Parents have always had a huge impact on education. Passionate parents who wanted their children to have access to education worked together to ensure that children with disabilities were able to attend public schools and have access to an appropriate education. Washington state and Federal laws ensure that every student with disabilities would have their individual needs meet according to an individual plan. Now efforts are being made to provide help to struggling students when they first show signs of needing help. You can be apart of making help available to your child and to all students who need help to be successful in school.
Parent involvement in all levels of the process is an important aspect of a successful RTI program. A number of school districts in Washington State have begun providing multi-tiered models to provide scientific, research-based interventions to struggling students. As more and more districts are providing these interventions, parents will have an opportunity to shape the direction of RTI services in the state and the local school district level. Unless parents become involved in the decisions of the state and their local district by asking questions and requiring clear answers the decisions will be made without them. Parents can impact the direction of RTI by:
Learning about the RTI model and become familiar with different ways to provide services.
Asking questions about district efforts to provide assistance to struggling students.
Determine where your local district is in the RTI process.
Become familiar and active with school reform efforts within your state and local district.
Participate in school information meetings for your district.
Participate in school reform efforts in your school district and Washington State.
All children benefit when districts have a RTI type model in place. The ongoing screening and progress monitoring assures parents and educators that students are on target with their academic learning and behavior. Interventions delivered when student first begin to struggle help alleviate frustration and behaviors that may interfere with academic growth. As parents, you can support you child's progress within a RTI model of services by:
Getting to know the educators at your child's school.
Sharing information about your child's strengths and any concerns with your child?s teacher.
Participate in school conferences to understand how your child is progressing at school.
Participate in planning meetings regarding your child's interventions & progress monitoring.
Support learning activities at home with your child.
Celebrate successes.
