THINK INCLUSIVE JOINS MARYLAND NONPROFIT MCIE AS OFFICIAL BLOG

Maryland nonprofit MCIE is pleased to announce its recent hire of Tim Villegas, education blogger and Founder of Think Inclusive, as Director of Communications, working remotely from Marietta, GA. Within this position, Villegas will retain his editor in chief role at Think Inclusive, which will become MCIE’s official blog. This pairing is part of a rebranding effort for MCIE, that has spent the last three decades partnering with school districts on systemic reforms to include students who are at the greatest risk of being excluded. Expect to see more information from MCIE through Think Inclusive about evidence-based practices on inclusive education, perspectives of families, educators, and youth; and the successful strategies used by MCIE in creating inclusive school communities.

"It has been a dream of mine to work for an organization that aligns with my values of inclusive education for all students, even those who have complex support needs," Villegas said. "When people see that inclusive education is not only possible but that districts around the United States achieve full inclusion for students with disabilities at rates of at least 90%, it will encourage more systems to change their practices of segregating students into disability-specific programs."

Villegas comes to MCIE with sixteen years of experience working in public education. Villegas recently worked as a district-level special education program specialist for a school system in the Atlanta Metro area supporting students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emotional and behavioral needs, and intellectual disabilities. After work hours, Villegas managed the blog Think Inclusive, known for advocating for the authentic inclusion of students with disabilities in their schools and communities and listed as one of the world's top 100 education blogs. The reputation of systems change in education by MCIE, and the digital and social media reach of Think Inclusive make this pairing a powerful voice for advocacy and information dissemination.

"I intend to shine a light on the work that MCIE has done to bring about real change in the school districts that they have partnered with," he said. "In my experience, people rarely change their minds about inclusion unless they see successful examples. With the body of work that MCIE has produced, it will be hard to ignore their results."

MCIE will be releasing its resource-rich rebranded website in the early Fall of 2020, with Think Inclusive's updated site later in the year. For more information, contact Tim Villegas at 626-390-1043, email tvillegas@mcie.org, or visit the MCIE website at www.mcie.org.

###

The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education, Inc. (MCIE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the success of all children and youth in their school communities. Our mission is to be the catalyst for the meaningful and successful inclusion of all students in their neighborhood schools.

MCIE has a vision of a society where neighborhood schools welcome all students, engage them in learning, and form the foundation for inclusive communities. We envision that in neighborhood schools, students with and without disabilities will benefit from meaningful instruction, have friends, and be full members of their school communities.