Instructional Support Teams
Instructional Support Team (IST) is an initiative of the Virginia Department of Education. The goal of IST is to enhance, improve, and increase student and staff performance. IST is designed to develop school-based teams of professionals who support classroom teachers’ efforts to assist students who are at risk for school failure. The IST provides two interrelated and complimentary services in order to achieve the goal of enhancing, improving, and increasing student and staff performance. These services are student intervention and professional development. Examples of these services are:
Student Intervention
- Instructional assessment
- Problem identification
- Data collection
- Intervention design
- Intervention implementation
- Monitoring progress
- Troubleshooting
Professional Development
- Collaborative problem solving
- Modeling of interventions
- Coaching
Source: The IST Initiative in Virginia, Virginia Department of Education, 2004.