News

WIDA announces that the Virginia Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood Care and Education has joined the WIDA Early Years member state network.

Jovita Gandolfo is a teacher of the Deaf and hard of hearing at La Follette High School in Madison, Wisconsin. Not only was Jovita nominated by a student (a first for Featured Educator), but she is also interviewed by that very same student! Learn more about Jovita by reading this question-and-answer style interview.

WIDA Early Years eLearning has moved to the WIDA Secure Portal, a members-only hub for WIDA professional learning courses and resources. Learn more about WIDA Early Years eLearning, what changed, and how to create a WIDA Secure Portal account.

The 2021 WIDA eConference, which takes place on October 14, features a keynote address by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. It also includes sessions led by and for educators, plus sessions on new WIDA resources – and how to use them in the classroom – like Marco ALE, a Spanish language arts framework, the WIDA ELD Standards Framework, 2020 Edition and WIDA Screener for Kindergarten.

Check out Marco ALE, a Spanish language arts framework from WIDA! Available now are two Marco ALE documents — Aplicación para la actualización y desarrollo de estándares and Aplicación para la enseñanza. These documents inform Spanish language arts standards development and instruction and are meant to guide states, districts and teachers as they implement Marco ALE.

Échele un vistazo al Marco de referencia de las artes del lenguaje del español de WIDA (Marco ALE). Marco ALE está disponible en dos documentos — Aplicación para la actualización y desarrollo de estándares y Aplicación para la enseñanza. Estos documentos sirven como guías para que educadores a nivel de estado, local, escolar y del salón usen el Marco ALE para el desarrollo de estándares e instrucción de las artes del lenguaje del español.

In this edition of Conversations with Tim, Tim talks to Cristina Alfaro, professor of dual language and English learner education at San Diego State University. Cristina lent her expertise to WIDA Español’s new Spanish language arts framework, Marco ALE, and she and Tim talk about the importance of instrucción en español.

Need help getting into the redesigned WIDA Secure Portal or finding what you’re looking for as you screen students? Check out this list of answers to the most frequently asked questions coming into the WIDA Client Services Center.

Learn more about two featured educators: Jenn Henderson and Jill Kraft, instructional coaches and 2021 WIDA eConference presenters. Jenn and Jill teach at Aurora Central High School in Aurora, Colorado.

Learn how to use the redesigned WIDA Secure Portal, including where to find the assessment training, professional learning and resources that matter to you.