Staff from the Exceptional Children department in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools convened a group of their teachers in Spring 2020 to share their perspectives and ideas. ​This advisory group includes approximately 20 teachers of exceptional children across Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. ​In this Voices from the Field video, the National Center on Intensive Intervention spoke with four teachers in the advisory group about their work during COVID-19 restrictions.

    Successful implementation of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and, specifically, intensive intervention through the data-based individualization (DBI) process, demands the collection and analysis of data. As teams consider data collection, challenges may occur with assessment administration, scoring, and data entry (Taylor, 2009). This resource reviews three data collection and entry challenges and strategies to ensure data about risk status and responsiveness accurately represent student performance and minimize measurement errors.  

    NCII’s Faculty Professional Learning Series is an opportunity for teacher preparation faculty and professional development providers to learn from colleagues and NCII experts about available tools and resources to enhance coursework, field experiences, and professional development opportunities related to intensive intervention.  

In this Voices From the Field piece, the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) talks with Laura Hamby and Ann Jolly from the Exceptional Children department in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools about how they have addressed teaching and learning challenges related to COVID-19 restrictions. Laura and Ann share their early approaches and successes in ensuring that special educators and their students are supported during school closures.

In this Voices From the Field piece, the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) talks with Amy Campbell. Mrs. Campbell has been teaching special education for 12 years in the Camas School District in southwest Washington state, working with students who experience moderate to profound impact from expressive and receptive communication barriers as well as other disabilities or conditions.

In this Voices From the Field piece, the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) talks with Justyn Poulos, director of MTSS at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Education (OSPI), about how he and his team shifted their annual MTSS Fest conference from a face-to-face event to a virtual event in less than 3 weeks due to COVID-19 restrictions. Justyn shares how his team modified their event plans and what they learned from the experience about how to engage participants in the future.

This guide highlights 5 key practices for teachers and families to support all students, including students with disabilities, at school and home. For each practice, the guide provides (a) tips for teachers to support students with disabilities during instruction; (b) tips for families that educators can share to support or enhance learning at home, especially during periods of remote instruction; and (c) free-access resources that include strategies shown to be effective by research (e.g., informational guides, downloadable materials, research-based programs).

Progress monitoring is an essential part of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and, specifically, the data-based individualization (DBI) process. It allows educators and administrators to understand whether students are responding to intervention and if adaptations are needed. In addition, these data are often used to set high-quality academic and behavioral goals within the individualized education program (IEP) for students with disabilities. With the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educators and administrators need to rethink how they collect and analyze progress monitoring data in a virtual setting. This collection of frequently asked questions is intended to provide a starting place for consideration.

This series includes video examples and tip sheets to help educators and families in using the NCII reading and mathematics sample lessons to support students with intensive needs. These lessons provide short instructional routines to encourage multiple practice opportunities using explicit instruction principles. The videos and tip sheets describe how educators can use the sample lessons to support instruction in a virtual setting, how educators can share these lessons with parents, and how parents can also implement the lessons to provide additional practice opportunities.  

These videos and tips are part of a series of products to support students with intensive needs in the face of COVID-19. These videos illustrate how parents and grandparents can implement the NCII reading and mathematics sample lessons to provide additional practice. In addition to the video examples, a tip sheet is available to help parents implement the lessons. Implementation of Reading Lesson: Parent Example