RtI...What the Heck is That?

You are the parent of a child who is struggling in school and you want and need help, what do you do? The schools response is that it is going to take time. You might be asking yourself why, and there is a very good explaination that the school is not explaining in a clear way. Here is the info that you are looking for.

RtI is the new buzz phrase when it comes to children who are struggling in school. What is RtI? It is short for Response to Intervention and it actually is not a bad thing. It means that the school is required to put intervetions into place right away for your child in the areas that they are struggling in. Hopefully these intervention will assist your child and they will not need to be placed into special education. The way it used to work is that your child would be tested and if they were eligible they would get the help that they needed. Many children who did not meet the eligibility criteria for Special Education were left to struggle without additional support. Now those children will begin getting the help they need imediately without the need for a label.

Although, this is better for the student, it puts the burden of providing this individual or small group intervention back onto an already overworked, underpaid teacher. In a time when there are massive cuts in an already bare to the bones teaching staff, they are being called upon to do more. I am sending out a plea to you as a taxpayer to write your congressional representative and express your concerns. In addition, contact your local school board and express your outrage that although the school districts are making major cuts in teachers and those who provide direct service to children, they are keeping the fat. There is no big surprise as to the why the cuts are being made the way that they are. Just like in congress, the ones making the decisions about cuts (the administrators) are not going to cut their own jobs. In a time when the economy is so tight, maybe we need to take a hard look about the way we are currently doing things, and change them to a more efficient way.