Getting from Community of Whiners-town to Collaborative Academic Support Team-opia

By Elk Grove Unified School District

Doing our community's most important work

We teach 60,000 students
We operate 59 schools
We serve 320 square miles, one-third of Sacramento County
Serving a community proud of its schools

Flowchart For Problem Resolution

Is it working?
- No; Don't mess with it!; No problem!
- Yes; Did you mess with it?
  - No: Will it blow up in our hands?
    - Yes: You're S*@~#D!
    - No: Look the other way; No problem!
  - Yes: You Idiot!; Does anyone else know?
    - No: Hide it; No problem!
    - Yes: You're S*@~#D!; Can you blame someone else?
      - Yes: No problem!
      - No: You're S*@~#D!

The ''Catch 22'' of Special Education

Students must be 2 years behind ''ability'' to be eligible
No services until criteria are met
2 years behind can be too far behind!
''Catching up'' can take a lifetime

IDEA 97 requires that every effort be made to provide for student needs in general education.

Research Regarding Learning Disabilities and Reading Disabled Individuals

Reading disabilities affect at least 10 million children in the United States
Reading disabilities reflect a persistent deficit rather than a developmental lag
80% of students who fall behind in reading by the end of first grade are still significantly behind in fourth grade, despite conventional intervention practices
Longitudinal studies show that of those children who are reading disabled in the third grade, approximately 74% remain disabled in the ninth grade
Distinguishing between disabled readers with and without an IQ-achievement discrepancy appears invalid
Children with and without discrepancies show similar information processing, genetic, and neurophysiologic profiles.

Statistics about students with reading, spelling, and writing delays:

In the U.S., 44% of fourth grade students read at ''below basic'' levels. Only 5-6% of these students should legitimately be classified as having severe, intrinsically-based learning disorders. The others are likely to be suffering from consequences of inappropriate teaching, low standards, and/or disadvantageous environmental consequences.
Of the population of identified learning disabled students, 80% have primary weakness in reading, with related deficits in spelling and writing.
Based on research published in multiple sources, conducted by the N.I.C.H.D., the U.S. Dept. of Educ., the U.S. Dept. of Spec. Ed.

Data Points from the Real World

Only 58.5 % of students identified as Learning Disabled in California graduate (a 31% increase since IDEA); LD students drop out at twice the rate of non-disabled.
The CA High School Exit Exam failure rate for Special Education students is over 70%
Poverty is the single greatest predictor of academic failure in the United States. The average income for an adult identified as Learning Disabled is $12,000/year.
The State of California uses 3rd Grade reading scores as part of the formula to predict the number of prison cells needed. The arrest rate for students with disabilities who dropped out of school is 56 percent as compared to 16 percent of those who graduated.)

EGUSD Academic Progress 1992-2004

Academic Progress at Elk Grove Unified School District between 1992 and 2004 in Reading
	Second Grade	Third Grade	Fourth Grade	Fifth Grade	Sixth Grade
1992-1993 (pre-neverstreaming)	18	30	31	15	26
2003-2004	53	48	48	48	52

Academic Progress at Elk Grove Unified School District between 1992 and 2004 in Language
	Second Grade	Third Grade	Fourth Grade	Fifth Grade	Sixth Grade
1992-1993 (pre-neverstreaming)	25	17	38	24	39
2003-2004	58	48	53	52	53

Academic Progress at Elk Grove Unified School District between 1992 and 2004 in Math
	Second Grade	Third Grade	Fourth Grade	Fifth Grade	Sixth Grade
1992-1993 (pre-neversteaming)	53	51	56	22	42
2003-2004	67	65	61	57	63

Serving At-Risk Students: Striking a Balance

In order to provide students with instruction that best serves them (and give them a good start in life), we must balance early success in the classroom intervention prevention with special help based on entry and exit criteria.

A New Era
NCLB
President's Commission on IDEA

Major Recommendation 1: Focus on result, not on process.
Major Recommendation 2: Embrace a model of prevention not a model of failure.
Major Recommendation 3: Consider children with disabilities as general education children first.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
Eligibility Criteria
Response To Intervention (RTI)

Eligibility must be interdependent upon instructional supports and other interventions provided through general education. In the primary grades, students who are achieving at a low level and who demonstrate deficits on periodically-administered assessments should be provided with intensive, supportive instruction. There is no reason to differentiate between low achieving students and students with ''real'' learning disabilities. An instructional support team, or early intervention model, using a systematic individualized data based problem-solving process would be a required component under IDEA.

