The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) are partnering to support a cohort of Maine public schools in becoming Inclusive Education Model sites for the state. This project is intended to provide participating Maine schools with five years of support to develop and implement sustainable, inclusive, and integrated multi-tiered systems of support for all students.

Maine Inclusive Education Model Schools will:

• Build leadership and staff capacity through ongoing coaching and professional learning.
• Implement data-driven decision-making to increase equity, access, and achievement outcomes for the most-marginalized students.
• Prioritize collaborative and inclusive service delivery.
• Commit to increasing the amount of time all students with disabilities spend in general education settings.
• Ground standards-based curriculum and instruction in universal design for learning (UDL) principles.

Who can apply for Cohort 1 (2025-2030)

The Maine DOE and UMF are currently seeking applications from public elementary school leaders serving students in pre-K through grade 5 who are deeply committed to inclusion and are ready to reimagine and realign their schools to better meet the diverse needs of all learners. Secondary schools will be able to apply for subsequent cohorts.

What participating Cohort 1 schools will receive

Pilot schools participating in Cohort 1 will receive five years of support from inclusive education experts to implement pilot project goals. Supports will include:

• A summer orientation in year one.
• Access to annual summer inclusion institutes in years two through five.
• Leadership support and staff professional development from inclusive education experts in years one through five.
• A network of pilot school cohort leaders and staff.

Commitments for pilot schools include:

• Leadership development and coaching.
• Participation in professional development and coaching.
• Realignment of school schedules and service delivery models to more effectively and inclusively meet the needs of all learners.
• Hiring or reassigning of a current educator to serve as the school inclusion facilitator to support sustainability.
• Serving as a model inclusion school (e.g., being available for on-site visits from educators and families, participating in video recordings of classroom practice, doing interviews, etc.)
• Participating in a research study conducted by Drs. Kate MacLeod and Jessica Apgar of UMF.

Please join the Maine DOE and UMF for a virtual information session on February 26, 2025, from 2-3 p.m. via Zoom to learn more before submitting your materials. You may register here in advance for the meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Applications are welcome from all interested public elementary school leaders in Maine who have started the work of improving inclusive education in their schools.

If you would like to receive an application, please complete this form. Once you’ve completed the form, you will receive the application from Dr. Kate MacLeod (kate.macleod@maine.edu). The application deadline is March 14, 2025.

School finalists will be selected for site visits and interviews, and three elementary schools representing diverse demographic and geographical regions will be accepted into Cohort 1.

For further questions, please reach out to Tracy Whitlock, Maine DOE Special Projects Coordinator for the Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education, at tracy.w.whitlock@maine.gov.