There is an enormous body of research indicating that students make the most academic progress when we are able to target instruction to match their instructional level. We can best accomplish this through what is called “Response to Intervention” or RTI. Response to Intervention is a teaching model in which all students within a grade level are assessed in reading fluency and comprehension and then placed in leveled groups for a fifty minute block of targeted instruction four days a week.
Through the RTI process, students neither become bored nor do they become overwhelmed. Instead, their instructional needs are being routinely met through targeted, small group instruction or through accelerated learning opportunities. Movement between the different instructional tiers is fluid and based on student performance. Grade level teachers routinely assess and make the necessary changes in student placement in order to meet each student’s individual learning needs. This process results in all students reaching their full potential more rapidly.
Palos Verdes Unified has endorsed the RTI model at all ten of its elementary schools. Each student at Rancho Vista grades 1-5 will be assessed and will begin to participate in RTI rotations in the fall. The RTI instructional time block is dedicated to English-Language Arts, specifically - developing work attack skills, reading comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and fluency. After RTI, students will return to their homeroom class and continue English Language-Arts instruction for another hour and a half focusing on additional state standards.
At Rancho Vista, both the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy System and the Ready Common Core curriculum are used to support students development in reading fluency and comprehension.