This is the first year my school system is using a different way of identifying students who may need special services for a specific learning need. It is "Pyramids of Interventions", and it consists of "Tiers". Basically it seems that it was desigend to prevent an influx of students being labled into Special Education. I am all for students being mainstreamed and working in a collaborative environment. On the other hand, what I am currently observing is that the teacher has little input when the Response to Intervetion team comes together to evaluate a student's progress. Our school system tests students using a "dibel's assessment on their fluency. If a student has a high fluency rate, then they should be able to attend a regular education classroom. However, these students may know how to read the words to be fluent, but their comprehension is very low.
Educators,
What is your take on the Pyramid of Interventions? How are your Special Education students taught? (co-lab, mainstreamed? )
It seemsto me we spend so much time working on students with IEP's due to all these federal mandates, that our best and brightest are sitting on the wayside. Why do gifted students NOT have IEPs? The gifted program in my county has not been regulated and may of the students in this program do not have a set of standards to learn by...It is basically wahtever the teacher wants to do with them...What is your take on this as well?
Renni Wooden
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2 comments:
My take on Pyramids of Intervention are they are moving us in the right direction. It sounds as if you system has begun by looking primarily at students being served by Special Education. Eventually a pyramid will be developed for all students. Once developed interventions will be put in place that address the needs of students who are not successful in their regular classroom. Once they move into the second tier they will be progress monitored every two weeks to determine if the intervention is working. The goal is to address whatever reason prevents the student from being successful prior to the intervention.
As for your second question or concern related to students in the gifted program, my guess is less effort is exhausted for the students because chances are they will experience education success with or without additional education supports.
When one out of every two students fail to graduate more effort is needed to address students who struggle and then drop out perhaps moreso than for students who are gifted. I don't doubt that occasionally some of them drop out because they feel they are not challenged but my guess is it does not occur very often.
I agree Jamie,
I have often seen that test scores of students in special education are higher than those who are not. Intervention and strategies should be used in all classroom. Years ago these strategies were used just in the classroom that contained students with learning disabilities. Now with differentiated instruction, these strategies have to be used for all students regardless of labels.
It's just amazing to me how the world is changing in regards to these interventions. There was a time when parents did not want any type of services related to disabled students, now they are fighting for them.
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