MAASE Projects


In September of 2023, MAASE received a state grant from section 27j of the school aid act that provides funding for the development of multiple pathways of professional learning and support for special education personnel. Training will include the knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to ensure positive results for educators, students with disabilities, their families and community.  The projects below outline the various opportunities that are being developed for aspiring administrators, practicing administrators, building-level leaders, paraeducators, mentors and mentees. 

In collaboration with the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators (MASA), MAASE is developing an alternate pathway for candidates who wish to obtain a Michigan administrator certification along with approval as a special education administrator. The Horizons Academy Plus Special Education is designed for aspiring administrators or those who are in special education administrative positions under temporary approval. 
Logic Model Org Chart Project Updates (coming soon)

Please take a moment to complete a brief survey to help us measure interest in developing an alternate route for special education director approval.

Alternate Route for Special Education Director Approval Survey

Committee Chair:

Michelle Proulx  

Project Manager:

Kathy Barker  

Partners:
The Developing Inclusive Leadership project is aimed at building-level leaders and will be providing training pathways to support administrators in their supervision of special education programming, personnel and compliance. Multiple training options, along with in-course coaching, will ensure that participants will have the knowledge and confidence to effectively lead for all students. 
Logic Model Org Chart Project Updates
 

Committee Co-Chair:

Deana Tuczek 

Committee Co-chair:

Sue Toth 

 Project Manager:

Cheryl-Marie Manson

Partners:

Collaboration to Support Michigan's Paraeducators

To support Michigan’s paraeducators in their school roles and responsibilities, stakeholder groups from the Michigan Education Association (MEA), the Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education (MAASE), the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA), and Opening the Pipeline of Talent into Michigan’s Special Education (OPTIMISE) collaborated with statewide experts and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) to develop effective programming for Michigan's paraeducators.

This collaboration led to the creation of the Paraeducator Toolkit-a comprehensive training program offering 30 hours of training for paraeducators and 1 hour for administrators and supervising teachers. The program features on-demand courses and face-to-face training, providing a systematic, collaborative, and standards-based approach. With proper implementation and teamwork, this toolkit aims to enhance paraeducators' knowledge and skills in Michigan, ultimately improving outcomes for students with disabilities.

Research-Based Program Design
Based on the research of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

The Paraeducator Toolkit is a research-based program aligned with the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Core Competencies for Special Education Paraeducators and the design principles of the CEC’s Paraeducator Assessment and Evaluation Toolkit. The curator of the
Paraeducator Toolkit co-authored each of these CEC projects. 

High Leverage Practices (HLP)

To adhere to best practices in special education, each course within the levels incorporates the CEC’s High Leverage Practices (HLPs).
These HLPs are key practices that all educators should implement when teaching students of diverse backgrounds and abilities, including those with disabilities. By embedding HLPs, the Paraeducator Toolkit ensures that paraeducators’ learning is optimized with best practice.

For more information and to reserve your space, follow this link to join our mailing list!

Train the Trainer Sessions

Logic Model Org Chart Project Updates

 Committee Chair: 

Karlie Parker 

Project Manager:

Cheryl-Marie Manson

Partners:
Mentors and coaches will be utilized to support candidates who are engaged in several of the projects listed above, as well as for MAASE's New Administrator Academy. To ensure high quality coaching from MAASE's mentor pool, this project seeks to outline the necessary training and ongoing support needed for deployment in any coaching opportunity. 
Logic Model Org Chart Project Updates (coming soon)
 

 Committee Chair: 

Chelsea Korzecki

Project Manager:

Kathy Baker

Partner:
The Michigan Special Education Resource Center (MiSERC) is a hub for special education resources, interactive technical assistance and training for a multitude of topics that support the education of students with disabilities. MAASE is excited to partner with the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA) on the development and launch of the MiSERC platform. 

Advisory Committee
Co-Chair

Rachel Fuerer 

Advisory Committee
Co-Chair

Ben Hicks 

Partner:

For more information about any of these projects please contact Ben Hicks at benhicks@maase.org