In this episode, Laura speaks to educators and experts about Response to Intervention and if it truly the best way to help students improve. Hear from Lynn Hobratschk, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction at Friendswood ISD, TX; Jim Wright, Author of 4 books on RTI, Founder of Intervention Central; and Dr. Douglas Fuchs, Professor of Special Education, Nicholas Hobbs Chair of Special Education and Human Development, Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical School in the Department of Special Education, and eminent researcher and writer.
Expert Guests
Jim Wright is a national trainer and consultant to schools and organizations on Response to Intervention/Multi-Tier System of Supports and other issues relating to educational change and at-risk learners. He is also a certified school psychologist and school administrator, with over 17 years experience working in public schools in central New York State. Jim is the creator of Intervention Central (www.interventioncentral.org), a popular website featuring free student intervention ideas. Jim has also published several books on RTI/MTSS and best practices in assisting struggling learners in the classroom.
Dr. Douglas Fuchs is Professor and Nicholas Hobbs Chair in Special Education and Human Development and a member of the Vanderbilt-Kennedy Center. Before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1985, Fuchs was an assistant first-grade teacher in a private school in Baltimore for children with severe behavior problems; a fourth-grade classroom teacher in a public school outside Philadelphia; and a school psychologist in the Minneapolis Public Schools. At Vanderbilt, he has been the principal investigator of 50 federally-sponsored research grants. They have facilitated the development of models of service delivery (e.g., pre-referral intervention, responsiveness-to-intervention, reintegrating students with disabilities into mainstream classrooms); assessments (e.g., formative measures of student and teacher evaluation, dynamic assessment); and instructional approaches (e.g., peer-mediated learning strategies). Fuchs is the author or co-author of more than 300 articles in peer-review journals and 60 book chapters.
Lynn Hobratschk is the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction at Friendswood ISD in Texas.
Resources
- Solutions Summary
- Intervention Central (RTI resources)
- Evidence-Based Intervention Network
