Walla Walla School District provides intervention for Preschool through Grade 11  students who are in need of additional support in reading and/or math. Student eligibility across our district is determined through a screening process, which includes district and state assessments, teacher input and student response to previous intervention. 

Students in our Tier II intervention  programs in the elementary schools receive the benefit of instruction in small groups led by staff trained in providing effective, research based instruction.. (See ESEA – No Child Left Behind "Highly Qualified Teachers")

Students in grade 6-8 Tier II intervention programs may receive a variety of interventions that include small group instruction and tutoring assistance in reading / math.

Our Title 1 and LAP programs operate within a three-tier instructional model supported across our district. The goal of Tier II instruction (Title 1/LAP, ESL, etc) is to provide the necessary intervention, when it is needed, so that students can successfully meet standards set for their grade level. Professional development for all classroom teachers and support staff, research-based curricula and aligned assessments are all key components of an effective three-tier model.

• Walla Walla School District Three-Tier K-5 Grade Level Pathways (Draft June 2007)
• Walla Walla School District Three Tier Response to Intervention program

The above files are in PDF Format, you will need -->

Listed below are some of the programs and resources utilized in our Tier II intervention programs by our Title 1/LAP staff:

• Harcourt Trophies & Trofeos Intervention
• Scott Foresman Early Reading Intervention
• Voyager Passaporte
• Guided Reading
• DIBELS
• Developmental Reading Assessment
• Literacy Components Matrix
• Kindergarten Home Visitor
• Read Well and Read Naturally
• Soar to Success
• Instructional Coaching
• Horizons Fast Track
• Visualizing and Verbalizing

Tier II Intervention Materials (Grades K-5) (.pdf)

Early Reading Intervention

Scott Foresman Early Reading Intervention is a research-based program that helps identify at-risk students and provides explicit, systematic instruction. ERI is based on Project Optimize, a five-year longitudinal research study by Dr. Edward J. Kameenui and Dr. Deborah C. Simmons. Staff are trained to use the instructional materials and the Kindergarten Readers Bookshelf Collection, 216 books that support early language and reading development. We presently use ERI in our English Kindergarten programs.

Guided Reading

Guided Reading is an essential part of all of our Title 1/LAP early literacy programs.
Guided Reading is an instructional model in which a teacher supports each readers’ development of effective strategies for processing text at increasing levels of difficulty.
The goal of Guided Reading is for students to become fluent readers who can problem solve strategically and read independently.

DRA – Developmental Reading Assessment

The DRA is a reading assessment utilized across our district in grades K-2, and K-5 in some schools. Students read a leveled story, while a teacher conducts a ‘running record’ of their reading behaviors. In Washington State, students reading below mid 1st grade level are assessed in three areas – accuracy, phrasing and retelling. Rate is added to the scoring as students move beyond mid-first grade levels.

Overview of the Developmental Reading Assessment

• determines a reader's independent assessment reading level
• facilitates the effective grouping of students for reading experiences and instruction
• provides immediate information for instructional decision making; confirms or redirects ongoing instruction
• documents changes over time in reading performance
• is developmentally appropriate for Grade K to Gr. 3 students
• is a reliable and valid assessment that meets the state's standards .

Literacy Components Matrix

Our Title 1/LAP instructional models are designed around research based practices. In designing our programs, we utilize the literacy components matrix that is based on the research out of Literacy First, Inc. This is comprised of a continuum of skills needed in the development of reading proficiency.

Literacy Components Matrix (.pdf)

Kindergarten Home Visitor (Since the inception of Full Day Kindergarten in 2005-06, our KHV model has been modified)

• Title / LAP funded intervention program for at-risk Kindergarten students
• 1 full time home visitor: approx.15 students
• Weekly scheduled home lessons or parent-child lessons provided at the school in both English and in Spanish
• Lessons aligned with classroom instruction
• Lessons individualized to target specific areas of need for each student
• In class component to ensure KHV home lessons are aligned with classroom
• Designed to strengthen parent involvement in the education of their child

Read Well and Read Naturally

Read Well and Read Naturally are examples of research-based reading programs that combine systematic phonics, mastery-based learning, fluency and rich content. From the beginning, children develop strong decoding skills, comprehension strategies, and sophisticated content knowledge.

