On August 4th our Multilingual team shared information that focused on WIDA Screening updates, tips for managing notification letters, grant updates, and WIDA professional learning opportunities. Please see the slides and recording.
Please join us on September 1 for our monthly information session.
2022-23 Information Session Dates: Sept. 1, Oct. 6, Nov. 3, Dec. 1, Jan. 5, Feb. 2, Mar. 2, Apr. 6, May 4, and Jun 1
Add sessions to calendar: AM Session (9-10 am) | PM Session (3-4 pm)
For previous resources please go to the Multilingual Education Webinars and Newsletters page.
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Updated family notification letters are live on our Family Communication Templates webpage. These include:
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Notification of Placement for new students which must be sent within 10 school days of new student placement.
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Notification of Continued Eligibility for students who are continuing in program. These must be sent within the first 30 calendar days of the start of the school year.
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Notification of Continued Eligibility for students who take the Alternate ACCESS.
All notifications have been translated with 40 languages available. More information was provided at the Aug. 4 Information Session. See slides and recording above.
Eastside ML Teacher Leader Cohort
Space is still available in the Eastside ML Teacher Leader Cohort. Please complete the Eastside ML Teacher Leader application by August 19 to indicate your interest.
The Multilingual Learner Teacher Leader Cohort is a collaborative group designed to support teacher-leaders who are working with teacher teams to implement the WIDA ELD Standards Framework and includes access to one virtual webinar and one full-day in-person WIDA workshop as well as monthly PLC meetings. Applicants should be in positions in which they regularly work with general education teacher teams and can support them in unit planning to integrate content, language, and literacy for multilingual learners.
Contact Virginia Morales or Katie Sperling if you have any questions.
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Screener Updates
Policies have been updated on screening kindergarten students, transitional kindergarten (TK) students, and students transferring from out-of-state who have WIDA ACCESS Scores. To briefly summarize these changes:
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Kindergarten Students will only be screened on Listening and Speaking domains in the fall prior to January 1st and must achieve a 5 or higher in both domains to be ineligible for services.
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Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Students can be provisionally qualified for services until after May 1st when they should be screened using the WIDA Kindergarten Screener. OSPI does not encourage use of the WIDA K Screener for identifying TK students for ELD services in the fall because the test has not been normed for students younger than 5. However, if a district determines that the screener could be useful to set a benchmark or learn more about a TK student’s English skills at the beginning of the year, the district can use the screener for this purpose locally but would not report scores to the state or use scores to identify the student officially for ELD services.
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Out-of-State Transfer Students who have WIDA ACCESS scores will not need to screen if those scores either show that they met the WA state exit criteria or if they have scores within 12 months that show them to still be eligible for services.
For more details on these policies, please see the slides and recording from our Aug. 4th Information Session above and the July 22 ELP Assessment update.
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CEDARS Reporting
Guidance for reporting kindergarten screener results and provisional status for transitional kindergarten students is available in the July 28 ELP Assessment Update.
WIDA Screener Materials
The WIDA Store has developed a new process for ordering materials for Kindergarten Screener. Only district level staff can order materials for WIDA Kindergarten Screener. See the July 14 ELP Assessment Update for more information.
Districts should have received Grade 1 writing booklets this week. Districts will need to print additional booklets from the WIDA Secure Portal when they run out of OSPI-provided test materials.
Sunsetting Provisional Status
With the return to pre-pandemic operating procedures in the 2022-23 school year, provisional status will no longer be an option for potentially eligible multilingual learners, except for TK students. Whether students attend brick-and-mortar schools or online schools, students who are potentially eligible for ELD services must screen using the WIDA Screener.
The Zoom at Noon
OSPI is bringing back Lunch with Leslie for the 2022-23 school year. This is an opportunity on Mondays at noon for districts to hear updates from OSPI, ask questions about WIDA assessments, or find out how other districts are approaching testing processes.
