implementation
as an Urban Reform Effort
LEARNING FORWARD 2012
Orla Higgins Averill, CAGS
Claudia Rinaldi, PhD
Education Development Center, Inc.
and
John Verre

2. Need for Understanding RTI Implementation
Of the almost-decade of RTI research conducted since the
passage of IDEA 2004, it remains unclear “how extensively
RTI has actually been implemented in schools and the
extent to which those implementations represent tenable
prevention models, guided by best practices” (Fuchs &
Vaughn, 2012, p. 2).
“We need to examine the conditions under which various
approaches to RTI are most and least successful … and
attempt to derive some principles that can be used to guide
schools and districts in developing and implementing
approaches that are sensitive to their individual contexts”
(Wixson, 2011, p. 509).

3. Urban Context for Reform
 District located in the Eastern United States
 55,000 students / 125+ schools
 75% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch
 85% of students identified as racial minorities
 30% ELLs
 19% with special education needs
 Persistent challenges:
 significant achievement gaps among student groups
 high dropout rates
 high percentage of students identified as having special education
needs

4. Adoption of RTI Model
 Adopted to establish a multi-tier system of supports
that incorporates collaborative problem solving,
progress-monitoring, and data-informed
interventions and supports in academics and
behavior
 Being rolled out over 4-5 cohorts of ~25-30
schools/over a span of 3 years
 Emphasis on co-construction among external
organization, district leaders, school leaders and
school staff

5. Constructivist Leadership
 Constructivist leadership is about learning
together, and constructing meaning and knowledge
collectively and collaboratively.
 “Formal, one-person leadership leaves the
substantial talents of teachers largely untapped”
(Lambert, 2002, p. 40).

6. Applying Constructivist Leadership to
RTI Infrastructure / Implementation
 External agent of change supports school
leadership and holds accountability for moving
forward
 Staff receive a school-wide RTI orientation
 Leader facilitates discussion on improving core
(i.e., Tier 1) curriculum and instructional practices
 Together, leader and staff conduct an inventory of
existing supplemental instructional interventions.
 Leader arranges the schedule to allow time for RTI
meetings (usually grade-level) to occur at least
twice per month with a designated facilitator.

7. Applying Constructivist Leadership to
RTI Infrastructure / Implementation
 Leader establishes an RTI Management Team to meet
at least monthly. Facilitators attend to provide input
from grade levels.
 Leader and staff determine universal screening and
progress monitoring instruments and schedule.
 Professional development planned to support the
development of core (i.e., Tier 1) curriculum and
instruction, multi-tier instructional intervention and
understanding of data.
 Mechanism for evaluation process of implementation
is review regularly (2 to 3 times per year) to allow for
refinement of the model from planning to
sustainability