Center for Inclusive Excellence

Mission

The Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE) aims to build capacities for inclusive excellence in education and the workplace. Breaking through traditional uni-sector approaches to solving community-wide challenges of gaps in academic achievements and career outcomes, the CIE initiatives are designed with multi-sector partners and with multiple pathways to increase educational access, improve professional effectiveness, and accelerate career advancement.

Center for Inclusive Excellence Coppin State University

Spotlight on Key Initiatives

The Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE) research and development focuses on academic innovation and community transformation in high-need rural and urban communities across Maryland. The research portfolio consists of grants funded by private, state, and federal agencies, including multiple high-visibility and highly competitive awards granted by the United States Department of Education (USDoED).

In 2016, CSU became one of the first HBCUs to receive the large-scale Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant for the Pathways to Professions (P2P) initiative (Huang, 2016-2022). Leveraging evidence-based practices and strategic partnerships, the P2P was designed to build capacities, advance theories, improve practices, and influence polices toward increasing teacher diversity, improving teaching effectiveness, and enhancing P-12 student engagement in high-need communities. The P2P was featured multiple times by the USDoED for its innovation and quality of implementation, and spotlighted at the 2022 USM Symposium hosted by the University System of Maryland.

CSU, in partnership with University of Maryland Eastern Shore, is one of the first two institutions received the award under the Center of Educational Excellence for Black Teachers (CEEBT) program at the USDoED (Huang, 2022-2025). CSU received the top score in the nation-wide competition with high-tech, high-touch, and high-impact strategies specially designed to support aspiring teachers of diverse backgrounds. In celebration of Black History Month, the project was spotlighted by the USDoED in 2022 for the vision and strategies of building a national model for teacher diversity and student success.

Building upon intensive research and extensive field knowledge, the P2P received the top score in the fierce national competition and was awarded the TQP grant once again by the USDoED (Huang, 2022-2027). The P2P signature innovations of MicroCredentials for competency mastery, MicroResidencies for culturally responsive practices, and Inclusive Services specially designed to support teacher diversity are being scaled and implemented among partnering agencies in high-need rural and urban communities across Maryland.

The stackable credentials are uniquely engineered as model “career ladders” to help achieve the goals of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. The innovative stackable options are offered to provide teachers with both the short-term advantage of earning one or more post-baccalaureate certificates and the longer-term option of earning an advanced master’s degree with salary incentives and national prestige (Huang, 2022). Beginning in Fall 2023, the Stackable Credentials will be implemented across P2P partnering agencies including Coppin State University, Salisbury University, Baltimore City Public Schools, Dorchester County Public Schools, Somerset County Public Schools, and Wicomico County Public Schools. Additional information is available at Stackable Credentials.

Spotlight on Key Innovations

The innovative rural-urban MicroResidencies are designed to prepare culturally responsive teachers critical to narrowing opportunity and achievement gaps in high-need schools. The highly structured MicroResidencies are designed to (a) enable practice-based demonstration of culturally responsive practices that support the needs of diverse students, and (b) encourage sustained engagement in a networked improvement community which is critical to teacher development, satisfaction, and retention (Huang, 2022). The MicroResidencies include two complementary components of Clinical Rounds with day-long field experiences, and Clinical Rotations with multi-day micro-immersion experiences through rural-urban exchanges. Aspiring teachers are expected to observe local school culture, develop regional sensibilities, and deliver instructions to support student learning in diverse settings. The P2P MicroResidencies are simultaneously implemented across partnering institutions with universal processes, common assessments, and joint recognitions of teaching competencies critical to student success.

The P2P MicroCredentials are designed for participants to develop, demonstrate, and communicate competencies that are necessary to better engage P-12 students in diverse school settings. Building upon extensive research with multi-agency implementation through multiple federal grants (Huang, 2016-2022, 2019-2024, 2022-2025, 2022-2027), the MicroCredentialing model is designed with three key characteristics: (a) Learning ecosystems are designed through the 3Hs: High-Tech, High-Touch, and High-Impact principles; (b) Learning experiences are anchored by the 3Cs: Curriculum, Co-Curricular, and Community; and (c) Learning outcomes are measured through the 3Es: Engaging Self, Engaging Others, and Engaging in Diverse Communities. The competency-based model aims to empower individuals to be knowledge generators in classrooms and change makers in their professions and communities. Additional information is available at P2P MicroCredentials.

