Overview: Elk Grove Unified School District

Elk Grove Unified School District is a large, extremely diverse district currently serving approximately 62,000 students. As one of the fastest growing school districts in the nation, EGUSD was confronted with the realities of a growth rate that outstripped State funding, an increasing rate of identification for special education, and a lack of service options for at-risk students. This situation led to a collaborative model of coordinating all available school resources to provide service options for all students. CAST is NOT a special education service delivery model--it is a model that incorporates all educational resources available to serve at-risk students and their families. These students are served in a preventative format, and provided intervention services based on assessed need. Additionally, CAST utilizes a three tiered model of response to invention, with options for progressively more intensive interventions based on student need.

The goal of CAST is simple; to provide prevention/intervention services to students and families before students are identified for special education. Student needs are reviewed in a collaborative conference model, with data and input provided by general education, curriculum coaches, special education, Title One, Healthy Start, and site administration. The CAST Conference process is utilized throughout elementary, middle, and high school, helping to insure effective instructional intervention. Diagnostic and prescriptive instruction, based on evidence collected from curriculum-based measurements, is the foundation for services provided. After 8-10 weeks of intervention, the student's response to intervention(s) is reviewed utilizing the results of updated curriculum-based measurements (typically done three time a year), and the team evaluates the need to continue the current level of service, to provide more intense services, or to exit those services--based on the student's response.

There are three crucial steps to starting this process. First, site and/or district consensus needs to be reached on the specific curriculum-based measurements used to collect evidence on student need, and their response to intervention. Second, identification of the CAST team; typically this includes the general education teacher, the school psychologist, the speech therapist, a special education teacher, a curriculum coach/reading specialist, a representative from any related categorical supports, and the site administrator. The third step would be to schedule three times during the school year when the team can meet to review progress, new students, and make decisions on next steps.

These three steps should take a relatively short period of time to complete, but there will be additional time required to develop your site team into a ''community of practitioners,'' emphasizing the information, identity, and relationships of the school site itself. School culture, district policies and procedures, and the willingness to embark on a process of change are all factors which can impact the time needed to bring this process to fruition.