A New Era
Identification Process
AYP/RTI

Multidisciplinary teams need to use multiple methods of assessment, selected on an individualized basis, that relate to referral concerns and that are linked to potential intervention strategies, both instructional and non-instructional (behavioral, motivational, social-emotional). Curriculum-based assessment and other functional and authentic assessment methods should be routinely included. There is a growing body of research indicating positive outcomes for such models when they incorporate problem solving or Instructional Support Teams. In its reauthorization, IDEA should encourage states and districts to expand the use of these types of noncategorical models.

What is CAST?

NCLB: CAST is an intervention/prevention service delivery model which incorporates all educational resources available to serve at risk students and their families. It is not a Special Education Program.

AYP/RTI: CAST enhances a student's school experiences; intensifies support services; andsurrounds students with accelerated learning opportunities within the mainstream of general education.

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and tells whether you are qualified to be a ''professional''

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door.
This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Incorrect Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the door.
Correct Answer: Open the door, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant, and close the door.
This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference; all the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Answer: The elephant; the elephant is in the refrigerator.
This tests your memory.

Even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross, but it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?
Answer: You swim across. All the crocodiles are attending the animal meeting.
This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. Many preschoolers got several correct answers. Andersen Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four year old.

Can We Do Something Completely Different?

Special education enrollment has dropped from over 16% of enrollment to just under 9% in 7 years
Number of new pupils assessed were only 0.6% of total enrollment
Plus, we've had due process hearings over this time
We called it ''Neversteaming''

CAST is an intervention/prevention service delivery model which incorporates all educational resources available to serve at risk students and their families.

CAST is not a special education service delivery model

The two components of special education as it relates to CAST:

Intensive Service Learning Center: provides students at risk of school failure immediate access to intervention and prevention services
Regional Teams: addresses the needs of at risk families and students through proactive services

The goal of CAST is two-fold:

Provides a comprehensive, seamless educational model to prevent school failure.
Provides supportive and preventative services available to students and families exhibiting academic and/or social-emotional needs

The System

The system starts with information, relationship, and identity and leads to pattern, structure, and process.

An intervention/prevention model that maximizes resources:

General education
Parents
Community resources
Administrators
Counselors
Psychologists
Opportunity
GATE
Preventative health care services
Speech and language specialists
Title 1
Curriculum coach
Regional teams (regional team program technicians)
Cooperative conference teams
Program specialists
Full inclusion specialists
Special educators

The CAST Conference

Goal: A seamless support process that delivers services to students based on data and a plan for student success.

CAST Conference Team Members: classroom teacher(s), specialists, administrator, RTPT, categorical staff

Classroom teacher reviews progress of individual students in his/her class; and team designs immediate interventions for identified students.

Response To Intervention Three-Tiered Intervention Model

Assessment by response to intervention
Tier 1
- Provide classroom support
  - Instructional Coach, Categorical Supports, etc.
Tier 2
- Provide more intensive support
  - Reading Lab, Extended Day, Learning Center, etc.
Tier 3
- Consider special education
Progress Monitoring at all levels

CAST Conference Interventions

Table of Students' Needs and Matching Interventions based on the RTI Model
	Need	Intervention
Tier 1	Students slightly below grade level standards and benchmarks (Basic, Below Basic)	Classroom Collaboration
Tier 2	Students requiring intense academic interventions (Far Below)	Intensive level of service in small group instruction
Tier 1 and 2	Students requiring social/emotional and behavioral interventions	Regional Services

Levels of Intervention

Levels of Intervention
	Level	Time per Day	Curriculum	Target Population
Tier 1	Benchmark	Regular	Core	Students slightly below standards
Tier 1	Strategic	Regular	Core with embedded intervention	Students 1-2 years below standard
Tier 2	Intensive	2-3 hours per day	Intensive intervention program	Struggling readers, special education, English-language learners*

(2002 Reading/Language Arts/English Language Development Adoption)

