Family Engagement

Resources to strengthen connections with families
Families play a key role in their children’s language development and possess a wealth of knowledge about their children’s language use in home and community environments. At WIDA, we recognize families as experts in their children’s language learning and development. Engaging with families to learn from them about their children’s language use and development is at the core of language-focused family engagement.
The resources listed below provide professional learning for early care and education professionals, and K-12 educators, as well as resources and ACCESS assessment materials that educators can share with families.

Grow Your Knowledge and Understanding
Explore resources to support your professional learning on topics related to language-focused family engagement. Read these resources independently or collaboratively with your peers.
- ABCs of Family Engagement
- Focus Bulletins
- Parent Research Summaries for Educators (TBA)

Explain ELL Status and Language Testing
Find resources to help explain to families of multilingual learners key concepts, terms, and processes related to EL identification and language testing. Resources include parent-friendly guides, flyers, and videos.
- Explaining ELL Status (flyer in 13 languages)
- What Is Language Testing? (flyer in 13 languages)
- My Child Is an ELL (video series in English)
- My Child Is an ELL (video series in Spanish)
- What Is ACCESS for ELLs? (handout in 13 languages)
- ACCESS for ELLs: Understanding Your Child's Scores (guide in 13 languages)
- Alternate ACCESS for ELLs: Understanding Your Child's Scores (guide in 13 languages)

Promote and Support Family Engagement
Find useful information and activities for families of multilingual learners that promote family engagement at home by highlighting various ways families support children’s language development.
- Family Activity Packets (Arabic, English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish)
- Family Connections Through Home Languages (Arabic, English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish)
- Introducing WIDA (video in English)
- Introducing WIDA (video in Spanish)
- Boletín de enfoque: la participación familiar