5 Ways to Kick Off a Successful Year of Tier 1 Intervention
5 Ways to Kick Off a Successful Year of Tier 1 Intervention
The first few weeks of school set the tone for everything that follows. If Tier 1 intervention is going to be successful, teams need smart planning to align their system to their resources. Here are five first steps, with planning questions included, you can consider when planning Tier 1 intervention at the start of the year.
1. Have a plan to screen and immediately review the data
Universal screening in the first few weeks tells you where the class or grade stands as a group, not just which individual students need help. As soon as results are in, sit down as a team and ask the Tier 1 question:
"Do we have more students who need intervention than we can reasonably serve?"
If the answer is yes, that's your sign. The right response isn’t overwhelming teachers and interventionists by trying to intervene with 40% or more of the class. Instead, it's a classwide approach that provides extra, high-quality practice for everyone while you still provide Tier 2 and 3 intervention for those students who you can serve reasonably.
2: Choose simple, evidence-based routines
Early in the year, teams often want to do everything at once: new routines, new materials, new progress monitoring, all in September. It rarely sticks. Instead, build a short instructional playbook (Knight et al., 2020): one or two evidence-based routines per grade level, explained step by step, including the research base, and a checklist, that any teacher could pick up and use.
Keep it simple and clear. A playbook means you're not reinventing the wheel with every new teacher or every new year. It also allows a coach, principal, or visiting teacher to know exactly the steps to replicate or observe when stepping in or observing the routine.
3: Protect the time
Tier 1 intervention needs protected time, and it has to be built into the schedule intentionally. Before the year starts, ask:
"Where does Tier 1 intervention live in our schedule?"
Some classes will do Tier 1 intervention right at the beginning of the reading block and others will replace student independent work time with Tier 1 intervention. It can happen at any time throughout the day, it just needs to be scheduled. In schools, what gets scheduled gets done.
4: Plan to support teachers from the start
Tier 1 intervention is a daily effort, so starting off by offering early support is essential to success. Before day one, ask:
"What's our plan to support educators the first week they provide Tier 1 intervention?"
That might mean a short training on the exact routine and materials, a coach to model the routine for the first session, or a quick check-in built into week one. Whatever the support looks like, decide it in advance. The first week sets the tone for whether a routine sticks or never truly gets put in place.
5: Plan for motivation for both educators and students
Having a plan is one thing and working the plan throughout the year is another. Address two questions before you start:
"How will we keep educators consistent with the plan, especially once the year gets challenging and the routine becomes less interesting?"
"How will we keep students motivated and engaged in the daily practice?"
Considering motivation and engagement isn’t optional, it’s an evidence-based component of Tier 1 intervention. For teachers, it may include a simple recognition system for teachers who stay consistent with implementing daily, regular sharing of motivation strategies during team meetings, and data celebrations as a school-wide team. For students, monitoring their own progress, and celebrating small growth regularly are great motivators.
Tier 1 intervention isn't about doing more. It's about aligning the resources in your school to meet the needs of both educators and students this year.
Resource:
Knight, J., Hoffman, A., Harris, M., & Thomas, S. (2020). The instructional playbook: The missing link for translating research into practice. ASCD.
