ABOUT US
Our Vision
We envision a society where neighborhood schools welcome all children,
engage them in learning, and form the foundation for inclusive communities.
We envision that in neighborhood schools, learners with and without
disabilities will benefit from meaningful instruction, have friends, and
be full members of their school communities.
What We Do
Individual Student Planning
MCIE staff have experience with including learners who have significant support needs to be successful academically or behaviorally. Using a student-centered planning process, MCIE professionals help schools bring together the best ideas from family and school staff, create a student action plan and/or behavior plan, and offer additional in-school support to the teaching and related services staff who will be implementing those plans. Our goal is to make you successful! We use the MAPS process (Making Action Plans) and student planning tools to help schools and families come together to create a plan for success.
For more information on how we can help with individual student planning, email us at mcie@mcie.org.
Professional Learning and Technical Assistance
MCIE's services range from individual teacher coaching, grade-level training sessions, and topical workshops, to year-long capacity-building tailored to your unique needs.
We believe comprehensive professional development programming can help create stronger inclusive schools. Our courses address teaching diverse learners in the general education class, designing class-wide positive behavior supports, implementing prevention and intervention strategies to support inclusive learning, collaboration and co-teaching, and individual behavior support planning. These are available on a contract basis to schools and school systems in Maryland, across the United States, and beyond.
In addition to full faculty and district-wide workshops, MCIE staff can design training workshops for educators, people with disabilities, families who have children with disabilities, school administrators, and the general community to meet your needs. Sample topics include:
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Successful Collaboration and Co-Teaching Practices
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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiation Strategies
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Promoting Student Engagement
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Positive Behavior Supports
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Developing Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans
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Teaching Students with Significant Support Needs in General Education Classes
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Special Educators in Inclusive Schools: Roles and Relationships
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Placement (Least Restrictive Environment) Decision-Making
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Designing a Multi-Tiered System of Supports
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Administrative Leadership in Inclusive Schools
For more information on professional learning opportunities and tailored technical assistance, contact Carol Quirk at cquirk@mcie.org.
School & System-Wide Transformation
If your school system is ready to engage in a multi-year process to engage in systemic change with district leadership and demonstration of successful inclusion of all students; the first step is to contact us for a free initial consultation. We will work with you on a small or large scale and with a long-term goal based on your data. We know how to build systemic inclusive school practices, transform educational services, increase your rate of placement of learners with disabilities in general education, reduce removals and suspensions, and improve outcomes for all students across all school settings. We've been doing it for three decades and can partner with you to transform your school and district.
To schedule an initial consultation, contact Carol Quirk at cquirk@mcie.org.
Our Mission
The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education, Inc. (MCIE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the success of all children and youth in their school communities. Our mission is to be the catalyst for the meaningful and successful inclusion of all students in their neighborhood schools.
Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI):
Research Project with the University of Kansas
MCIE is collaborating with the University of Kansas School of Education to implement research to discover the impact of teacher training and coaching on the fidelity of implementing the SDLMI in general education classes in high schools in Maryland and Delaware. Contact Steve Smith (ssmith@mcie.org) for preliminary research findings and look for future results!
Calvert County Systems Change for Inclusive Education: Implementation Project with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)
In 2016, MCIE began a partnership with the Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) to increase the participation of students with disabilities in general education classes while improving educational outcomes for all students. With support from MSDE, "demonstration" school sites use MCIE tools to ensure ALL learners are placed in general education with intensive student planning and family involvement, resulting in natural proportions or learners across grades, a redesign of the master schedule, development of district communications plan, and a variety of professional learning opportunities.
Secondary Transition Practices in Maryland with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)
MCIE supports MSDE’s goal to increase the post-school outcomes for students with disabilities through strategic collaboration with MSDE, local school systems, and Institutes of Higher Education. Some of the several projects in this priority area are:
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Maryland Indicators of Effective Transition Practices (ETP) – MCIE designed a facilitated self- electronic, self-scoring tool, externally validated by national experts. By bringing together stakeholders across a variety of areas, teams reflect and make informed decisions to improve transition programs.
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Inclusive Higher Education (IHE) Transition Program Standards – An age-appropriate transition program for students who are 18-21 year old students would be based on a college campus. To promote opportunities for learning in settings with same-age peers, MCIE compiled “best practices” based on national standards, and create a self-assessment tool for local IHE use.
Support to the Maryland State Department of Education
As a long-standing and valued partner to Maryland’s State Department of Education (MSDE), MCIE provides a variety of consultative and support services, including collaboration to design and pilot a significant disproportionality self-assessment, development of an action research project on the delivery of special education services across distant and hybrid learning models, development of a micro-credential for IEP chairpersons, and support to evaluate the MD State Systemic Improvement Plan.
Equity and Inclusion in Lake Forest School District, Illinois
As District 67 and District 115 move their equity and inclusion priority forward, they have partnered with MCIE to establish practices to use data to institute inclusive school-based practices. Strategies include district level leadership planning, professional learning for educators and paraprofessionals, and support to school administrators for changing organizational structures.
W.T. Chipman Middle School, Delaware
Despite the challenge of closures and changing instructional delivery models due to Covid, Chipman Middle has engaged MCIE to support their efforts to provide specially designed instruction to all learners with disabilities through an inclusive education approach.
Professional Learning in Baltimore City Public Schools
Through a uniquely designed training series, and consultation to district and school leaders, MCIE partners in multiple projects in Baltimore to build educator capacity to provide supports and services to learners to prevent removals from general education instruction and provide interventions to support learning.
Collaboration with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) for Advancing Inclusive Principal Leadership
As a State Coach, MCIE supports 4 States engaged in work to build Principal Leadership capacity to provide and equitable education and outcomes for ALL learners, with a focus not only on learners with disabilities, but all learners who may experience inequitable access or outcomes.
Our Current Projects
Equity
Inclusion
Excellence