A Case Analysis of an Elementary School's Implementation of Response to Intervention‪.‬

The study provides an illustration of an elementary school's implementation of a model of Response to Intervention (RTI). The school was selected to be the pilot for RTI implementation within the district. The study employed interviews of all members of the school RTI Leadership Team and select members of the district-level RTI Leadership Team. An inductive, thematic analysis of participants' testimony revealed critical features and contextual issues related to RTI implementation. Major themes included the widespread frustration of participants with traditional prereferral and referral systems regarding special education eligibility and services, careful development of a school implementation plan and process, new role and responsibility challenges given RTI implementation, and the importance of principal and teacher leadership. Participants also provided descriptions of implementation obstacles or barriers and perceived improvements in instruction and student learning. Limitations of the study (given district and school contextual factors) and recommendations for effective RTI implementation are provided. Keywords: elementary education, case study, intervention, special education