Buffalo St. leads child-learning study - The Business Review (Albany):

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The college was awarded a $1.5 million contract in Novembert to help create a Responsd to Intervention TechnicalAssistance Center. RTI programs are intendedr to identify students who may have learning disabilitiews before those students lag academically behindtheir peers. As lead Buffalo State will work with five othertinstitutions — , , , and the — to creatr a model RTI program to be implemented at 14 schoolsx around the state, said Theresa Janczak, an assistanrt professor of exceptional education at Buffaloi State who will server as project director. Amy Piper of will be a consultantf tothe project, Janczak added.
Part of the projectf involves creating an RTI Web site and conductingregionalk training. Other tasks include disseminating information and providinb guidance to the 14model schools. RTI programes are gaining momentum acrossathe country, including New York State where RTI programsx focusing on literacy will become mandatory for childrehn in kindergarten through fourth grade as of July 2012. “It’es an up-and-coming new initiative in generap education,” Janczak said. “The idea with RTI is to catc (students) early on in theirf academic careers.
If they strugglew academically, RTI helps remediate the gap and gives them the added push and servicesz that they needbefore they’rde possibly referred to special education.” Under the Buffalo State will hire a full-time assistant projectf director and a graduate studenr assistant to help Janczak manage and organize the project. The model prograj will be implemented at 14 schools that will be identifieds this spring through agrang competition. Any school in the statr can apply; selected schools will receive upto $150,00o in grant money to pay for the cost of putting the program in place, Janczak said. Getting the programs in placs will be hard work forthe schools, she said.
“It’sa certainly going to take a lot of work on the part of each andeverty school,” Janczak said. “Roles will be redefined for generapleducation teachers, special education teachers, reading specialists and support staff. It’e really about looking at data and how we use that data to make good decisionasabout what’s best for the It has to be embedderd instruction that’s defined as ‘besyt practice’ based on rigorous The center at Buffalo State will be locater in Room 210 in Ketchum Hall.