• Systematically introduces and reviews skills and strategies.
• Utilizes narrative and expository content that piques learner interest.
• Introduces readers to multiple genres.
• Provides opportunities for fluency development for at-risk readers
• Provides teacher/student “duet story format” and student “solo story format” to promote student reading independence while ensuring educational and enjoyable material.
• Reading and writing activities, including story maps, story retells, and guided reports.

Soar to Success

Soar to Success is a research-based literacy intervention curriculum being used in both of our middle schools with some of our targeted below grade level readers. Soar to Success focuses on the skills students need in order to become fluent, strategic, and effective readers. Instruction is designed around the research-based method of reciprocal teaching.

Highly Qualified Teachers
ESEA 2001 acknowledges the important role that teacher quality plays in promoting student achievement. It requires that all teachers be “highly qualified” in the subjects they teach by the end of the 2005-06 school year. It also requires states to publish an annual report disclosing the professional qualifications of teachers, the percent working with emergency or provisional credentials, and the percent of classes in the state not taught by “highly qualified” teachers.

The new law consolidates the class-size-reduction and Eisenhower professional-development programs into a single, flexible program for improving teacher and principal quality. The money can be used for various purposes, such as hiring teachers to limit class sizes, providing professional development and funding initiatives to retain highly qualified teachers.

ESEA 2001 also creates a competitive-grant program providing funds for professional development to improve the skills and knowledge of early childhood educators who work with children in low-income communities.

Here are the key implementation deadlines:

By the 2002-03 school year:

• Any new teachers hired with Title I funds must meet requirements of a “highly qualified” teacher.
• Any new paraprofessionals hired with Title I funds must meet new standards of quality.
• States and districts must begin reporting their progress toward ensuring all teachers are “highly qualified.”

By the end of the 2005-06 school year:

• All teachers in core academic subjects must be “highly qualified.”
• All paraprofessionals working in programs supported with Title I funds must meet the requirements to be “highly qualified.”

Walla Walla School District has five Title 1 Schoolwide programs – Blue Ridge Elementary, Green Park Elementary, Sharpstein Elementary, Garrison Middle School, Lincoln High School. We also have one elementary program concluding their schoolwide planning; Edison Elementary.

Schoolwide programs focus on the needs of students ensuring that every student succeeds. Schoolwide Programs are built on a research base indicating that students are most successful when the entire school supports the education of all.

No two schoolwide programs are alike, but the best are:

• Driven by rigorous standards for upgrading the instructional program of the entire school.
• Flexible, offering a high-quality curriculum geared to bringing students to the challenging levels of knowledge set for them.
• Comprehensively planned, using available federal program resources to support cohesive instruction.
• Results-oriented, increasing the achievement of children in the targeted groups that federal education programs were intended to serve.

Under Title I of the 1994 reauthorization of the elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), participating schools serving 50 percent of students from low-income families can become schoolwide programs to expand the flexibility and quality of the education they offer students.

Following consultation with the district school office, and with support from school support teams, interested schools initiate a year of planning to determine how to integrate fiscal resources, facilities, and materials behind high-quality teaching that is fully aligned with students' educational needs.

The reauthorized ESEA enables schoolwide programs the use all available funding sources -- federal, state, and local to reorganize a school's education program to meet the needs of its entire student body. The law emphasizes that a schoolwide program is intended to upgrade the overall academic program with:

• A comprehensive needs assessment
• Best-practice school reform strategies
• Highly qualified staff
• Professional development for all members of the school community
• Parent involvement
• Strategies for help preschool children make the transition from early childhood programs to elementary school
• Teacher participation in making assessment decisions
• Intensive assistance to students who experience difficulty mastering state standards