Registration for the WIDA Annual Conference is open

Get ready to spark ideas, build connections and supercharge your teaching practices — registration for the 2025 WIDA Annual Conference is open! This year’s gathering of passionate educators, leaders and innovators will be in-person in Seattle, Washington, from October 28-30, 2025, with an exciting virtual day on October 27, 2025.  

We’re gathering under the theme of “Igniting innovation for multilingual learners” to emphasize the importance of innovative strategies and tools to enhance the learning experiences of your students.

This conference is by teachers, for teachers. Watch the video below to learn what some attendees from last year took away from the conference.  

Keynote Speaker

We’re thrilled to announce our keynote speaker for this year’s conference: the brilliant Viet Thanh Nguyen! A Pulitzer Prize-winning author, university professor and powerful voice for the immigrant and refugee experience, Viet brings a depth of insight and humanity that will resonate deeply with educators of multilingual learners.  

He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Sympathizer. Beyond his fiction, Viet’s nonfiction work — like Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War — challenges us to rethink memory, identity and belonging across cultures.  

Viet’s journey from a Vietnamese refugee resettled in Pennsylvania and California to a celebrated professor and literary force at the University of Southern California is a powerful testament to the transformative power of education, language and perseverance. His work and life reflect the issues that multilingual learners and their teachers navigate every day: cultural adaptation, linguistic identity, displacement and resilience. His keynote promises to challenge, inspire and affirm the critical work of educators who are shaping the next generation.  

Virtual attendees will get a recording of the in-person keynote.

Special Virtual Track

Just like last year, we have a specially curated virtual track for the WIDA Annual Conference, and it includes a speaker who is sure to inspire.  

Javier Zamora is a memoirist and poet and brings a personal and timely perspective to the conversation of newcomers and the power of language. His best-selling memoir Solito recounts his journey from El Salvador to the United States as a nine-year-old child traveling alone — guided by strangers and the hope of reuniting with his parents. His voice is one that speaks directly to educators of multilingual learners. Javier helps us understand how language can be both a lifeline and bridge across cultures, and how educators can play a vital role in that journey.

Javier’s speech will not only shed light on the lived experiences of many of our students but also offer hope and reflection for educators.  

Learn more about our virtual speaker by visiting Javier Zamora’s website.

Thank You!

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we would like to say thank you to all teachers for your dedication, generosity and passion. In addition to the Teacher Appreciation Week registration rate, the first 300 educators to register for the 2025 WIDA Annual Conference during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5-11) will receive a $50 credit to the WIDA Store.*    

Thank you for all that you’ve done (and continue to do) for students and their families, colleagues and your own family, friends and community. We are also thankful to our partners at WCEPS for making this credit possible.  

*This offer is only valid for PreK-12 educators (consultants, higher education professionals and state SEAs will not receive the credit) and does not include shipping. Recipients will receive their WIDA Store credit via email the week of May 12.

Register for #WIDA2025

In-person registration rates:

• Teacher Appreciation Rate is $665 and is available May 5-11
• Early-bird Rate is $700 and is available May 12-August 18

Virtual track registration rates:

• Teacher Appreciation Rate is $195 and is available May 5-11
• Early-bird Rate is $235 and is available May 12-August 18
• Recording-only option is $155

Note: In-person and live virtual track registration also includes post-event access to recordings.

Ready to register? Head over to the Registration page to reserve your seat. Pre-registration is required for all in-person concurrent sessions. Review the entire session schedule so you are prepared to select your choices at registration.