I will continue from my last blog where the RED FLAGS were
waving fiercely!! My concerns with Reading Recovery constant as my data team
continually came up against independent data that did not support that it was
working with students with whom we were working. We also noticed that the
students who had received RR in Grade 1, still needed some sort of support in
Grade 2!!
After giving the intervention sufficient time and using
multiple measures of progress, students were moved to another intervention that
seemed to fit their needs better. That is called targeted instruction –
instructing students where their deficits are. For example, if the student can’t
sound out words, a teacher would use another intervention that highlighted letter
sound skills. AND if the students respond to that intervention (RtI), then you
have seemingly targeted what you need to remediate and accelerate students’
progress in order to get the students NOT to the average of their peers BUT to
GRADE LEVEL standards (as measured by a norm referenced assessment)…
So…What can a parent do to help their child if they believe
the child isn’t progressing in an intervention such as RR (or any other
intervention) OR in the school environment in general?
- Contact your child’s teacher. Normally you can get their email and phone number right off the school’s web site!
- It might help to jot down your concerns about your child’s lack of progress in school (or in the intervention) PRIOR to contacting the teacher. That way you don’t forget anything important. You can even ask your child what he/she finds hard about school if you see him/her struggling or frustrated.
- Ask what you can do at home to help.
- Ask if you can schedule a meeting with your child’s teachers. If it involves an intervention, be sure to ask that the meeting includes the intervention team or IEP team working with your child. In most elementary schools, if your child receives an intervention, the team may be called the IST or (Response to Intervention) RtI team. If your child has an IEP, call an IEP meeting. Include your child in a meeting whenever possible (if appropriate).
- Perhaps you need to ask the school counselor if your child should be tested to see if your child qualifies for special education services (or if your child already has an IEP, your child may be in need of additional services – in that case, contact the case manager and request an IEP meeting or request additional testing). DO NOT WAIT or let ANYONE TALK YOU OUT OF THIS. If you believe your child has an issue that need to be explored, put it in writing. There is also the option of outside testing with an independent evaluator. If you decide to go that route, share the results with the school. This link will take you to a guide for parents in terms of special education and advocacy in the Commonwealth of PA.
- Request daily or weekly progress reports from your child’s teachers. This should include all progress monitoring data collected on your child (this is done by the intervention team).OR If your child’s school posts a student’s progress on their website and you have access to the internet, get your personal password from the school, and check progress reports weekly.
- Use a daily planner to record assignments and check the assignments off when they are finished. The daily planner needs to come home every day and be checked every day.
- Folder(s) to keep “To Do” and “Done” work separated.
- Folder(s) to keep corrected and returned work separated from current assignments that need to be turned in. (Keep/Take Home) – the folders need to come and be checked every day as well.
- Keep a supply of paper, pens, pencils, etc. at home so your child is prepared for each class.
- Identify a quiet place that will be the spot your child will use to complete homework.
Most of all, communicate with your child.
When he/she comes home and you ask, “What did you do in school today?” Do not
accept the answer, “Nothing.”
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