From the Principals Desk for March 2010
Will the meltdown soon come? While we have enjoyed the skating rink, sledding, and other activities, I believe most are ready for a change in the weather. It soon will be March and we head for the stretch run.
An update on our RTI programming. Response to Intervention (RTI) is a new framework we implemented midway last year. Under RTI, in conjunction with the use of the AimsWeb software, we can move quickly on behalf of students in reading and math. The overall goal of RTI is to get students back to grade level in reading and math and to reduce the number of referrals to Special Education. The essence of RTI is to make sure that the “intervention” we are using on behalf of a student, holds “fidelity”. This means that the intervention needs to be a) research-based, b) age-appropriate for the student, and c) monitored every 2 weeks to see if it is or isn’t working.
This venture replaces the old Title 1 program, where students received help in reading or math.
What’s the difference? Again, the word is “Fidelity.” In Title 1, we had no way of measuring if the assistance was benefitting the student. With RTI, (and a better name for RTI would be RTTI Response to “the” Intervention) we ensure that the intervention is working.
Let’s say through AimsWeb benchmark assessments, we find that a student has problems blending letters together to make sounds. We can implement a research-based strategy and work with that student 5 days a week, 20 minutes a day, for 10 days, then test again with the Aimsweb Software to see if the strategy is working or not! We decide at that time to continue with the strategy, or a variation of the strategy, or switch to a new strategy. Currently we are servicing over 30 students K-6 in reading and/or math. Many students have “graduated” out of RTI services and are back in the mainstream classroom: mission accomplished!
Congratulations to Students of the Month for January: in grade 3 and 4 Jarissa Bailey, daughter of Tracy Homme of Thief River Falls and in grade 5 and 6, Kelsie Sirjord, daughter of Kyle and Jessica Dudycha of Oklee were chosen.
Great job students on the Science and Health Fair held recently during conferences. Students worked extremely hard in preparing their Science Fair projects and their Health Fair displays. The students were judged on Thursday for their Science Fair projects, and student presented their Health Fair boards to all of our students on Friday. Special thanks to Mrs. Halvorson, Mrs. Brustad, and parents for all the hard work and preparation.
By the time you receive this newsletter, we will be approximately 1 month away from our annual MCA-II and III tests in reading, math, and science. Our staff and students have been working hard in preparation and we are excited to test. Our K-2 preparation combined SMART Boost-Up and RTI services and our instructional levels in grades 3-6 put us in the best position to date to perform well on the tests. And our success still resonates in NW MN. On Wednesday, March 3rd, Fertile Beltrami schools will be coming to visit our 5th and 6th grade staff on our instructional level framework. As a parent, you should feel excited about what takes place here with the education of your child: we are the best of the best!