RTI: An Update 4

My principal forwarded a referral to the PPT last week. I had the chance to present it to the team to have them review it and decide if we would accept it or not. I have learned that my teammates and I have the same philosophy on RTI, and I knew that they would have questions about the referral. The big question: Where was the data? I sat in on the meeting when the RTI team decided that this particular student "flat-lined" and wasn't making progress. My response was, "What about Tier 3?" My question was met with this response from my principal, "The administrators met and we were told not to get hung up on what is a Tier 2 intervention and what is a Tier 3 intervention." So I accepted this referral knowing that my team would reject it. This was better than me outright rejecting it at the RTI meeting, even though I could have. So the referral was missing some key information, such as the starting and end dates for interventions, the dates for some of the tests, and the pre- and post-test data for the interventions. Essentially, a lot of pertinent data was missing, and they needed to provide it.

Once again, the issue is that those that are properly trained and well-versed in RTI are not responsible for it. Nor do we want to be. But regular ed teachers have no clue how to do this and they aren't providing the right information nor are they conducting proper progress monitoring. This whole operation has been piecemeal and the worse refrain that the administration has used is "this will look different in different schools." So there is no expectation of uniformity, except in really lame cases such as the form that people fill out. We wanted more information and felt that the RTI form is inadequate because it tends to lead to underreporting. When I suggested changing it, I was met with some resistance. Can we add an additional form? It's obvious that this whole thing is a mess because people have no concept of what we are doing. People are frustrated because they aren't sure of when PPS gets involved. I've been running interference between my principal and the speech and language pathologist because there is a misunderstanding on how language issues should be detected. I suggested to my speech and language pathologist that she create a screener that looks at articulation and some basic language issues. She should spell out each step with boxes and charts and labels so that each part is completed. There should also be a criteria of 80% proficiency, so that teachers know what is expected. Then each teacher gets one when they suspect some sort of language issue. That should stave off the mob that's slowly building. Unfortunately, my SLP hasn't received any directives from her supervisor, so she is at a loss. Hopefully, this language screener will appease my principal and we can keep this process moving along.

BBC

Making the Rounds

(Disclaimer - I know I failed on my mission of a new post every Tuesday, but I did start writing this post on Tuesday. It's taken me this long to finish it.)

First day back after a nice holiday. For some reason, I feel that MLK day has been downplayed. I don't think it's as big a deal now as it was when I was a kid. That could be because I grew up in the South, but it could be because of the multicultural society that we live in today. Maybe people feel as if they don't necessarily have to stress it anymore. I'm not even sure if it was mentioned in my building last week. There's a chance that kindergarten and maybe first grade talked about it, but they may have been the only one's to discuss it. My principal made a point of reminding the kids before they left on Friday to reflect on why they had Monday off.

Maybe that's where we are in 2010. We have a Black (Biracial) president, there are more opportunities for African-Americans, albeit a limited few have access to those opportunities, and there are few incidents of blatant racism. Maybe we've moved beyond addressing MLK in school. I remember asking an African-American teacher in my building what she was doing for African-American History Month. She told me that she wasn't doing anything special because she incorporated the information throughout the year.

Today, I went to two different schools to observe students that I am evaluating. These are both alternative schools, specializing in behavioral and emotionally-challenged students. I was impressed by the atmosphere in each building. On paper, these schools seem like they would be awful places to attend. In actuality, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Both schools--one an elementary school, the other a high school--seem very therapeutic. Each had a very welcoming main office, which is key to establishing a warm environment because it puts one at ease. And I met both principals as I explained that I was there to observe students.

In the elementary school I observed a student that seemed pretty well-behaved. I know that I was only getting a snapshot, but it was promising. It reminded me that his apparent success is the reason why we refer some students to these types of schools. Obviously, this was an appropriate placement for him. While I was observing him, I saw a former student of mine. It was bit depressing to see that he hadn't changed much. He was still rail-thin, his head riddled with bald patches from ripping out his hair during anxiety attacks. He was very meek and looked like he would fold into himself it it was possible. I had hoped that this school would have produced results for him, but it looks like he is pretty much the same. Unfortunately a lot of his psychological inertia stems from the fact that his parents are mentally ill with bouts of depression, paranoia, and anxiety. I'm supposed to reevaluate him before the end of the year, so this will give me more information on how he is really doing. I don't know if he recognized me. Hopefully he just didn't see me. Of all the kids that I saw in this school, he was the one that stuck out to me as being a child that seemed in critical need.

BBC

Adios, Amigo?