Exhausting the Resources of General Education: Response to Intervention

Concerns start in general education
Collect evidence
Have CAST/co-op meeting
Ask, ''Does the child need intervention?''
- If yes
  - In-class support (Tier 1)
  - Interventions like EL, Twilight, Intersession, LC, Extended Day, other site support (Tier 2)
  - Further evidence collection; track degree of success
    - Moderate success = modify and continue CAST/co-op meeting
    - High success = exit back to general education
    - Continued concern/low success (Tier 3)
      - SST
      - Request IEP assessment; determine eligibility
- If no
  - Back to general education and start from top (i.e., continuous monitoring)

Secondary CAST

Houses (core teachers and support staff)
Expanded ELA and math departments
- Reading specialists, coaches, special education, ELL, and all other categorical supports
Grade-level teams

Diagnostic Plan for Upper Grades: Tier 1, 2, and 3

Start CST Scores
	If low	If at grade level
Assessment of reading comprehension	Oral reading (naming speed) word recognition	No further assessment indicated; work on grade-level curriculum
Oral reading (naming speed) word recognition (on the verbal language scale)	Phonics assessment	Work on vocabulary and comprehension strategies
Phonics assessment	Phoneme Segmentation	Work on spelling, sight word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies
Phoneme Segmentation	Phonemic Awareness	Work on phonics, spelling, sight word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies

CST baseline data
Evidence of intervention
Diagnostic screening
Intervention indicated
Benchmark strategic intense
- Tier 1: core with differentiated instruction (progress monitoring)
- Tier 1: core with small-group instruction in deficit area (progress monitoring)
- Tier 2 and 3: intense intervention curriculum (minimum 90 minutes; intense progress monitoring)

Question How are interventions designed by the CAST team?
Answer: The CAST Conference Team identifies appropriate strategies and interventions by using the evidence collected through screening and assessment. The procedures of diagnostic and prescriptive teaching are followed to best meet student needs.

Individual Curriculum Adaptation Plan: Nine Types of Curriculum Adaptations

Quantity
Adapt the number of items that the learner is expected to learn or complete.

Time
Adapt the time allotted for learning, task completion, or testing.

Level of Support
Increase the amount of personal assistance with a specific learner(s).

Input
Adapt the way instruction is delivered to the learner.

Difficulty
Adapt the skill level, problem type, or the rules on how the learner may approach the work.

Output
Adapt how the student can respond to instruction.

Participation
Adapt the extent to which the learner is actively involved in the task.

Alternate Goals
Adapt the goals or outcome expectations while using the same materials.

Substitute Curriculum
Provide different instruction and materials to meet the learner's individual goals.

(Used with permission from Diana Browing Wright)

Learning Centers/Reading Labs

The Reading Lab/Learning Center provides prescriptive teaching for the disabled reader: The intensive component serves students at risk through a Learning Center or Reading Lab model
The curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of each student and may include: small group instruction, one-on-one, or direct instruction, based on diagnostic and prescriptive teaching: Reading Labs and Learning Centers are staffed by general education, Title 1 and/or special education instructional staff Service Model for Success

Regional Teams

Regional Teams will work together
Address early warning signs
Serve families not just individuals
Coordinate, not isolate, service disciplines
Utilize support professionals more effectively
Community Agency partnerships

Collaborative Academic Support Teams - Neverstreaming
Over 30000 students received prevention and intervention service (8-12 weeks of prevention) through C.A.S.T. since 1995.

Intensive Intervention Students
Stanford 9 Normal Curve Equivalents for Grades 2-6
Total reading gain/loss

Second to third grade: 11.17
Third to fourth grade: 10.58
Fourth to fifth grade: 11.39
Fifth to sixth grade: 10.54

Total reading: average gain NCE was +10.92.

CAST is improving student achievement

Roll call for a group of superstars aiming toward academic excellence

Names of students, their grade levels, and their NCE total reading
Name	Grade	NCE Total Reading
Eyad	Fourth to fifth grade	+21.3
Devin	Second to third grade	+21.5
Juliana	Fifth to sixth grade	+20.6
Abigail	Second to third grade	+21.2
Sara	Fourth to fifth grade	+24.6
Drew	Second to third grade	+21.5
Margarita	Third to fourth grade	+20.4

Intensive Intervention Students
Stanford 9 Normal Curve Equivalents for Grades 2-6
Total math gain/loss

Second to third grade: 13.59
Third to fourth grade: 8.79
Fourth to fifth grade: 8.86
Fifth to sixth grade: 11.96

Total reading: average gain NCE was +10.80

Neverstreaming's Language! Secondary Results
A Student Services and Curriculum and Instruction Partnership to Improve Student Learning

Gray Oral Reading Test III Percentile Gain/Loss
Comprehension

Pre-test and Post-test Percentiles in Middle and High School
	Middle School	High School
Pre	15.6	11.98
Post	42.8	29.98

Secondary Language! Results
Stanford 9 NCE Gains by Ethnicity
Shows 2-3 years growth in one year!

