August Virtual Office Hours
Need support with enrollment, WIDA screening, Program Service Plans (PSPs) or parent notification requirements? Join members of KDE's EL cross-agency team for an open virtual office hour. Each session will include a brief overview of key KDE resources followed by an open Q&A to address your beginning-of-year questions.
Join using the Teams link on one of the following dates:
Use the New KDE English Learner Program Guidebook!
The start of the school year brings important responsibilities for supporting ELs, and the new English Learner Program Guidebook is a valuable resource to help educators navigate this work. Several sections may be especially helpful during the opening weeks of school, including:
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Chapter 2: Guidance for enrolling, identifying and screening potential ELs, including an enrollment flowchart and sample enrollment scenarios located in the appendix.
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Chapter 3: Resources for developing PSPs and meeting parent notification requirements, along with new guidance for assigning instructional accommodations found in the appendix.
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Chapter 5: A comprehensive collection of instructional scaffolds to support ELs across content areas.
2026 Continuous Improvement Summit Registration
Join educators from across Kentucky at the 2026 Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit, Sept. 21-22 at the Central Bank Center in Lexington. This year's Summit features several sessions focused on supporting English Learners. Whether you're a teacher working with ELs, an instructional coach or a school leader, you'll find opportunities to explore effective instruction, leadership, compliance and collaborative practices that support EL success.
Featured sessions include:
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Unlocking Potential: A Leader's Blueprint for Supporting Multilingual Learners in the General Education Classroom (Deidra Hightower, KDE)
- Intended audience: School and district leaders
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Talk it Out!: Leveraging Oral Language to Support ELs in the Science of Reading (Amelia Powers & Will Spalding, KDE)
- Intended audience: General education teachers and administrators
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The Lau Plan: Requirements and Recommendations for Every District (Brandy Neal, KDE)
- Intended audience: District leaders
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The English Learner "Big Ideas" of Leadership: Beyond Compliance to Excellence (Will Spalding, KDE)
- Intended audience: School and district leaders
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Better Together: Maximizing Success for Multilingual Learners Through Co-Teaching (Fayette County Schools)
- Intended audience: General education teachers, ELD teachers, and administrators
Don't miss this opportunity to connect with colleagues, gain practical strategies and strengthen outcomes for Kentucky's multilingual learners. Register today for the Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit.
WIDA ACCESS Exit Criteria Committee Work
KDE is revising the WIDA ACCESS English Learner exit criteria to align with the new WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards and seeking ELD specialists, administrators and other educators with expertise to help review and refine the criteria. Participants will collaborate with colleagues from across the Commonwealth to examine data, share expertise and help shape the exit criteria for Kentucky's ELs.
The committee meeting will take place in November. This delay will ensure that the department has received the data from the WIDA ACCESS standards setting, which is critical to the reclassification process. All participants will receive a stipend. Interested educators should complete the ACCESS Reclassification Application by Monday, September 28.
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Margalee Conlee is an IT Project Manager in KDE’s Office of Continuous Improvement and Support. She works with data collection and reporting for English Learner and Immigrant students and programs. Margalee works closely with districts and KDE staff to promote data integrity and ensure appropriate services and accommodations for students through guidance and technical assistance. |
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Brandy Neal serves as the Title III program consultant in the Office of Continuous Improvement and Support (OCIS). Her background includes 20 years of experience as a PK-3 teacher and an assistant principal. Brandy provides statewide technical assistance and support for core EL programs and Title III grants. |
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Windy Spalding is a data analyst and manager with KDE’s Office of Continuous Improvement and Support (OCIS). She leads data collection and reporting for English Learner and immigrant students and programs. Windy also provides guidance and technical assistance to districts and KDE teams to ensure high-quality data and appropriate services and accommodations for students. |
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Will Spalding is a multilingual learner specialist through the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL). As a former district EL program leader and administrator, Will supports English language development, grade-level content instruction and EL programs to address challenges, strengthen practices and enhance services for ELs in Kentucky classrooms. |
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Melissa Whalen serves as the English learner students with disabilities (ELSWD) and exceptional children consultant in the Guidance and Support Branch of the Division of IDEA Implementation and Preschool. She brings experience as a teacher of students with moderate and severe disabilities, learning and behavior disorders and preschoolers. She provides statewide technical assistance to district staff and families of students with disabilities |
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Chris Williams is a program consultant in the Office of Assessment and Accountability (OAA). Chris has been with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) for over 20 years, working on EL assessments, accountability and the Student Data Review and Rosters (SDRR) application. She provides EL support to school and district staff through communications and trainings. |
Don't Miss the English Learner Educator Connect Newsletter!
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