The East Buchanan Assistance Team Meeting (A-Team) process is a data-based (see GEI form below) process designed to meet the needs of students in the general curriculum. School team meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month. Click here for available meeting dates and times. To schedule a meeting, complete the A-Team Initialization form and send it with your selected meeting time to Barb Reed.

The process assists teachers and parents in generating and tracking interventions designed to support the success of all students in the classroom. The process is intended for any student who needs additional support to be successful in the general curriculum. The A-team process is built around the General Education Intervention (GEI) process as mandated by Iowa State law. Use an A-Team Initialization form to record interventions and results data from the interventions. If you need assistance with doing that, contact Barb Reed to schedule a consultation. Consultation meetings are on the second and forth Tuesday 3:15-4:15.

In the A-Team process interventions are provided to the student in the general education classroom. Students who may be served by this process include but are not limited to students at-risk, students with specific talents, and students who qualify for 504 plans. All interventions are tracked with results data on the GEI form noted above. If the A-Team process does not provide sufficient support, students may be assessed for eligibility for 504 or Special Education services to ensure that they get the support necessary for success.

1. Initial Access
The A-Team system has a single point entry: the East Buchanan Assistance Team Meeting (A-Team). Teachers, parent(s), advisors, administrators, the student, or support staff may begin the A-Team process for a particular student. The process is initiated through the Support Services Coordinator. Use this form to initialize that process.

 

2. Initial Data Collection
Before a teacher requests an A-team meeting both state and federal law mandates that classroom intervention data be collected. That data includes:
• baseline data on the area of concern
• interventions attempted
• outcomes of attempted interventions
• parent contacts and the outcomes of those contacts

Collection of this information is necessary both for an effective A-Team meeting and to meet GEI requirements.

GEI Components: Previous and on-going attempts to resolve the problem

If the concern is long-term or has the potential to affect other areas of the student's life and/or education such that immediate attention is required, contact the Support Services Coordinator.

 

3. The East Buchanan Assistance Team Meeting (A-Team)

A-Teams include the parent(s), the student, the person who raised the concern, and other staff who are directly or indirectly involved with the student. A-Teams are facilitated by the Support Services Coordinator at the elementary level and by the At-Risk Coordinator at the middle and secondary levels. A-Teams use the solution focused process outlined below.

IDEAL A Five-Step Solution Focused Process

• Identify the concern

  The team's first charge is to identify the most pressing concern and develop a clear statement of that concern.

  GEI Components:   Problem statement

• Define the problem(s)

  By reviewing the collected data (previous and on-going interventions and their outcomes, baseline data collected on the area of concern) the team specifically defines when, where and under what circumstances the identified concern takes place.

  GEI Components:   Previous interventions   Baseline data   Problem statement

• Explore possible interventions

  The team brainstorms a list of possible interventions that would directly address the issue of concern and can be implemented in the regular classroom . Each suggested intervention is evaluated for its potential to address the issue of concern. The one or two interventions that seem most suitable in this instance are selected for implementation. An implementation plan stating what will be done, who will do it, and what data will be collected is developed.

  GEI Components:  Goal development   Intervention development

• Apply the intervention

  The intervention plan is applied. During this time progress monitoring data is collected.

  GEI Components:   Apply the intervention   Intervention planning   Progress monitoring

• Look back

  The team meets again to use the collected data to determine the effect of the intervention. The look back should not to exceed 60 days from the initial meeting The concern may be judged as alleviated or the team may cycle back through the process looking for more suitable interventions.

  GEI Components:   Evaluation of intervention

Assessment for and consideration of eligibility for special education is carefully considered only after sufficient data regarding general classroom interventions has been gathered and evaluated. Should the team decided that this step is necessary, the data collected before and during the A-Team Meeting is critical for making that determination.