School-Based Teams as a Best Practice!
School-based teams are an integral part of the support system that each school provides for its students, families, and staff members.
What is a School-Based Team?
A school-based team is an ongoing team of school-based personnel which has a formal role to play as a problem-solving unit in assisting classroom teachers to develop and implement instructional and/or management strategies and to coordinate support resources for students within the school. These meetings may take on a slightly different look based on the needs of the staff and students in a school.
Strong and Dedicated School Based Teams
What are the Roles and Responsibilities?
A well functioning team assigns roles and responsibilities among team members in order to ensure that:
- Supports and interventions are provided to students as soon as possible
- Team members and key members of the student’s team are notified of on-going plans to support the student
- Meetings are run efficiently and on-time
- Interventions and decisions are documented
Parents are encouraged to bring concerns forward to their child’s classroom teacher and/or school principal: Here is a helpful tool to assist in the conversation.
What is the School-Based team’s role through the Response to Intervention lens?
Tier 1 – The bottom tier of a three-tiered RTI model. Tier 1 consists of high-quality, differentiated instruction and behavioural supports that are provided for all students. The supports provided in Tier 1 may include research supported best teaching practices, ongoing assessment and progress monitoring, differentiated instruction based on the results of ongoing assessments, and social and emotional learning with positive behaviour support. Level A assessments fall within Tier 1.
Tier 2 – The middle tier of a three-tiered RTI model. Tier 2 support provided for students who are progressing at a rate that is lower than their same age peers when Tier 1 supports have been provided. The supports provided in Tier 2 may include small group instruction, mentoring or peer tutoring, learning assistance support, level B assessments to identify where a student is requiring additional support, referral to the school-based team (SBT) for collaborative problem solving, more frequent progress monitoring to ensure interventions are delivering the intended outcome, parent or guardian involvement in educational planning, individual behaviour support planning, and individualized classroom interventions.
Tier 3 – The top tier of a three-tiered RTI model. Tier 3 support are provided for students who are continuing to struggle significantly, even after Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports have been provided. Most students who require Tier 3 support will qualify for a Ministry of Education special needs category. The supports provided in Tier 3 may include planning and interventions provided in consultation with district Student Services staff, Level C assessments administered by a psychologist, referral to the District Resource Team for collaborative problem solving, continued parent or guardian involvement in educational planning, continued frequent progress monitoring to ensure interventions are delivering the intended outcome, and recommendation to a school-based, district, and/or community specialized support program.