Effective teachers use numerous types of intervention daily for their students. Most of the time, interventions are used in the regular classroom with the regular education teacher. In my classroom, I currently have regular ed. students that I work with daily (in math) by using an informal type of intervention. It may include pulling these five students to the reading table to work with them in a small group on a specific skill, or it may mean sending them out with a tutor that I have that comes in once a week for additional support. I collaborate with the tutor weekly on the skills that the students need extra help with. Of these five students, I send the lowest two (from MAP and Benchmark scores) out once a week to our Response to Intervention class. This is a 45 minute class that is taught by related arts teachers. I do not use MAP and Benchmark scores only to help me identify struggling students. When I have evidence from quizzes and tests that a student does not understand or has not grasped new material, I immediately try another teaching strategy. If a student continues to struggle in class, I talk with an administrator and/or our school psychologist about possible I-team referral. From there, the psychologist will test the child for any learning disablility.
I know that there are some students that "fall through the cracks". How does a child get to third grade reading on a kindergarten reading level? How am I to expect that student to read assignments and understand what he has read? I currently have this student. He cannot read nor can he write a complete sentence. My school is the fourth school in the district that he has attended. He was retained in kindergarten. His MAP scores are just a little below the norm. His Benchmark scores are below grade level. I have provided him with one-on-one instruction, additional time to take tests, read tests aloud, given him notes and study guides, sent him to work with the tutor, and sent him to RtI. When tested, he did not have any learning disabilities. With all of this, there has been no changes in his classroom performance/grades. I have referred him to the I-team. This consisted of a behavior plan and his mom/family working more with him at home. None of this is working. I have gone to our assistant principal for input on the situation. He is following up with another behavior plan between them.
I want to have another I-team meeting with our principal, school psychologist, assistant principal, guidance counselor, mom, and myself there. Due to budget cuts, my school no longer offers any help to struggling readers in grade three. WIth mom's lack of education, she has said there is a limit to what she can help him do. He must ride the bus to and from school and cannot come before or after school for any additional help. I want him to have help in reading, writing, and math. I want there to be accountability by our school and by his mom. I keep daily charts on his behavior and his homework and classwork being completed. She must take on some of the responsibility and ensure us that he gets his homework and school projects completed. I am open to any other suggestions.
I understand your frustration when you work so hard and see no results. Teachers have so much accountability for the progress of their students, but the bottom line is that the students and parents have to give forth effort to really succeed. We can't go home with our students to make sure they are studying and reviewing material learned so we just have to do the best with them when we have them in our classrooms. I know you are doing everything you can for this child, that's all you can do.
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