Friday, we had what was ostensibly a case conference to learn how a student's medication change was working, however it turned into a full-blown PPT with a discussion for change of placement. Alejandro (see previous post "The Package" from 9/23/08) has been problematic for most of the year, so it doesn't come as a big surprise, but this was a student that we gave so many resources- manpower and brainpower. When those kids leave you can't help but feel a sense of loss. It's not a matter of attachment, it's a matter of commitment. Once you decide that you're going to stick it out, it is a bit confusing when it becomes apparent that you have done all that you could and it's time for someone else to try. That's what I had to tell our principal, because she was wondering what else could be done. We worked with him for over a year and a half. He had significant issues, but we were somewhat successful at dealing with them. We were winning, dammit! But then it became too much for us to deal with.

He was on a very effective medication that controlled his impulsive behavior, but it was causing weight gain. At his mother's request, the medication was switched and he has never been the same. He has been obstinate, defiant and aggressive. This isn't the same child we worked with all of last year. It's unfortunate, because we made all sorts of accommodations to help him and we never took into consideration just how much the medication was contributing to his success.

The meeting culminated with a recommendation that he attends an alternative school that specializes in children with behavior issues. His outside therapists were the first to recommend it because at this point, a therapeutic school setting would be best.

I was warned about this: My director told me that as soon as Alejandro found out about the school change his behavior would deteriorate. Well, guess what happened today? It was pretty awful. Part of his plan was to have a check-in time with me in the morning. I am supposed to gauge his mood and see how his day will go. He was off this morning, but I hoped that he would get it together in time for class. I hoped in vain. He didn't even make it an hour. He had absolutely nothing to work for. My principal was very perceptive, she picked up on something that he said during his fit of stubbornness. In his stilted English, Alejandro said that he was angry with us. As she asked him to tell me what he said, it dawned on me that he knew about the school change. And of course, we have his mother to thank for that. His mother is not a good mother, and this was definitely something she would tell him. I think her words were that he's been misbehaving and he's being sent to another school because of it. Thanks, mom. We're still working on the paperwork now. This should happen fairly soon.

Temper Tantrum

Before I begin, just a few thoughts. One, I'm really going to try to keep my blog postings current. I've given myself a reasonable goal of one new post each week. I'm going to aim for Tuesday. So look out for new posts each Tuesday. On another note, I'll try to use Twitter to give brief updates or thoughts about whatever I'm working on at the moment. I will also use it to follow up on some open cases so that there can be a sense of closure (if anyone cares).

Today my director asked me if I was interested in having an intern. Of course this piqued my interest, but I wasn't sure about who I would want to be my intern. I'll have to conduct some interviews in the coming weeks.

Now onto the main story: My director was in my building to discuss a difficult case. I can't believe I haven't mentioned this case before because it is all-consuming. This child has consumed a lot of our energy so far this year. He's a first-grader, but he has these major temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Screams at the top of his lungs, threatens to run out, cries and turns into a complete mess. This has been going on since September. Well, we're going to put a stop to it.

We met with his therapist (who was clueless about this behavior), met with his mother, and we took what info we gleaned from them and developed a plan. First order of business is to extinguish his behavior that occurs after his tantrums. One would think that the episode is over once he stops crying, but no, he takes it to a new level by grabbing onto the teacher and clinging to her in an over-apologetic manner. It's quite troubling to witness it. We worked on a behavior plan that will focus on some positive behaviors that he can accomplish and will hopefully replace his bad behaviors. His target behaviors are 1) using an inside voice at all times, 2) keeping his hands and feet to himself, and 3) following his teacher's directions. My director advised that we give our new plan 3 weeks to work. We will reconvene and evaluate the results. More to come.

BBC

Teach for America

Recent article in the New York Times looks at a study that focused on the level of civic participation of those involved in Teach for America. Growing up, I remember the disdain that teachers had for Teach for America members. They felt as if they didn't really pay their dues and they weren't dedicated to being teachers. They felt as if the TforA members considered it to be domestic peace corps. They go in for 2 years, teach some underprivileged kids, then go back to their "real" lives. I guess this article shows that these people aren't any more civically engaged than the rest of us.

My gripe with Teach for America and other programs of their ilk is that it operates under the premise that anyone can be a teacher. Why is it that one of the most important professions in the world is treated as if it doesn't take any particular skill or talent to do it? This is a difficult profession and only those who are dedicated to the profession should join. If I want to be a doctor, lawyer, mechanic, appliance repairman, I have to go to some sort of specialized program. But apparently, if I want to be a teacher, I can just join an organization. And teach in some of the neediest areas of the country. How does this fit with NCLB and "highly qualified teachers"?

BBC