Presenting our Plan

We were asked to present our plan for implementing instruction at three levels at our Day 3 meeting.  Not sure why us or what part of it most people are interested in, but we met after school today to look over our plan again and discuss our presentation.

There are two main aspects of the plan:  assigning students and scheduling classes.  I will give some highlights of each below.

Assigning students to the Tier II and Tier III courses:

• Students who have addition math instruction as a requirement of their IEP will receive Tier III instruction
• Students will be identified for intervention (Tier II) using a variety of sources:  Algebra Aptitude Test, IA Assessments, Previous Course Grade, Teacher Recommendation.  We will likely choose a cut off for each of these and then flag students who are on the list for 3 of the 4 identifiers.  This may include IEP and non-IEP students.
• Our principal, the math team, the special education instructor, and AEA representatives will all participate in selection process
• Currently we have no official universal screen or progress monitoring in place

Scheduling, Planning, and Instructing Tier II and Tier III:

• We are on a 7-period day, with 51-minute class periods (and a 17 minute homeroom)
• As the Algebra teacher, I will give up all my non-Algebra classes next year (currently consisting of 2 periods each day) to provide tier II instruction.  So I will teach 4 periods of universal instruction and 2 periods of intervention.
• I have requested that the tier II classes be schedule at the beginning/end of the day so that all students in the class will have had same universal instruction
• My dropped courses will be taken on my the 2 other mathematics teachers we have by increasing enrollment in advanced classes and no longer offering Pre-Algebra
• Tier III will be given to students during their Guided Studies time.  It will mean of their 51 minutes of GS, 30 minutes each day will be Algebra instruction given by the Special Education instructor
• I will be planning (with the help of all my peers in this project) the universal, tier II, and tier III instruction
• We have requested 1 day each week to collaborate on the instruction for tier III students
• Students will receive elective credit for tier II and tier III algebra.  Will be unable to shift in and out of course as needed (not seen as a potential problem).
• We have a special education associate who will be able to facilitate instruction during universal, tier II, and/or tier III

Why?  I honestly think that is what some people want to know.  "Why are we willing to go to all these lengths to provide something like this?"  I would have to say because I can see that my students need it.  I have many students in Algebra currently that I desperately wish I could provide this opportunity to.  I see the need and I address as good as I can, but without the additional time and the smaller class sizes I cannot do all that is necessary.  

These are the ideas we are going to try to get across within our 10-minute time frame, as well as providing an opportunity for others to ask questions.  I hope this will help others find a way to make this successful in their schools as well.