Assignment:
Read "RTI and Reading: Response to Intervention in a Nutshell" from Reading Rockets. Although the article uses the term RTI, many schools now use the broader framework of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), which includes academic, behavioral, and social-emotional supports. Review How to Build & Maintain an RTI Team | 36 min from the Reading this week. (Educational Impact)
Create a professional agenda for an MTSS problem-solving meeting focused on an elementary student who is struggling academically, behaviorally, or both. Student Scenario (Emma) from We Rise Elementary. Your agenda should reflect how a collaborative school team reviews data, discusses interventions, monitors progress, and makes instructional decisions. Need Assignment Help?
You may create your agenda using Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Canva, PowerPoint, or another professional format.
Include in your agenda for Emma must include the following components:
Purpose of the MTSS meeting
Student background information
Team members who should attend the meeting and their roles
Review of screening and progress-monitoring data
Discussion of Tier 1 supports currently in place
Possible Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions being considered
Frequency of progress monitoring
Questions the team should discuss when determining whether movement between tiers is appropriate
Plan for documenting decisions and next steps
Ethical and appropriate ways to communicate data and concerns with families and school staff
Opportunities for parent input and collaboration
Write a 175-word response in a separate document to the following questions:
What are the benefits of using an MTSS framework in schools?
What challenges might schools face when implementing MTSS effectively?
Why is collaboration important during MTSS meetings?
Include a reference page and appropriate in-text citations.
Format your assignment according to APA guidelines.
Emma is a 7-year-old second-grade student at We Rise United School District. She lives with her mother, father, and younger brother and has attended the district since kindergarten. Emma is described by her teacher as kind, imaginative, and eager to please adults. She enjoys science experiments, art projects, and hands-on classroom activities. Emma especially loves learning about animals and is often one of the first students to volunteer during classroom discussions when information is presented verbally. She has several close friends and generally interacts positively with peers during cooperative activities and recess.
Academically, Emma demonstrates strengths in mathematics, science, listening comprehension, and verbal participation. Her teacher reports that Emma performs well during class discussions and quickly understands new concepts when information is presented orally. On the district's midyear math benchmark assessment, Emma scored 91%, and she scored 94% on the second-grade science benchmark. During math problem-solving activities, Emma is often able to explain her thinking clearly and accurately. Her teacher reports that Emma's reasoning skills and background knowledge are noticeably stronger than her reading performance.
Although Emma demonstrates strong verbal reasoning abilities, her teacher has growing concerns regarding her literacy development. Beginning-of-year universal screening results showed Emma performing below benchmark expectations in several foundational reading areas. Midyear benchmark data continued to show limited growth despite classroom interventions and supports.
On the district's reading screening assessment, Emma scored:
- Phonemic Awareness: 18/40 (Benchmark: 32/40)
- Nonsense Word Fluency: 27 correct letter sounds per minute (Benchmark: 52)
- Oral Reading Fluency: 49 words correct per minute (Benchmark: 87)
- Reading Comprehension: 62% (Benchmark: 80%)
- Spelling Inventory: 58% accuracy (Benchmark: 80%)
During reading instruction, Emma often struggles to decode unfamiliar words and frequently guesses words based on pictures, context clues, or the first letter of the word.
When reading aloud, she reads slowly, skips lines of text, reverses some letters, and hesitates frequently. Her teacher has noticed that Emma sometimes watches classmates to determine where the class is reading instead of tracking independently.
During writing assignments, Emma has difficulty spelling grade-level words, organizing her thoughts on paper, and completing assignments within the allotted time. Her handwriting is legible but slow, and written assignments are often shorter than expected for her grade level.
Emma performs significantly better when information is presented orally. During science and math instruction, she demonstrates strong reasoning skills and actively participates in classroom discussions. However, when asked to read directions independently or complete written responses, her performance decreases noticeably.
Current Tier 1 classroom supports include:
- Small-group reading instruction four times each week
- Explicit phonics review during literacy centers
- Vocabulary pre-teaching before reading assignments
- Graphic organizers for reading comprehension and writing activities
- Repeated reading practice to improve fluency
- Extended time on written assignments
- Teacher check-ins during independent work
- Positive reinforcement and encouragement during literacy tasks
Progress-monitoring data collected over six weeks shows only minimal improvement in reading fluency and decoding accuracy. Emma's classroom teacher is concerned that she is not responding adequately to current Tier 1 interventions.
Behaviorally, Emma is respectful, cooperative, and rarely disruptive in class. However, her teacher has noticed increasing signs of frustration and low academic confidence during literacy instruction. Emma sometimes makes comments such as "I'm bad at reading," "Everyone else is faster than me," or "I can't do this." She occasionally avoids reading tasks by sharpening pencils, organizing supplies, asking to visit the restroom, or seeking help from classmates before attempting assignments independently.
Emma's mother shared that reading homework often leads to tears and frustration at home. She reports that Emma enjoys listening to audio books and being read to but becomes anxious when asked to read independently. Emma's mother stated that dyslexia runs in their family and expressed concern that Emma may also have dyslexia because many of the same characteristics look familiar to her, including difficulty sounding out words, slow reading, inconsistent spelling, and frustration with literacy tasks. Emma's parents are supportive, attend school events regularly, and are eager to collaborate with the school team regarding possible supports and next steps.
The school's MTSS team will meet to review Emma's academic screening and progress-monitoring data, discuss the effectiveness of current Tier 1 interventions, consider possible Tier 2 supports, and determine next steps for intervention, family communication, and ongoing progress monitoring.