When you have a struggling learner, it can feel as though you, as a parent, are solely responsible for finding him help and intervention services. While you may wish to supplement your learner's school experience with some home-based teaching as well, there are some school-based intervention programs for the struggling learner that can provide some additional assistance in a number of different learning domains.
1. Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention provides help to struggling learners, before special education referral and identification. The interventions can take place in the mainstream classroom.
RTI is a three-tiered system. In Tier 1, struggling learners who are identified by parents or teachers as needed assistance are screened and put into small groups for extra instruction. This lasts a few weeks and concludes with some testing, at which point your child may be moved to Tier 2 for more intensive small group help. After that, if there is still no measurable progress, Tier 3 allows for one-to-one instruction or a referral for special education services.
2. Reading Recovery
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Reading Recovery is an intervention program for first grade readers. It it designed to be a short-term program to serve the lowest-achieving readers in first grade, as measured by teacher report, running records and the inability to catch on to more complex reading and writing concepts.
The intensive, pull-out Reading Recovery program runs from 12 to 20 weeks, a time frame that is dependent on a number of things, including student success, funding and number of students being served. At the end of the program, struggling learners have ideally caught up to their peers. If difficulty persists, a recommendation for evaluation for special education services is likely to be made.
3. Title I
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Funding for Title I interventions are federally provided under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to schools with a high percentage of students (typically 40 percent) from low-income families. This is determined by the number of students that qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program.
The intent of the funding is to provide all students with equal learning opportunities despite different backgrounds. The use of funding is left to the school, but are often used to provide supplementary instruction and support for reading and math.
4. ESL (English as a Second Language)
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The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandate requires that all public schools provide ESL learners with the tools to become English proficient. The number of students who qualify increases rapidly each year. There are two problems with NCLB's mandate: lack of funding and non-specification of how programs are to be undertaken.
Many schools are at a loss as to how to provide instruction. Some opt to use a classroom immersion approach with periodic consultation for the teacher and student, others provide a one-to-one tutor in the classroom, while still others use a classroom pull-out model.
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