Download or read book Closing the RTI Gap written by Donna Walker Tileston and published by Solution Tree. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Closing the RTI Gap: Why Poverty and Culture Count, Donna Walker Tileston not only explains to readers why RTI is so important (defining key terms along the way), but also shows how they can achieve successful implementation in their own schools, particularly in the context of poverty and culture. All children should have equal access to highly qualified teachers, a strong curriculum, and research-based instructional methods. RTI can make that hope a reality. Why should teachers implement a response to intervention (RTI) model? Rather than wait for students to fail, misidentify students with special needs, or disproportionally represent certain ethnic groups, RTI offers schools a chance to ensure that all students achieve high levels of learning. The influence of culture and poverty cannot be overestimated; students facing such hurdles will often experience inequality in education. Response to intervention, when implemented correctly, provides these students the chance they need to succeed. However, RTI is only as strong as the planning and research that go into developing individual school plans. Closing the RTI Gap addresses the critical questions that must be answered for response to intervention to fulfill its promise and close the achievement gap for students from poverty and minority cultures. This book: ¿Examines the RTI model and its principles, and shows why it is an integral part of school improvement ¿Defines culture and poverty, and explains why RTI must consider modifications for these issues in the areas of identification, best practices, behavior, and assessment ¿Demonstrates why the planning phase prior to implementing an RTI model is critical to achieving better results than in the past, and presents a list of preventable mistakes gleaned from research ¿Outlines the priorities¿building relationships, focusing on vocabulary, differentiating instruction, and teaching to reach all systems of thinking¿ for closing the achievement gap at Tier 1, as well as the tasks of decision making, progress monitoring, and intervention at Tiers 2 and 3