Starting with the 2009-2010 school year, SAIL was selected by the Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) to be one of five DC public charter schools participating in a three-year pilot program using Response to Intervention (RTI), a rigorous literacy and math program.
Response to Intervention is a multi-tiered approach to help struggling learners. Students' progress is closely monitored at each stage of intervention to determine the need for further research-based instruction and/or intervention in general education, in special education, or both.
Essential Components of RTI:
• High-quality classroom instruction
• Multi-tiered instruction (class, small groups, and individuals)
• Ongoing student assessment
• Family involvement
Through this program, all students at SAIL spend two hours a day on literacy activities. Students are put in small groups according to their reading level as opposed to strict grade level placement to work on specific literacy goals.
Using RTI, SAIL is able to identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions, adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness, and identify students with learning disabilities.