What is Response to Intervention?
Response to Intervention (RtI) is a new concept for schools across the nation. In recent years, Congress has added new provisions to our nation’s education laws. These laws are designed to encourage school districts to provide additional support for students struggling in various academic programs. In the Newark school district, teachers are using the RtI model to help students in grades K-12 with reading.

How does the Newark City Schools implement Response to Intervention?
RtI is a three-level process. Here’s what occurs at each of those levels:

Tier 1
All students start out at the Tier 1 level. School personnel administer a quick assessment to determine if students are meeting grade-level expectations in the area of reading. If students are not reading at grade level, the classroom teacher provides additional instruction in a small group setting during the school day. Each student’s progress is monitored.

Tier 2
Students not making adequate progress at the Tier 1 level are provided more intensive reading instruction. Teachers monitor each student’s progress weekly. If students need more intensive instruction/intervention, Tier 3 is considered.

Tier 3
At this level, the students are provided with more intensive one-on-one reading intervention. Each student’s progress will be monitored more frequently than in Tier 2.

What are the benefits of the Response to Intervention program?

• Provides parents with easy-to-understand data detailing reading progress
• Offers students different levels of instruction/intervention based upon their performance

• Communicate frequently with your child’s teacherWatch for progress monitoring reports to come home
• Attend meetings scheduled for your child
• Praise your child for any improvement in his/her reading
• Monitors each student’s reading development
• Identifies students not meeting grade-level expectations in reading