Programs and Services

Goals

Embracing the WIDA mission, our professional development aims to promote educational excellence in classrooms, schools, and systems across our consortium. As we develop these opportunities, our goal is that the professional development we offer will share four common traits:

A student-centered focus
Inclusion of best practices
Adaptability and customization to particular needs across the consortium
Opportunities for building capacity across the consortium, including train-of-trainers workshops

Levels of Professional Development Coordination

WIDA recognizes the need for professional development to address the challenges faced at three separate levels: in the classroom, for schools, and for state educational agencies.

At the classroom level, WIDA's professional development opportunities provide teachers with the tools necessary to empower their students to achieve their academic and linguistic goals.

At the school or district level, WIDA offers opportunities for teams of teachers and administrators to collaborate in making curricular and instructional decisions based on classroom and testing data. Emphasis is placed on enhancing the creation, use, and analysis of assessments, facilitating school reform, and understanding language acquisition issues. As professional learning communities, schools can move forward with common understandings and goals to improve the education of ELLs.

WIDA also works with state educational agencies to promote systemic and systematic changes and capacity-building across the consortium. As partners, we work together in developing state-wide professional development opportunities targeting groups of administrators, instructional teams, and teachers.

WIDA Professional Development Offerings

Please click on each professional development opportunity's title to read a more detailed description of its content.

Presentation Title	Time	Audience(s)	Objectives
Assessment
ACCESS for ELLs^® assessment	One day	- Test facilitators - Test administrators - Limit: 25-100 participants	- Understand how test items are organized - Understand the background and structure of the four components of the test - Be able to apply the speaking test rubric and reliably score the speaking test
WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT)™	One day	- Test facilitators - Test administrators - Limit: 25-100 participants	- Understand how test items are organized - Be able to administer and score the listening and reading test - Be able to apply the speaking and writing test rubrics and reliably score the speaking and writing test
LADDER for ELLs/ Data Retreats	Two three-day meetings per year; support through-out school year; over one-two years	- School teams composed of at least one administrator, one general education teacher, and one ESL and/or bilingual teacher - Limit: 45-75 participants	- Learn to analyze and understand data from standardized, state, local, and classroom assessments - Identify areas of strength and need in the curriculum, instruction, and assessment of ELLs - Create goals for curriculum, instruction, and assessment of ELLs based in the areas of need identified - Develop a plan and monitoring of progress to achieve the goals set for the school site
Curriculum
English Language Proficiency Standards	One day	- General education teachers - ESL and/or bilingual teachers - Limit: 25-100 participants	- Understand the basis for and structure of the WIDA ELP Standard - Learn how the model performance indicators are designed and translated into ACCESS for ELLs^® test items
Instruction
Working with ELLs	One day	- Administrators - General education teachers - Limit: 25-100 participants	- Overview of the language acquisition process - Best practices
Collaborating to Meet the Academic Needs of ELLs	Two-four days	- Instructional teams composed of at least one general education teacher and one ESL and/or bilingual teacher - Limit: 25-75 participants	- Understand the process of language acquisition - Discuss myths and misconceptions about ELLs - Learn how to differentiate instruction for ELLs - Understand how to integrate the WIDA ELP Standards and content standards into classroom instruction - Modeling, ideas, and practice on collaboration, co-planning, and co-teaching
CLIMBS™	One semester course	- School teams of ESL and mainstream teachers; administrators invited to the kick-off meeting - Limit: 25-50 participants	- Understand how to integrate the WIDA ELP Standards and content standards into classroom instruction and assessment - Learn how to shelter academic content and build language proficiency for ELLs - Understand the use of data from a variety of assessments to inform instruction - Build collaborative relationships
Other
Customize your own workshop	As needed	- As needed	- The possibilities are endless!