Michon Benson, Rtl Team Leader, Charles R. Drew Academy

Dr. Michon Benson is a member of the inaugural cohort of Houston A+ Challenge’s Regional Principal Leadership Academy (RPLA).  After completing her internship with middle school principal Earnest Washington, Jr. at Charles R. Drew Academy in Aldine ISD, Benson decided to remain at Drew to complete the first year of her residency. Taking what might be perceived as an unconventional route to the principalship, she has assumed the role of Response to Intervention (RtI) Team Leader – a role that is honing her craft and developing her repertoire as an instructional leader. "I work with the administrative team to build human capital in every member of the learning community," Benson says.

With the full support of her principal, Benson ensures that resources and interventions are appropriately targeted to serve all struggling learners as early as possible.  "All of our teachers understand that RtI serves as an early intervention as well as a prevention process," she observes.  "We want to identify students’ growth areas well before any gap in academic failure becomes too great."  

As Drew Academy’s RtI Team Leader, Benson makes data-based decisions about student placement and consistently monitors student progress to determine the effectiveness of instruction and/or interventions. "To be sure, RtI can do much to supplement classroom practices, but high-quality instruction is the key to any successful RtI model," she says. "It is a non-negotiable that all teachers' pedagogical practices are research-based and that each instructor – regardless of how long he or she has been in the profession – learns how to best attend to students’ individual needs."

This year, Benson has had a unique opportunity to balance her relationships with students and her commitment to teachers.  "I assist students with actualizing their own paths to success by challenging them to set academic and behavior goals and by rewarding them when they consistently meet or exceed progressive expectations.  At the same time, I also have the pleasure of facilitating teachers' professional growth, working with them to build, implement, and assess various intervention strategies they develop to help students succeed in their respective classrooms."