Episode Details

Tom Whitford, a Wisconsin principal who leads three schools, explains how his team runs response to intervention every day. Each grade level gets an ICE block for focused intervention, extra core support or enrichment, and weekly teacher meetings decide which students move between groups.

Whitford's teams pull three kinds of evidence before they change a group: the STAR assessment, AIMSweb benchmarks taken three times a year, and classroom work. They wait for a few weeks of data, so groups shift every three to four weeks, not every week.

What you'll learn

• Build a daily block where every grade level can offer intervention, core review and enrichment, so each student gets what the data says.
• Require three kinds of evidence, such as STAR, AIMSweb and classroom work, before you move a student up or down a group.
• Wait a few weeks of data before moving a student, then review and adjust groups every three to four weeks.
• Ask whether special education would actually give a student less support than the intervention group they are already in.
• Get out of your office and work from a portable cart, so you are visible in hallways and classrooms.

Chapters

• 0:00 Leading three schools miles apart
• 1:57 Danielson evaluation, PBIS and RTI priorities
• 3:16 How ICE time and intervention teams work
• 6:14 Three data sources for grouping students
• 8:16 When special ed gives less support than intervention
• 10:42 Fluid groups in small and large buildings
• 13:09 Try experiments and put relationships first
• 15:56 Leave your office and work from a cart

Times are for the episode without ads. Your player may be off by the length of any ads.

Questions this episode answers

How often should RTI intervention groups change?
Whitford's teachers meet weekly about student progress, but they avoid snap decisions. They want a few weeks of data showing a student has mastered a skill, so his schools look at moving and adjusting groups about every three to four weeks.

What data should you use to place students in intervention groups?
Whitford uses a three-legged approach. His schools combine the STAR assessment, AIMSweb data benchmarked three times a year, and classroom evidence. They put it in a student information system that shows each class in red and yellow zones.

Can special education give a student less support than RTI?
Yes, according to Whitford. He says some students might get less support if they move into special education than if they stay in their intervention groups, so his team asks which setting gives the student more before it makes the move.

About Tom Whitford

Tom Whitford is a Wisconsin principal who leads three schools in one Wisconsin district.

Links and resources

• Danielson Framework
• Transformative Principal website
• Podcast on Stitcher
• Refer a principal form
• Best Tools for Busy Administrators survey
• Sponsor offer link
• Sponsor Sanebox

Working on this at your school? Get a free preview of a 10-week leadership pathway built from episodes like this one at transformativeprincipal.com/start.

Thanks to our Sponsor Broadcast Made Easy who he