Making It Work: Response to Intervention Fidelity Struggles in an Underresourced Public School

• In Event: 79.050 - MTCC Roundtable Session 36
  In Roundtable Session: 79.050-4 - Breaking Through Barriers: Rethinking Teacher Preparation Work With Students With Special Needs

Abstract

Response to Intervention (RTI) is touted as an equitable approach to the identification of students for special education evaluation. However, few empirical studies explore RTI implementation in schools serving diverse learners in under-resourced communities. This study uses Cultural-Historical Activity Theory to examine how teachers at one public elementary school serving diverse learners develop and implement RTI. Findings indicate that district and school leaders provided teachers with scripted assessment and intervention tools without the professional development to guide their support of culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Limited resources (i.e. professional development, time) prompted teachers to rely on scripted materials, while consciously compromising particular elements of their RTI model in order to offer students some degree of academic support.

Author

• Joyce Melissa Gomez-Najarro, California State University - Fullerton