P2P MicroCredential - Cultural Diversity
P2P MicroCredential - Differentiated Instruction
P2P MicroCredential - Universal Design
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Classroom Management
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Assessment and Progress
P2P MicroCredential - Family Engagement
USM Consortium MicroCredential - Culturally Responsive Practices
USM Consortium MicroCredential - Social and Emotional Learning
USM Consortium MicroCredential - Critical Thinking Skills
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Competency-Based Education
USM Consortium MicroCredential - Academic Engagement
USM Consortium MicroCredential - Transformational Technology
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Computational Thinking
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Mathematical Problem Solving
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Teacher Leadership Core Propositions I
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Teacher Leadership Core Propositions II
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Teacher Leadership Action Research I
USM Consortium P2P MicroCredential - Teacher Leadership Action Research II
P2P MicroCredential - Student Success I
P2P MicroCredential - Student Success II
P2P MicroCredential - Leadership Advancement I
P2P MicroCredential - Leadership Advancement II
P2P MicroCredential - Community Engagement I
P2P MicroCredential - Community Engagement II
P2P MicroResidency - Teaching Effectiveness I
P2P MicroResidency - Teaching Effectiveness II
P2P MicroResidency - Inclusive Excellence I
P2P MicroResidency - Inclusive Excellence II
Person using laptop

Credential Innovations

View the Handbook of Research on Credential Innovations for Inclusive Pathways to Professions. Information Science Reference, an imprint of IGI Global.
More Info.
Center for Inclusive Excellence

2023-2024 Annual Progress Report

Advisory Board

Special thank you to the leadership and partnership of the CIE Advisory Council members and their respective agencies for making the various initiatives possible.

Dr. Yi Huang

CIE Executive Director and Research Professor, Coppin State University

Dr. Glynis Barber

Assistant Professor, Coppin State University

Dr. Johnny Brinson

Adjunct Faculty, Coppin State University

Ms. Niya Brown Clinical Faculty, Salisbury University

Dr. Cristina Cammarano

Associate Professor, Salisbury University

Ms. Karen Carroll

Adjunct Faculty, Salisbury University

Mr. Samuel Coffey Principal of Rosemont Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore City Public Schools

Mr. Aaron Deal

Supervisor of New Teacher Induction and Educational Technology, Wicomico County Public Schools

Dr. Bonnie Ennis

Board of Education At Large, Wicomico County Board of Education

Dr. Wyletta Gamble-Lomax

Assistant Professor, Coppin State University

Dr. Patricia Goslee

Associate Professor, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Ms. Tina Greenwood

Coordinator of Instruction and Mentoring, Somerset County Public Schools

Dr. Irma Johnson

Assistant Professor, Coppin State University

Ms. Evelyn Jones

Lecturer, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Dr. Lynnette Jones

Adjunct Instructor, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Dr. Daniel Joseph

Associate Professor, Coppin State University

Mr. Jason Miller

Principal, Prince Street Elementary School, Wicomico County Public Schools

Mr. Dewayne Morgan

Senior Director of Education, Outreach and Pipeline Development, University System of Maryland

Dr. Althea Pennerman

Associate Professor, Salisbury University

Dr. Kim Poole-Sykes

Professor and Department Chair, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Dr. Gurupriya Ramanathan

Assistant Professor, Salisbury University

Dr. Karen Rogers

Associate Professor and Department Chair, Coppin State University

Dr. Nancy Shapiro

Associate Vice Chancellor for Education and Outreach, University System of Maryland

Mr. Andrew Todd

Supervisor of Strategic Planning, Instructional Research, and Teacher Recruitment, Wicomico County Public Schools

Dr. Richard Warren

Professor, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Contact Us

Executive Director and Research Professor

faculty

Program Coordinator, P2P Initiative

staff

Video Spotlight Series

2024 Pathways to Professions (P2P) Leadership Academy

We celebrate another successful year of academic innovation and community transformation among educators, researchers, and community leaders.

Stackable Credentials as Career Ladders for Teacher Advancement

We spotlight CIE's strategic approaches toward increasing teacher effectiveness, improving teacher retention, and accelerating teacher advancement.

Pathways to Professions (P2P) Next Generation Male Educators Initiative

Spotlighting CIE's strategic approaches toward recruiting, preparing, and retaining male educators in high-need rural and urban communities.

2023 Pathways to Professions Leadership Academy

Pathways to Professions (P2P): Innovative Approaches to Preparing Future Teachers