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What is I&RS?
I&RS is a state mandated multidisciplinary team which designs, implements and monitors intervention plans for students experiencing learning, behavior or health difficulties.
I&RS is a school-based student assistance program available at every East Greenwich Public School. Through the collaborative efforts of parents, teachers and I&RS Team members, help is provided to students who are experiencing learning, behavior or health difficulties.
Who is on the I&RS team?
The I&RS Team includes parents, teachers, principals, school counselors and other professionals, as resources, if required.
The I&RS Team mission is to identify and collect information about the learning, behavior or health issues that impact a student’s success and develop and implement an individualized plan that provides for appropriate school and community interventions.
Current team members for 2019-2020 school year:
Kristen Lombardo-School Counselor
Jessica Mahoney-School Principal
Kathy Dougherty-Basic Skills Literacy teacher
Brittany Silver-5th grade Math teacher
Dana Kemner-Basic Skills Literacy teacher
Nicole Frank-5th grade literacy teacher
Kaila Day-5th grade Math teacher
Jennifer Hunt-Learning Disabilities Specialist
What are the benefits of I&RS?
The team process increases the chance of accurate assessment of the issues and provides a large repertoire of strategies because the team is composed of educational professionals with diverse training, experience and backgrounds.
Many teachers come to the committee after trying multiple interventions to address the area of concern. Therefore, the team is responsible to think in new and creative ways to resolve both typical and atypical learning, behavior, social and health problems.
The actions plans developed during an I&RS meeting to address the problem by identifying supports and strategies for both the teacher and the child to use.
The I&RS process yields descriptive documentation to support whether a child may require additional services outside of general education programming.
How is a student referred?
A teacher identifies a student is having difficulty in one of the following areas: academic, behavior, social, or health and it is affecting the student’s school program.
Teacher implements and documents classroom interventions for a period of at least 6-8 weeks.
Teacher completes and submits an I&RS packet to the the building principal which will include a log of the documented interventions, outcomes of the interventions, and clearly stated reasons for the referral.
The I&RS coordinator and building principal review the referral packet to ensure that it is completed accurately.
A meeting is scheduled with the I&RS team to determine course of action.
Parents are invited to a consultation meeting following the initial I&RS team meeting.
Students who are given an I&RS plan are reviewed every 6-8 weeks.
What does the I&RS process look like?
Sample Scenario
Susie Student is a 3rd grader at the Samuel Mickle School. She is having difficulty with reading fluency. Her teacher is concerned because she is reading a grade level below according to her Fountas & Pinnell evaluation (a tool used to determine reading level). The teacher begins working with Susie in a small group using various interventions to help increase Susie’s fluency. The teacher documents these strategies and outcomes for 6-8 weeks.
Since Susie is still not making the necessary growth, Susie’s teacher decides after consulting with the Basic Skills teacher, to bring Susie to the Intervention and Referral Services team (I&RS) for additional strategies and interventions. Susie’s teacher will bring her documentation and some sample work to the meeting. She is invited to discuss the concern with the I&RS committee at a meeting scheduled during the school day. The teacher will describe the student, the challenge and identify both successful and unsuccessful strategies used. Alternate means of intervention and new approaches are suggested. A plan of action is developed for Susie which specifies the goals and strategies to be used to help build her reading fluency. It also includes the individuals responsible for each action. A timeline is established for implementing the plan and assessing its effectiveness. Susie’s teacher will then send a copy of the plan home and discuss it with Susie’s parents.
Sample I&RS Plan
Student Name: Susie Student
Reason for referral: Susie has had difficulty reading grade level text fluently.
Objective: To increase Susie’s reading fluency to grade level expectations measured by Fountas and Pinnell.
Some sample interventions may be:
Partner reading
Repeated reading
Choral reading
Listening to passages-listen to the reading of a passage and then read it back fluently
*These interventions are completed within the classroom 2-3 times a week for a duration of 5-10 minutes
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