ABOUT US
Our Vision
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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.
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What We Do​
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Individual Student Planning
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Do you need assistance with including a child or youth with disabilities?
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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.
Email us at: mcie@mcie.org.
Training & Technical Assistance
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Are you looking for school-wide practices and classrooms that are engaging,
positive, structured, and differentiated for your school's diverse learners?
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MCIE's staff are skilled in developing class-wide behavior supports, increasing student engagement, and adapting lessons to implement individualized education programs. We can help your staff develop collaborative relationships, whether they are consultative, co-planning, or co-teaching. Our services range from individual teacher coaching, grade-level training sessions, and topical workshops, to year-long capacity-building that is tailored to your unique needs.
In addition to full faculty and district-wide workshops, MCIE staff can design a variety of training workshops for educators, people with disabilities, families who have children with disabilities, school administrators, and the general community. 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.
Professional Development Courses
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Does your staff need information and training on collaborative teaching, differentiated instruction, adapting the curriculum, classroom management, or designing behavior supports?
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MCIE believes comprehensive professional development programming can help create stronger inclusive schools. That's why we offer 15-hour to 45-hour courses approved by MSDE for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Credit. Our courses address diverse learners in the general education class, class-wide positive behavior supports, 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. These 1-, 2-, and 3-credit courses are approved for credit through the Maryland State Department of Education and can be delivered in local school systems for up to 40 participants per course session. Based on your staff learning interests, we can design a survey of interest and develop a course to be submitted for credit based on your unique needs. Each course is facilitated by two instructors and consists of at least 15 hours of instruction for each credit (i.e., 15 hours = 1 credit). Courses are offered synchronously online, with some asynchronous time for assignments and discussion groups. Follow-up sessions for school teams are conducted upon completion of the course to provide feedback and coaching on the use of strategies learned in the courses. These courses benefit general and special education teachers, related services staff, instructional coaches, and school leaders.
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For information on contractual professional development courses, contact Carol Quirk at cquirk@mcie.org.
School-wide & System-wide Reform
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Do you want to build systemic inclusive school practices, increase your rate of placement of learners with disabilities in general education, and reduce removals and suspensions?
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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, contact MCIE.
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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 implement systemic change to transform education services and improve outcomes for all students, while including all students in the general education curricula, socializing with peers, and across all school settings.
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MCIE has worked strategically with several school districts to transform special education service delivery from separate programs to a comprehensive and inclusive approach, that is based on a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) model. We've learned to look at student data, gain teacher input, listen to administrative and community concerns, and be a "critical friend" for everyone in the school building. Our systems change process considers school-wide needs for instruction, behavior supports, and implementing evidence-based classroom practices, as well as individual student planning. When coupled with a phase-in plan for developing demonstration sites, we work closely with district leadership to assess the system's needs, engage stakeholders, and develop the priority practices to be addressed at the district and school house level. We've done it before and can do it again.
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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