Provide a series of professional development opportunities to address aspects of quality Tier 1 instruction so that the entire faculty is knowledgeable of the strategies and rationales for each one. Include at a minimum the following strategies: Differentiated instruction, flexible grouping, pre-assessment, use of scaffolding and accommodations, student engagement strategies, use of positive behavioral supports, and multi-level instruction techniques.
Consider various professional development options that are flexible, such as short one-hour sessions provided during planning/conference periods, online mini-courses, webinars, and Teacher as Expert sessions conducted after school.
Use an appropriate observation tool to conduct a structured walk-through of all classrooms during the first quarter of the school year to review the current status of Tier 1 instructional strategies across the school. Provide constructive feedback and suggestions to teachers as appropriate.
Train teachers to conduct an observation protocol, or learning walk, using the same or similar observation tool. Provide pairs of teachers an opportunity to walk through classes of one-two colleagues. Provide an opportunity for all to meet to discuss the observations. Set a rule of only positive feedback delivered through this process.
Conduct Accommodation Audits in classrooms serving students with disabilities to ensure that the instructional accommodations are in place and used appropriately as indicated in each student’s IEP. There are two separate resources provided for this. One assists in analyzing the appropriateness and use of the accommodations listed in the IEP and to facilitate conversations of the value and continued need for each accommodation. The second provides a means to monitor that each prescribed accommodation is, in fact, appropriately provided to each student.
Ensure that a Positive Behavior Support process is in place and all staff have received training in the process.
Analyze discipline data each quarter to identify trends which may need to be addressed. Consider monitoring, at a minimum, students with disabilities, second language learners, and students of color. Review the percentage of each student group in the student population and in the population of students receiving disciplinary action looking for disproportionality issues.