Keys to RTI Implementation

This report—the initial work of the High School Tiered Interventions Initiative (HSTII), a collaborative project of three federally funded technical assistance centers—summarizes what we have learned thus far and how those lessons learned can advance the ongoing discussion about effective RTI implementation in high schools. This report is grounded in available research and the professional wisdom of leading researchers and practitioners, including staff members from eight high schools implementing tiered interventions. This document is not an implementation guide and, as such, does not provide concrete steps or tools for implementing RTI; however, the HSTII team hopes that this resource provides valuable information for technical assistance providers, researchers, state education agency personnel, and practitioners at the district and school level. This report is divided into three main sections:

1.     “Response to Intervention” provides a brief description of the RTI framework and the essential components of RTI.

2.     “Applying the RTI Framework at the High School Level” illustrates how the essential components of RTI were implemented at the eight visited schools.

3.     “High School Contextual Factors That Affect Tiered Intervention Implementation” highlights contextual factors unique to high schools and examines how these factors can affect school-level implementation of tiered interventions.

High School Tiered Interventions Initiative (2010). Tiered interventions in high schools: Using preliminary ‘lessons learned’ to guide ongoing discussion. Portsmouth, NH: High School Tiered Interventions Initiative. https://www.pbis.org/common/cms/files/pbisresources/Tiered_Intervenion_HS_LessonsLearnedGuide_2010.pdf