Staff Intervention Team (SIT) is a mainstream education initiative designed to allow teachers to receive support from professional peers when they have questions about a student’s progress. Members of the SIT may include the assistant director, director of special education, classroom content teachers, social worker, school nurse, and other building personnel determined by the director.
SIT members listen to the concerns of a teacher(s) regarding a specific student. Instructional strategies are offered through a brainstorming format and then considered by the classroom teacher(s) for implementation. Because of the varied expertise of the members, instructional strategies often reflect alternative methods of instruction not yet explored by the classroom teacher. In-house consultation services are also an option to consider. Math teachers, reading teachers, ELL instructor, consultants such as the school psychologist, occupational therapist, and speech language therapist may be invited to the SIT meeting and are resource personnel available to deliver consultation services.
Within approximately 6 to 8 weeks, the SIT members reconvene to assess the student’s progress. The director of special education keeps documentation of progress. The SIT members at this time determine if:
- The strategies are effective and the student has made adequate progress, no longer needing the SIT process.
- The strategies are effective and there is evidence of some progress.
- The SIT process should continue, meeting again in 6 weeks, to carefully monitor progress.
- Strategies have not been effective and adequate progress is not evident. The SIT should re-evaluate and try alternative strategies. The SIT members suspect there may be a disability impeding the student’s progress. The student is referred for a special education evaluation.