FARMINGTON — The Maine Dept. of Education Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education and the University of Maine at Farmington recently hosted more than 150 dedicated school leaders and educators, from Millinocket to Sanford, at their annual Inclusive Education Leadership Symposium on the UMF campus.
An inclusive education happens when all students experience belonging and are presumed capable of learning and worthy of a high-quality, challenging and equitable education.
In its fourth year, the symposium brought together a network of Maine school and district leaders to learn, collaborate, solve problems and share experiences and effective practices to support the learning of every student in general education classrooms and the broader school community.
The Maine DOE and UMF initiative is led by Kate MacLeod, associate professor of special education, and Jessica Apgar, assistant professor of special education, to help educational leaders throughout Maine make meaningful connections with national and state experts and other Maine school leaders engaged in the work of inclusive change.
“The Symposium is one of my favorite days of the year,” MacLeod said. “It is a wonderful opportunity to gather a group of school leaders from across the great state of Maine, celebrate their vision, honor their work and support them to build more inclusive schools.”
The symposium featured distinguished speakers including a keynote workshop by Jennifer Greer, Lindsey Hayes, Cat Merkle, members of the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform Center, a national technical assistance center funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs.
Leadership sessions were also led by MacLeod, Apgar, CEEDAR facilitators and Tracy Whitlock of the office of special services & inclusive education with the Maine Department of Education, as participants worked on action-planning for the future.
Whitlock from Maine DOE says, “School leaders are busy and the Inclusive Education Leadership Symposium provides time and space for them to come together as teams to learn, collaborate and plan for meaningful inclusion for all of their students. It is an energizing and empowering day.”
Participants found the sessions a valuable professional development resource and noted, “I’m leaving the symposium with tools and strategies to continue to move the work forward in our district.”
The Symposium is in conjunction with the Maine Inclusive Education Project a 5-year initiative (2025-30), run by the Maine DOE in partnership with UMF, focused on helping public elementary schools in Maine move away from segregated special education silos and increase the time students with disabilities spend in general education classrooms.
The goal of inclusive education is to prepare all students to learn and grow together in ways that lead to meaningful and inclusive post-secondary lives.
“What a dream to do this work,” Apgar said. “I am grateful for our collaboration with the Maine DOE and CEEDAR partners who make the magic happen and care deeply about supporting leaders and educators to create schools where all students learn and belong.”
This multi-year project is currently partnering with three Maine public schools that are working to develop inclusive school culture, systems, schedules, structures and practices. These model schools include Leeds Central School, Downeast School and Turner Elementary School that will serve as learning sites for the State.
The model schools are open to scheduled leadership and educator visits, host UMF student teachers, share best practices with the field at conferences and events, and participate in ongoing research to inspire equitable, statewide systems change.
The Maine Inclusive Education Project is supported through federal grant funding and a partnership with the University of Maine.