Resources

In this document, we provide the historical context for educating children and youth with extensive support needs and how we have moved into a new understanding of what truly “functional” life skills are for any person, including a checklist to identify if skills are “functional” for a child or youth with an Individualized Education Program.

Collaborative relationships are all about working together to achieve a common goal. This brief discusses the types of collaboration that educators may experience and defines co-teaching models and how they are used.

This is MCIE's tool for educators to be effective and efficient when working as a team. See the School Transformation page for more collaboration resources!

This is a district-level self-assessment of secondary transition services with an action planning process to improve services over time published in cooperation with the Maryland State Department of Education. It describes research and national work to identify the practices that lead to post-school success. For training or information on the application of the ETP Self-Assessment, contact Carol Quirk at cquirk@mcie.org.

This document provides a comprehensive overview of instructional practices that are supported by research to enhance student learning and achievement. This resource outlines various teaching strategies categorized by the level of evidence supporting their effectiveness, from minimal evidence to strong, evidence-based practices. Download

If you are an educator who wants to move authentic inclusive education forward in your school or district, here are five ways you can get a conversation started right now to identify changes you can make.

This document describes the vast body of quantitative and qualitative research demonstrating the positive impact of inclusion in general education classrooms. Look for an update, coming soon!

This document provides background context for school leaders as they implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) for all learners, inclusive of children who receive specialized services. The components of MTSS are cross-referenced with research-based Principal competencies that lead to improved student outcomes and can be used as a self-assessment and planning action steps for […]

When students have been in separate special education classes, are moving from elementary to middle or high school, or are finding success in general education settings to be a challenge, this document provides a process that helps create vision, identify support needs, and rally the team to take action.

This technical report presents a comprehensive analysis of the MCIE Inclusive Education Beliefs Survey, a tool developed by the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (MCIE) to assess school staff attitudes toward inclusive education. Used in over 200 schools, the survey helps leadership teams understand beliefs about students with disabilities, educator roles, and personal efficacy in […]

This 25-item survey is a tool for assessing staff attitudes and beliefs about including students with disabilities in general education classes in their neighborhood school. If you would like MCIE to send a link for an electronic survey to take online, contact Carol Quirk at cquirk@mcie.org.

This guide provides principals a general overview of their role as they develop a culture of collaboration and support the changing roles of educators.

A primary responsibility of general and special educators is to teach children and youth academic content and learning strategies. This document provides guidance for paraprofessional roles as classroom support staff as well as individual learner supports, and offers a planning template for paraprofessional tasks.

This self-assessment tool is based on the MCIE framework for effective and inclusive education and is designed to assist school teams in determining the extent to which they are implementing practices that lead to all children and youth in the school community being valued members who have a sense of belonging, participate in social and academic activities in a meaningful way, and receive the services that they need to be successful. The items reflect evidence-based practices and are intended to be conducted through a team self-reflection process, with a facilitator guiding the questions and assisting the team in their discussion.

This tool is intended for school leadership teams that have chosen to be on the path to build inclusive practices. As a self-assessment, the team rates themselves on a rubric to find their strengths and select priorities for improvement. It is not intended to cover every aspect of schoolwide practices, but to provide the team […]

This guide provides an introduction to self-advocacy, as well as explains how to implement it in schools with lessons.

The terms accommodation and modification are often confused; one is a support to enable access to the curriculum and the other is a change to instruction. Often overlooked is “specially designed instruction” and how to provide it in general education settings. This document is a brief guide to the definitions of various services that are part of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for a child with a disability.