After scores on the 2014 New York State English language arts assessment at P.S. 52 Sheepshead Bay School in Brooklyn were unsatisfactory, first-year principal Rafael Alvarez searched for a way to improve academic outcomes for his students, who come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and about a quarter of whom are English language learners.

Alvarez and his leadership team discussed the large body of research on student improvement and decided to focus on improving student reading using Response to Intervention (RTI), a research-based framework that uses data-based decision-making and three levels of instruction to address a wide range of student needs, including the needs of students who struggle with academics or behavior.

In the course of their partnership, both AIR and the school took away several important building blocks useful to any school or district implementing RTI. This piece summarizes that information by sharing the narrative of P.S. 52’s work alongside useful resources and evidence about the implementation of RTI.