Reading and Language NCE Gains, by Ethnicity
	Reading	Language
American Indian	12.6	11.1
Asian	8.4	9.8
Filipino	10.3	16.9
Hispanic	7.9	9.2
African American	9	8.1
White	10.1	10.6
Pacific Islander	15.3	13.3

District-Wide Psychological Assessments and Attendance

Initial Assessments for Special Education Services have declined over the past 5 years.
- Year 1996-1997: 1329
- Year 2004-2005: 1089
Average Daily Attendance (ADA) is up an average of 3 days per year over the last 5 years.
- 1996: ADA 37000
- 2005: ADA 60000

EGUSD Enrollment General Education and Special Education 2000-2005

Enrollment in General and Special Education between 2000 and 2005
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
District CBEDS	47423	49740	52232	55613	58670	60049
Special Ed. CBEDS	4292	4421	4760	4970	5466	5626
Percent Special Ed.	9.1%	8.8%	9.1%	8.9%	9.3%	9.3%

Learning Disabled (LD) Trends

Learning Disability Trends
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Percentage of special ed. students in district	9.1	9	9.1	8.9	9.3	9.3
Percentage of special ed. students who are LD	5.3	5.6	5.4	5.2	5.2	4.8

Learning Disabilities versus District Average Daily Attendance (ADA) 1990-1991 through 2004-2005

District Trends in Attendance, Learning Disabilities Identification, and General Education Enrollment
	1990-1991	2004-2005
ADA	27000	59000
LD	1545	2855
Percentage of General Education	5.7	4.8

Effects of Neverstreaming on special education population and growth

The Special Edge, January reported: ''Neverstreaming: Signs That Prevention Can Work''
California Department of Education review found Neverstreaming ''a fiscal success.''

Special Education Growth and Budget
	Growth	Budget
1993-1994	7.45	6.25
1994-1995	6.25	6.00
1995-1996	-0.15	0.2

How To Get a CAST Process Started?

Beginning:

Pick the schools that are ready to go!
Establish a core-leadership Establish a Multi-Year Phase In - Have a couple of pilot schools to begin, add new schools after first year
Account for Instructional Staff - Older Staff? Young Teachers? Population to change?
Establish an agenda for staff development opportunities - provide site tours once a month
Be flexible - evolve as you grow
Involve the entire multi-disciplinary team

Elements of Success:

System approach
Focus on student learning
- Diagnostic
- Progress monitoring
- Summative
Staff dissatisfaction with student performance
Selection of a research-based and proven intervention
District coordinator an leadership
Professional development linked to curricular intervention
Development of staff curricular knowledge and pedagogical skill
Principal leadership
School coordinator
In-class coaching

How do you plan to start?

What resources do you have now?

Title 1?
Reading specialists?
Special ed staff
Paraprofessionals, LEP aides, other instructional assistants, parents?

What existing programs do you have at your site?

Results project?
Success for All?
Existing programs for at-risk learners?
Programs for social/emotional or behavior?

What is ''etched in stone''?

Schedules; recess, preps, grade level commitments, and transportation
Road blocks and hurdles: Can you go ''around''? Is there a ''back door''?
Who on your staff is willing to try new things?
Can you think outside the box???

Yes, but will it make the boat go faster?

Contact Information

Elk Grove Unified School District
9510 Elk Grove-Florin Rd.
Elk Grove, CA 95624
916-686-7780

Bill Tollestrup, Director of Special Education and Neverstreaming
wtollest@edcenter.egusd.k12.ca.us

Terry deBoer, Program Specialist
tdeboer@edcenter.egusd.k12.ca.us

*The reading intervention programs are to sufficiently cover content standards from earlier grade levels to allow students in grades 4-8, whose reading achievement is significantly below grade level (i.e., in excess of two grade levels below), to catch up with their peers within a reasonable amount of time.