November 19, 2009 ACTION UPDATE

RTI and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act One of the goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 is to ensure our nation's long-term economic health by investing in education. Although ARRA dollars are not specifically identified for RTI start up, implementation, or expansion, they do offer opportunities for offsetting other expenses to alleviate strains on district budgets and to improve student achievement. Read this new article from Anna Munson to learn about funding strategies for your RTI initiative!     RTI Blog In "Let's Get Serious in Special Education," Dr. Stevan Kukic advises that special education teachers can to contribute to the RTI process by providing small group instruction for general education students as long as it doesn't prevent a special education student from receiving the services and supports indicated by their IEP. Learn why Dr. Kukic believes that special educators are uniquely qualified to help their colleagues implement these same, evidence-based practices with other students with similar needs.   Sharing Tips about RTI Intervention Materials  Join the discussion about which intervention materials work best for what purposes in our newest Discussion Board forum. Share your tips and gather information about RTI tools and intervention materials today.

QUESTION OF THE MONTH If a student has been identified with a language disability and is currently receiving IEP services but a new concern has come up regarding the student's math ability, must the school reconvene the RTI process to provide math supports or should the concerns be addressed solely by the IEP team? In his response, Dr. David Allsopp, Professor of Special Education at the University of South Florida, explores the key considerations that must be addressed in determining whether a student who is already identified with a disability and is receiving special education services for one content area can be automatically moved to the same delivery method for other subject areas when they begin showing difficulty.   Read Dr. Allsopp's response »

Voices from the Field Are you searching for examples of school-wide data that reflect student improvement due to RTI initiatives? Then read our Voices from the Field stories in which educators talk about their RTI initiatives, the challenges they faced, the outcomes of their efforts, the advice they would give others, and the data they collected! In one story, Dr. Aaron Deris, intervention specialist for ISD 27 in Bloomington, Minnesota, reports that his district's test results reflect more students reading on grade level, fewer referrals for special education, and higher standardized test scores—all as a result of successful RTI implementation.

		NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS National Center on RTI Webinar On December 9, 2009 at 2 pm ET, the National Center on RTI will be hosting a webinar on "Interventions in RTI." Dr. Erica Lembke will discuss interventions within a RTI framework—addressing the five components of reading from the elementary to secondary level. Pre-registration is not required for this free event. For more information, visit the Center's Web site.    AASA National Conference on Education The American Association of School Administrators' (AASA) National Conference on Education will take place from February 11-13, 2010, in Phoenix, Arizona. Visit the AASA Web site to register for the conference.   SSWAA Conference The School Social Work Association of America's (SSWAA) National School Social Work Conference will take place April 7-10, 2010, in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information on registration, visit the SSWAA Web site.

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