High School Response to Intervention (RTI) Resources

Most of the workshops I've attended about RTI have focused on resources and strategies designed for the elementary school level. More resources are now available that are appropriate for the high school level than before, and I thought I'd devote a few posts on this topic.

This is especially important when we consider that high school students who receive special education services, the most intensive level of support and intervention offered in our public schools, continue to have a much higher drop-out rate than their peers.

In today's economy, we know that these students aren't dropping out of school to work at steady, well-paying job!

Here are a few links to articles related to this topic, along with references:

RTI Gets Promoted to Secondary Schools (National Center for Learning Disabilities; Barbara J.Ehren, Ed.D. & Kathleen Whitmire, Ph.D.)

"While it is urgent to intervene as early as possible in the early grades to prevent the cycle of failure, it is equally important to remember that struggling learners in middle school and high school are also in need of instructional and behavioral supports to be successful. In fact, the stakes are higher for secondary students who lack the foundational skills and strategies needed to engage in school and who end up at risk for failing or dropping out."

RTI in Secondary School Setting: Riverbank High School Story - Implementing the Content Literacy Continuum(pdf)
Ken GEisick, Ed.D.; Peggy Graving-Reyes, & Silvia DeRuvo

What is the Content Learning Continuum?
(Strategic Learning Center)

Dropout Fact Sheet (National High School Center)

RTI Action Network High School Resources

References from the RTI Action Network:

Ehren, B. J., Lenz, B. K., & Deshler, D. D. (2004). Enhancing literacy proficiency in adolescents and young adults. In A. Stone, E. Silliman, B. Ehren, & K. Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy (pp. 600–625). New York: Guilford Press.

Guthrie, J. T., & Wigfield, A. (2000). Engagement and motivation in reading. In M. Kamil, R. Barr, P. Mosenthal, & D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research: Volume III (pp. 403–424). New York: Longman.

Hock, M. F., Deshler, D. D., & Schumaker, J. B. (2005). Enhancing student motivation through the pursuit of possible selves. In C. Dunkel & J. Kerpelman (Eds.), Possible selves: Theory, research and applications (pp. 205–221). Hauppauge, NY: Nova.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-446, § 1400 et seq.
Moje, E. B. (2006). Motivating texts, motivating contexts, motivating adolescents: An examination of the role of motivation in adolescent literacy practices and development. Perspectives, 32(3), 10–14.

National Center for Learning Disabilities. (2006). A parent's guide to response to intervention. Retrieved July 7, 2007, from www.ncld.org/images/stories/downloads/parent_center/rti_final.pdf.

O'Connor, R., & Bell, K. (2004). Teaching students with reading disability to read words. In A. Stone, E. Silliman, B. Ehren, & K. Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy (pp. 481–498). New York: Guilford Press.

Pajares, F., & Urdan, T. (2005). Academic motivation of adolescents. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Scammacca, N., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Edmonds, M., Wexler, J., Reutebuch, C. K., & Torgesen, J. K. (2007). Interventions for adolescent struggling readers: A meta-analysis with implications for practice. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.

Schumaker, J. B., & Deshler, D. D. (1992). Validation of learning strategy interventions for students with LD: Results of a programmatic research effort. In B. Y. L. Wong (Ed.), Contemporary research with students with learning disabilities: An international perspective (pp. 22–46). New York: Springer-Verlag.

Vaughn, S., Klingner, J. K., & Bryant, D. P. (2001). Collaborative strategic reading as a means to enhance peer-mediated instruction for reading comprehension and content area learning. Remedial and Special Education, 22(2), 66–74.

Here are additional resources about RTI and special needs students. from a post on the CEC RTI blog, written by Douch Cheney, of the University of Washington:

References

Crone, D.A., Horner, R.H., & Hawken, L.S. (2004). Responding to problem behavior in the schools: The behavior education program. NY: Guilford.

Hawken, L.S. (2006). School psychologists as leaders in the implementation of a targeted intervention: The behavior education program. School Psychology Quarterly, 21, 91-111.

Ryan, J., Pierce, C. & Mooney, P. (2008). Evidence-based teaching strategies for students with EBD. Beyond Behavior, 17(3), 22-29.

Sinclair, M. F., Christenson, S. L., Evelo, D. L., & Hurley, C. M. (1998). Dropout prevention for high-risk youth with disabilities: Efficacy of a sustained school engagement procedure. Exceptional Children, 65 (1), 7-21.

Sinclair, M. F., Christenson, S. L., & Thurlow, M. (2005). Promoting school completion of urban secondary youth with emotional or behavioral disabilities. Exceptional Children, 71, 465-482.

RELATED

From the Strategic Learning Center: The Content Literacy Continuum

Link: Curriculum Planning for All Learners, by Grace Meo

Take the time to read the article, Curriculum Planning for All Learners, written by Grace Meo, an advocate of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This article provides a good framework for implementing UDL at the high school level by the use of a PAL (Planning for All Learners) team. The author looks at ways that the PAL process can be applied to support vocabulary and reading comprehension, which is important, given the high numbers of students at the high school level who struggle with reading.

Be sure to scroll down to the Appendix section of the article, where you'll find a variety of references, resources, and links. If you work at the high school level, consider sharing the article with your colleagues.

Here is the abstract from the article:

"The universal design for learning (UDL) principles provide a blueprint for designing a curriculum that addresses the diverse needs of all learners. The author provides an overview of UDL, connections to curriculum planning, and practical techniques that guide general and special education teachers in planning and implementing curriculum, using the planning for all learners (PAL) procedures. PAL is a 4-step process for designing and implementing a curriculum (goals, methods, materials, and assessments) that is accessible and effective for all learners. In this article, the author focuses on high school social studies content with a goal of supporting all students' understanding of the content by bringing together principles of UDL, the PAL process, and research-based reading comprehension strategies. KEYWORDS: accessibility, curriculum planning and instruction, reading comprehension, secondary school, universal design for learning"