There’s something for everyone at the Council for Exceptional Children convention. This year’s session in Boston has drawn about 6,000 teachers, administrators, and parents to the hundreds of different seminars that will be presented over three days.
It’s no surprise that some of the largest crowds appear to be drawn to the sessions on response to intervention. The topic definitely has staying power. One session allowed audience members to talk about their own challenges with starting the process, especially at the middle and high school level.
Rowan University professor Sharon Davis Bianco, who led the panel, referred to a piece written by researchers Don Deshler and Doug Fuchs: “What We Need to Know About Responsiveness to Intervention (and Shouldn’t be Afraid to Ask.)” That piece, which has guided my own reporting, is only available for a fee online.
But this free document, published by the National High School Center, outlines many of the challenges and offers some suggestions for successful high school implementation. On this facet of RTI, educators in the field will have to work to create their own successes.