Many schools use a team structure to implement RTI. In this Action Tool, we refer to that team as the RTI Intervention Team. In some cases, the RTI Leadership Planning Team will have recommended that a new team be established for this purpose. In other cases, the planning team may have decided that it was more efficient to expand the role or reconfigure existing problem-solving teams in the school to carry out intervention team work. In "Reviewing Current School-Based Teams: Opportunities for RTI Expansion" (page 161), the planning team had the opportunity to consider expanding the roles of other problem-solving teams:
- Child Study Teams. Some schools have restructured Child Study Teams that review information about students who have been referred for special education evaluation to have an RTI focus.
- Professional Learning Communities. Some schools have expanded their Professional Learning Communities to focus on RTI issues. Others have established a schoolwide Professional Learning Community to implement the RTI process.
- Grade level or subject area teams. Some schools have increased teacher release time to address RTI issues within grade level or subject areas teams.
- Student Support Teams. Some schools have adapted their Student Support Teams to incorporate the components of an RTI approach (e.g., data-based decision making, progress monitoring, etc.).
Regardless of how the intervention team is configured, the planning team will need to prepare the team members for RTI work:
- Forming the team (e.g., identifying roles and responsibilities).
- Understanding the problem-solving process.
- Using data for decision making.
- Identifying and monitoring the implementation of interventions.
- Ensuring that interventions are implemented with fidelity.