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 Jan. 20, 2025
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ACCESS Testing
As we move through the WIDA ACCESS testing window, we, at the Kentucky Department of Education, recognize the dedication and care you bring to supporting English Learners. Your efforts make a lasting impact on student success, not just now, but throughout the school year. Please know we are here to support you every step of the way.
New WIDA Alternate ACCESS Exit Criteria
The Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA) has announced that, starting in the 2025-2026 school year, English Learners taking the WIDA Alternate ACCESS will meet exit criteria with an Overall Score of Proficiency Level (PL) 3. For more information, please refer to the Dec.15, 2025 Monday DAC email or the December DAC webcast and recording.
Upcoming Virtual Office Hours
Voices From the Field: Meaningful Engagement with EL Families
District leaders, please take advantage of the opportunity on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, to hear from Scott County’s Windy Holbrook and Abby Deloya, and Butler County’s Tim Wilson as they discuss how each district has found success engaging multilingual families through meaningful parent engagement. Session Time and Virtual Link:
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Voices from the Field:
It's What They Can Do: ML's in the General Classroom by Jenn Bufkin, Owensboro Public Schools.
Resources and recordings from the Dec.10, 2025 session are linked in the image above and also on KDE’s English Learner and Immigrant Resources website:
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Video 1: Introduction
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Video 2: My Student’s Story and What I Did Wrong
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Video 3: Adopting an Asset-Based Approach
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Video 4: Having High Expectations with High Supports
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Video 5: Strategies for High Expectations with High Supports
- Presentation slides
- Jenn’s Resource Padlet
Future Professional Learning Opportunities?
Supporting Dually-Identified Students: ELs with Disabilities
Join us virtually on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2025, as we learn from the Office of Special Education and Early Learning’s (OSEEL) Melissa Whalen, as she presents information on the rights of ELs with disabilities and the responsibilities of districts. Please share this invitation with DoSe, Exceptional Education teachers, School Psychologists, and ELD teachers.
Session Times and Virtual Links
Free WIDA Webinar- Using WIDA MODEL Test Scores to Inform Planning
The next WIDA Webinar, “How to Use WIDA MODEL Test Scores to Inform Instructional Planning,” is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. Participants will learn how WIDA MODEL test scores can support instructional planning. Presenters will provide resources to better understand and use test scores, including using them to help predict scores on WIDA ACCESS and to support instruction for multilingual learners in grades K-12.
Register for the MODEL webinar
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