These can be used by a district or school leader who envisions a school environment that is inclusive and open to all students.
by Steve Smith, Ed.D. (MCIE Professional Learning Facilitator)
The new school year has arrived and with it new energy, dreams, and opportunities. Each year brings a new chance to improve one’s self, one’s practice, and one’s environment. For some educators and leaders, those aspirations involve creating a more inclusive school where the doors to an engaging and meaningful education are open to all. MCIE met with seven leaders from the Allegany County Public School District (ACPS) who have shared this vision for the past five years. These school and district leaders discussed their thoughts about their own school and district’s…
It’s no longer Autism Acceptance Month, but inclusion and autism acceptance matter all year round. MCIE is pleased to present an interview with an autistic co-editor of an anthology released in January 2017. What Every Autistic Girl Wishes Her Parents Knew is a first of its kind anthology by autistic people who went through autistic girlhood. The anthology was a project of Autism Women’s Network (AWN). We and co-editor Emily Paige Ballou talked project development, if the book can benefit educators, and how it can showcase inclusion principles.
MCIE: How did you start out feeling about the project? …
Autism Acceptance Month 2017
By Kit Mead
MCIE Communications Specialist
Note: the term “autistic students” is used here rather than “students with autism” out of respect for the preference that I have as well as many others in the autistic community. As this flyer on Identity-First Language [PDF] states, “Although some disability communities choose to refer to themselves with person-first language (e.g. “person with an intellectual disability,”) many in the Autistic community join the majority of the Deaf and Blind communities in our embrace of identity-first language.”
April is Autism Acceptance Month, which some people also know as Autism Awareness Month. We are using…
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
Post by Kit Mead, MCIE Communications Specialist
This month, March 2017, is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (DDAM)! Three disability organizations have created a social media campaign using the hashtag #DDAwareness17. Each week of March has a certain theme. Last week’s theme was education, and this week’s theme is employment. Individuals and organizations have been asked to follow the themes for each week if they participate. This post will highlight some research that shows meaningful inclusive education benefits post-secondary inclusion in society and employment.
In our Inclusion Works! brief, we highlight the 2006 research of M. Wagner, L. Newman, and P…
By Kit Mead, Communications Specialist
Introduction
Accessible technology can serve an important role in inclusion of students with disabilities. Not all technology is accessible, however. First, we will define accessible technology, and give examples of both accessible technology and inaccessible technology. Then we’ll have a two part section on how it maximizes inclusion, by helping students with disabilities learn and by incorporating the concepts of universal design into learning. Lastly, we’ll talk about some barriers you might face.
What Is Accessible Tech?
According to Accessible Tech.org, “Accessible electronic and information technology is technology that can be used by people with a wide range of abilities…
MCIE
We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to the inclusion of all students as valued learners in their school community. http://www.mcie.org
