Reengineering Resource Deployment
Matching of resources with degree of student need required reengineering both the general- and special-education resource deployment system. Heartland accomplished this reengineering by adding two additional tiers of service delivery to the existing two-tiered system. The purpose of these tiers was to make available more structured resources within general education to work with student problems prior to their escalation.
Heartland's four-tiered system was an n of one system. That is, each of the four levels was defined as a set of resources and processes that are brought to bear on individual student problems. At the time when Heartland's system was under development, the problem-solving system was conceptualized as improvements in the special education service delivery system, though many of the components occur in general education.
Four hierarchical levels of service delivery were defined, varying in rigor, systematicity and intensity of resource availability. Level 1 was teachers and parents working together to solve problems. This level roughly equates to the general education tier from the historical model. To Tier 1, Heartland's model added Level 2 which was conceptualized as "teachers helping teachers" to solve individual problems. Level 2 added a second, more intensive tier of intervention to the General Education Intervention that held promise to bring additional resources and strategies to bear on individual problems. A third Level was also added to general education in Heartland's model. This level is far more rigorous in its requirements for data collection, problem analysis, intervention fidelity and results documentation and evaluation. Level 4 in the system equates in rigor and intensity with the special education level in the typical system.
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Assumptions | Research-Based Practices
