Welcome to Holmes MTSS Intervention

My name is Kristine Ashford.  I grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University.  I graduated with a Bachelor of Sociology degree and worked in the field of social services for four years.  During that time, I was employed as a childcare worker in a residential group home and as an ABE/GED teacher at Cook County Jail.  I went on to pursue a Master of Education degree at U.I.C.  I taught at Lincoln School in D97 for 16 years.  While I was there I taught grades 2, 4, and 5. 

I earned a Math Specialist Certificate from the University of Wisconsin – Stout in 2018. I have been the MTSS Interventionist at Holmes School since the 2018-2019 school year.  I provide math interventions to students in grades K-5 and reading interventions to primary students.

W.I.N. Time

Every grade level has dedicated Math & ELA W.I.N. Times built into their schedules, 4 times each week for 30 minutes.  W.I.N. stands for ‘What I Need.’ 

This time is separate from and in addition to the regular Math and ELA blocks that are used for regular core instruction.  W.I.N Time is tailored to meet each student’s individual needs.  

I work with my groups during the dedicated W.I.N. Times.  Therefore, a student should never miss core instruction to work with me.  The instruction they get from me is in addition to the tier 1, core instruction that they receive in their classrooms. 

My goal is to identify and target skills that students are having difficulty with.  By gaining a stronger foundation and bridging academic gaps, students will have more equitable opportunities to work toward meeting grade level standards. 

Communication will come home periodically to make you aware of the skills that we are targeting in class.  The more support and practice that you can provide at home, the better!

Ways to Support Your Child at Home

MOBY MAX: All students have Moby Max accounts & they can access them from any device with an Internet connection.  They should log in through Clever.  Their homeroom teacher or I can assist you with logging in.  Moby Max identifies students’ individual needs & targets the necessary skills to help build a stronger foundation.  I recommend 5 minutes of ‘Fact Fluency’ & about 15 minutes of ‘Math’ each day.  Reading is an option in Moby Max as well.

ROCKET MATH:  Rocket Math allows students to learn their basic math facts, to automaticity, in a systematic way.  Students in grades 1-5 have a Rocket Math folder that they should bring home daily.  Please practice with your child for 5 minutes or less each day & make sure their folder goes back to school with them each day.  During remote learning, students will be able to access their Rocket Math practice pages in their Seesaw accounts.  

HELP BUILD NUMBER SENSE & FLUENCY: Talk about math with your child, pointing out times when it is used at home.  Have them assist you with cooking, measuring, estimating, etc.  Ask them to count forward & backward, to skip count by different numbers, & to read numbers to you. Play math games that promote fluency.

READ DAILY:  Your child should spend time reading each day.  Have them read independently as they are able to and read aloud to them as well.  For students who are learning their letters, letter sounds, and sight words, practice daily.