CPS' Pyramid of Interventions — a three-tiered model, or framework, of instruction and intervention — is nationally recognized and grounded in research and best practices.
Its use is a specific strategy within CPS' new strategic plan, Building Futures, under Goal No. 1, with ties to Goals 4 and 5.
Starting in January 2007, the Pyramid of Interventions will roll out to all CPS teachers and principals, and, eventually, to all employees who interact with students. It will empower staff to serve the district's diverse student population in a more systematic, data-driven, prevention-focused and collaborative way than ever before.
Although called a "pyramid," CPS uses a cone shape because it has a round pie-piece base made up of six components that best illustrates the CPS model. See the full explanation (on the right) for more information.
Sixteen schools began piloting some of this model over the past two years within Cincinnati Public Schools, and principals report good things are happening — such as seeing better student behavior in cafeterias, more children succeeding in general-education classes, improved school rankings on the Ohio Report Card, and, at two schools, 50-percent reductions in discipline referrals.
The Pyramid of Interventions began in district meetings about two years ago, when Blackwell asked that students' academic needs and behavioral needs be approached in an integrated way. Traditionally, educators have addressed these two areas separately.
At the time, the Ohio Department of Education was in the early stages of launching and evaluating a program called the Ohio Integrated Systems Model (OISM), based on a three-tiered intervention model endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education. Its integrated approach was exactly what Blackwell sought, and, with some adaptation by CPS, became the Pyramid of Interventions.
The Pyramid's three tiers represent progressive levels of support — schoolwide, targeted and intensive. Research shows that strong schoolwide instruction — the pyramid's bottom and largest tier — leads to success academically and behaviorally for 80-90 percent of students. The middle, or targeted tier, provides strategies for helping students who still are struggling, about 5 to 10 percent of students. Strong initiatives at the lower two tiers greatly reduce the number of students needing the top tier, or intense intervention, about 1 to 5 percent.
Dr. Markay Winston, CPS' director of student services, views it as the framework within which all district-sanctioned initiatives fit.
"The Pyramid includes every single student," she said, "with prevention programs to sustain performance for those doing well, and identification methods and successive levels of intervention for those needing more support — all while complementing and supporting existing programs."
Research suggests the three-tiered model will help make possible the district's vision to provide high-quality learning opportunities for every student.
"If Building Futures is our road map, the Pyramid of Interventions is a critical portion of the highway that leads to the superintendent's goal of academic, social and emotional success for every student," Winston said. "It's the logical next step."