News

The February 2019 edition of WIDA News includes our Featured Educator, WIDA Fellows Nominations, information about our summer academies, and the answer of the month from our Client Services team.

A special message from Tim Boals, WIDA Founder and Director

Abigail Billman has been chosen for the October 2018 WIDA Featured Educator due to her amazing rapport with her students and her passion for creating a school environment that is rigorous, challenging, safe and supportive.

WIDA is developing a 2020 edition of its English Language Development Standards. At this stage in the process, WIDA seeks input from the public to help ensure the standards serve as an important tool for the multilingual community.

Heather Brooke Robertson has worked with ELLs ranging from 4K-8th grade in both California and Wisconsin. She has also started the company Books Del Sur which imports rich, bilingual texts from Latin America. This fall, Heather will begin co-teaching at Lincoln Elementary School in Madison, Wisc.

Lori Menning is the English Learner, Bilingual-Bicultural and World Language Consultant for Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) 6 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She is a strong advocate for language learners at the local, state, and national level.

"I appreciate how the standards make me focus on the specialized language skills required in different content areas. I have to ask myself questions like, “What kind of language does a student need to be successful in science, or math?” ... The standards hold me accountable to make sure I am addressing the needs of my students in every subject area."

– Jessica LeCrone, ESL teacher, North Carolina

The June 2019 edition of WIDA News includes our Featured Educator, WIDA spring cleaning, an introduction to the WIDA School Improvement System, upcoming professional learning opportunities, and much more!

Hanna Gneiting serves as a Youth Programs Manager for the Outdoor Outreach Organization based in San Diego where she helps to empower students through outdoor activities.

This month's featured educator, Carly Spina, serves as an EL/Bilingual Instructional Coach for eight schools in the linguistically rich community of Glenview, IL. She was chosen, in part, due to her passion for her students and for social justice.