Haralson County Schools are committed to supporting students to help them achieve their fullest potential through Response to Intervention (RTI).  Haralson County is using the Student Achievement Pyramid of Interventions developed by the Georgia Department of Education as a framework for RTI.  This system of support is made up of four Tiers.  Each Tier provides increasingly intensive instructional efforts using research-based interventions for students based on their individual needs.

Tier I and II interventions are implemented and documented by the general education teachers in the regular classroom.  Tier II interventions could be implemented through supplemental school programs that are school wide.  These supports give the general education teachers the flexibility to differentiate instruction to meet the individual needs of students.

If a student needs further support beyond Tiers I and II, more intensive interventions can be provided through the formal Student Support Team (SST) process in Tier III.  Tier IV supports are provided through specialized instruction in special education.

Click here to view the Haralson County RTI Manual

Student Support Team (SST) is defined in Georgia Board Rule 160-4-2-.32.  If a student is in need of support at Tier III, the formal SST process will be used.

Standards are posted - not as classroom wallpaper but for the purpose of making connections to the learning going on, to focus attention to expectations, and to direct attention to elements being taught.

Rituals and Routines are posted and observed.  These explain how things are done and the roles and procedures for the classroom.

Student work is posted with commentary linked to standards

Students are applying rituals and routines, using a variety of appropriate strategies to learn, articulating and applying the standards, showing evidence of knowledge through formative and formal assessments.

Classroom artifacts are visible to the students. Examples of artifacts include: the current standards, rituals and routines, word walls, classroom libraries, and rubrics and examples that meet the standards. 

The teacher's role includes, but is not limited to, inquiry based questioning, setting the purpose of the learning as it aligns to the standards, arranging class into smaller groups, working individually through conferencing, explaining the standards that are addressed, documenting assessments, and differentiating instruction.

The classroom environment should be conducive to learning with visual aids that enhance learning.

The student and teacher, as well as, student and peers should engage in conversations about learning.

Cooperative Learning is...

• positive interdependence - students must perceive that by working together they can learn/achieve more by sharing goals, labor, materials, resources, information
• face-to-face interaction - interaction patterns and verbal interchange promoted by positive interdependence affect educational outcomes
• individual accountability for mastering the assigned material.
• appropriate use of interpersonal skills with students taught to use the skills and to analyze how well the group is functioning

One simple way to achieve this is to have students work in groups to master work, evaluate each student individually, and, if all students in a group achieve a predetermined level on the evaluation, award all members of that group a predetermined number of bonus points. ( NOTE: Do not penalize groups not achieving by deducting points.)

In cooperative learning groups:

• membership is typically heterogeneous
• all members share responsibility for performing leadership actions
• responsibility for learning is shared with group members expected to provide help and encouragement to each other
• good working relationships are maintained
• interpersonal skills necessary to work together are directly taught/modeled
• the teacher observes and analyzes not only how well the students are learning but how well the groups are working together

Cooperative learning strategies can work well and enhance learning for all students; however, the language interaction they produce make them especially effective for limited English proficient students. The strategies allow and encourage students to use language for interaction to solve real problems, thus speeding up the acquisition of the English language. Some other techniques that also are helpful for LEP students, especially when the subject is abstract and has high cognitive demand, include:

• Repeat
• Paraphrase
• Slow down
• Explain
• Demonstrate
• Use visuals, realia, rich context
• Provide for meaningful practice
• Use a variety of techniques and materials
• Use all modalities

Always be aware that many LEP students are from cultures where students does not question a teacher which includes asking questions when they do not understand. They may know the concept but not the words. Try to make sure they understand.

Many more strategies exist for assisting LEP and all students succeed in the classroom. This is just a beginning.