Effective RTI Training and Practices: Helping School and District Teams Improve Academic Performance and Social Behavior

All grade levels. This valuable resource is designed to increase the knowledge and develop the skills of school personnel who are in the process of implementing RTI.?It presents RTI in a comprehensive manner using a data-based decision-making approach that emphasizes accountability. The book is unique in that it focuses on both academic performance and social behavior of all students in such a way that any practitioner can read and immediately apply the content. The authors integrate best practice, research, law, and consultative experiences to provide school personnel with a general framework to promote positive outcomes for all students. The CD that accompanies this book includes reproducible forms, handouts, RTI templates, and a set of customizable PowerPoint slide sets to help educators introduce a Response to Intervention program in their school or district. Content Highlights: A three-tiered model of RTI based on law and research.Universal screening for academic performance and social behavior. Diagnostic assessment linked to intervention for small groups of students as well as individual students who need more intensive and personalized service. Data-based decision-making across the three tiers, including how to analyze data related to NCLB. Data-based decision-making with regard to setting goals and monitoring progress with emphasis on how to make objective and reliable decisions for all students. Effective problem-solving/teaming with suggested process and sample forms. How RTI can be integrated into current special education entitlement procedures.

About the Author :
Dr Gary L. Cates earned his PhD from Mississippi State University and is an associate professor of psychology at Illinois State University, USA. He teaches and conducts clinical supervision of graduate students related to assessment and intervention of academic and social behavior problems. He also coordinates the Academic Intervention and Consultation Service at the Psychological Services Center at ISU. Dr. Cates has authored or co-authored numerous research studies and national presentations. His primary research interests include the prevention and remediation of academic skills deficits, differential effectiveness and efficiency of academic interventions and learning strategies, and applied behavior analysis in educational settings. Dr. Cates is certified as a school psychologist in Illinois and also holds national certification in school psychology. His current consultation work primarily focuses on the implementation and evaluation of Response to Intervention models, with strong emphasis on data-based decision making. He currently is working with numerous schools in training staff to implement and sustain Response to Intervention procedures. Dr Craig Blum is an assistant professor at Illinois State University, USA in the Special Education Department. His research interests and expertise are in Response to Intervention for social behavior, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS), functional assessment in schools, and use of technology to teach emergent literacy skills to children with or at risk for disability. Dr. Blum publishes peer-reviewed research and presents to general and special educators locally and nationally. He has worked as a consultant with school districts on how to collect data on social behavior and integrate them into an RTI model. Dr Mark E. Swerdlik is a professor of psychology, Coordinator of the Graduate Programs in School Psychology, and a clinical supervisor in the Psychological Services Center at Illinois State University, USA where he has been involved as a university educator of school psychologists for more than 30 years. He is a former school psychologist and currently maintains an independent practice of school psychology as a licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Swerdlik is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association–Division of School Psychology. He has been awarded a Diplomate in School Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology and a Diplomate in Assessment Psychology from the American Board of Assessment Psychology. He has worked as a trainer, consultant, and program evaluator for schoolwide reform efforts such as the Flexible Student Services Model since its first implementation in Illinois in 1998. Currently, he serves as a regional evaluator for the statewide implementation of RTI in Illinois. Dr. Swerdlik has provided training in all components of RTI for a number of school districts in the Midwest and has widely presented and published his work related to this RTI initiative.