Federal policies to increase student achievement and improve teacher quality underlie this study. After the first year of implementation, eight elementary teachers were interviewed about how they viewed a Response to Intervention (RTI) reform effort. RTI is a federal policy intended to reform instruction by using a tiered, school-wide system. The following question drove our research: After the first year of implementation, how do educators view the RTI change process? Data were analyzed using a consensual qualitative methodology. Results indicated that teachers positively viewed the reform effort. However, many teachers expressed concerns about the implementation of RTI. The majority of teachers associated the following positive outcomes with the first year of reform: using data to inform instructional planning, using progress monitoring to measure the effectiveness of the instruction, and better knowing “when” to refer English language learners for special education services. Teachers identified the culture of the school as “positively mixed,” meaning positive shifts are taking place and teachers are working along a continuum of understanding and adoption practices. Key concerns of implementation are also presented as implications for effective adoption of the model at the elementary school level.

The two studies reported in this article followed up on an initial investigation of classroom dynamics and young children identified as at risk (AR) for developing learning, emotional, and behavioral disorders (LD/EBD) (Lago-Dellelo, 1998). In the present studies, measures were taken of teacher-student interactions, peer interactions, students' perceptions of their teachers' expectations, student self-perceptions, and academic engaged time. In our first study, when the children were in grades 2 and 3, results replicated those of Lago-Dellelo (1998) conducted the previous year when the children were in grades 1 and 2. That is, significant differences between students at risk for LD/EBD and not-at-risk (NAR) peers were found for type of teacher responses and academic engaged time. Teachers made significantly more negative and nonacademic responses to the AR students, who spent significantly less time on task than NAR peers. In our second followup study, when the children were in grades 3 and 4, significant differences between groups were found for academic engaged time, self-perceptions, and perceptions of teachers' expectations. At-risk students spent less time on task, perceived themselves more negatively, and perceived their teachers as having more negative expectations of them than did NAR students. These findings suggest that as children at risk for LD/EBD get older, they begin to realize that their teachers view them negatively, and in turn begin to view themselves negatively. The effects of this realization on the these students' achievement and selfesteem as well as adult and peer relationships in later years need to be further explored.

This article describes the word reading skills in English and Spanish for a sample of 244 Spanish-speaking, English-learning (hence, bilingual) students in first grade and presents a predictive model for English word reading skills. The children in the study were assessed at the end of kindergarten and first grade, respectively. Data were gathered with 3 subtests of the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery and a researcher-developed phonological awareness task. Results showed that, on average, children's English word reading skills were similar to monolingual norms whereas their Spanish word reading skills averaged 1 SD below the mean. English vocabulary, English phonological awareness, and Spanish word reading skills in kindergarten were found to be significant predictors of English word reading skills in first grade. Educational implications for screening language and reading skills and promising areas for targeted instruction for this population are discussed.

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