Initially, the building principal is certain to assume a strong leadership role in launching the RTI initiative. As with all school improvement initiatives, principal leadership and support are necessary for success.

When launching an RTI initiative, schools typically form a small, school-based team to support the principal in planning and providing leadership for the RTI initiative. In this Action Tool we refer to this team as the RTI Leadership Planning Team, although it has been called by other names (e.g., RTI School Improvement Team, RTI Team, etc.). The challenge is to select team members who not only represent various school constituencies, but also possess skills and knowledge relevant to RTI.