In an effort to better address the needs of students with special needs, the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is providing a professional development series to area educators.
The series is titled "Putting It All Together: Stepping Stones for RtI Intervention." The seminars focus on Response To Intervention, a method to determine if students have learning disabilities and need to be identified for special education services.
Response To Intervention, commonly referred to as RtI, is an academic intervention approach that is designed to provide early, effective assistance to children who are having difficulty learning.
"Response To Intervention is not a special education program," said Sacramento County Deputy Superintendent of Schools Marty Cavanaugh, lead presenter for the seminar series. "It is a framework for a service delivery system that uses actual school-level performance data and student assessment to guide student success."
The topics featured in the SCOE presentation include:
- RtI: Definition, Purpose, Context, What It Is and What It Is Not
- Addressing the Paradigm Shift
- Taking a Systems Approach to RtI: Using the 9 Essential Components
RtI seeks to prevent academic failure through early intervention, frequent progress measurement, and increasingly intensive research-based instructional interventions for children who continue to have difficulty.
The first portion of the seminar series, held on January 18, 2008, at the David P. Meaney Education Center, drew hundreds of teachers and school administrators from throughout the Sacramento region. The second portion of the series will be held Monday, February 25, 2008, from 1–4 p.m. at the CSUS Alumni Center on the CSUS campus.
Those interested in attending are asked to call (916) 228-2672.