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August 15 at noon | Topic: TBD | Zoom
WIDA Professional Learning
All self-paced WIDA eWorkshops must be completed by August 31, 2022 in order to earn clock hours. Remember to download all relevant materials by that date. The Secure Portal will refresh on September 1 and offerings for the 2022-23 school year will become available. See the May 5, 2022 Monthly Information Session slides and recording for more information.
Family Engagement Resources Available in Ukrainian
To support refugee students and families from the Ukraine, the WIDA Consortium has translated some of their family engagement resources in Ukrainian. The newly translated resources, which are housed on the Family Engagement webpage under Explain ELL Status and Language Testing , and Promote and Support Family Engagement (print resources only), help explain things like ELL status and language testing, and provide families with things they can do to support children’s language development.
Program Evaluation Data
Both the TBIP and Title III grants require districts to complete a table that includes their most recent data for multilingual learners and continuous improvement plans based on those data. Some of these data are readily available in WIDA-AMS while others are more difficult to obtain. OSPI is working on a data dashboard to provide these data in the Secure Tableau Server in EDS but it is not yet available.
For data that you are unable to provide locally, please list “No Data Available” and still provide action steps you have planned to address the needs of each of these groups (current ML students, exited students, LTELs, and dual-qualified MLs with disabilities) to the best of your ability.
Title III Grant Application in EGMS
The Title III Grant Application in the ESEA Consolidated Grant Application (CGA) within EGMS is opening. The fiscal team at OSPI is in process of approving the pre-applications, which once approved allows districts to convert the pre-application to an application. The Title III Consortium pre-applications have been approved and districts can now convert their pre-applications into applications. For support completing the application, please visit the EGMS website and view the Instructions to Complete the Title III Consortium Grant Application in EGMS (pdf).
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TBIP Grant Application
TBIP grant applications were due August 1st. If your district has not yet submitted this application, please do so ASAP. The updated TBIP Grant Application Notes provide guidance and instructions for completing the TBIP Grant Application in iGrants.
For additional support on grant applications, please contact your program supervisor.
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White Paper Examines Challenges and Opportunities for Welcoming Newcomers with Disabilities into Dual Language Programs
New Publication from the National Dual Language Forum
Fred Genesee, John Hilliard, Cristina Sánchez-López, and Theresa Young
This white paper reviews evidence concerning the capacity of young learners with disabilities to acquire more than one language during the preschool and school years and the characteristics of dual language programs and classroom instruction and intervention practices that support their language development, learning, and well-being in school.
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Reporting World Language Proficiency, Competency-based Credits, and the Seal of Biliteracy
OSPI is hosting a series of free, virtual, 90-minute workshops about reporting world language competency-based credits and the Seal of Biliteracy. The workshops are intended for registrars, educators, counselor, administrators, assessment coordinators, and others who report world language proficiency data. Information and registration.
Dual Language Education and Resources page.
These professional learning opportunities are shared for your information but do not constitute an endorsement by OSPI of any specific organizations.
WAESOL – 2022 Grant, Award, and Scholarship Opportunities
WAESOL is accepting applications for professional development grants as well as conference scholarships for their 2022 Fall Conference. WAESOL is also accepting nominations for the Sally Wellman Excellence in Teaching Award and the Outstanding Volunteer Award. The deadline to submit is September 18, 2022.
See Grants, Awards, Scholarships – WAESOL for more information and to submit an application.
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Registration is now open for the 2022 WAESOL Conference | Where the World Meets | Join along with 300 of your colleagues, 40+ in person sessions, as well as approximately 10 online sessions. (Earn up to 19 Clock hours.)
Date: October 22
Time: 8 am - 5 pm
Venue: Highline College in Des Moines, WA (16 miles south of Seattle)
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Registration is open for the 2022 WABE Hybrid Fall Institute. | Supporting Language Learners in Washington is a critical endeavor. Students in our schools speak over 225 different languages, and all are learning English though a variety of methods. | Early registration ends August 15, 2022.
Dates: October 21 – 22, 2022
Location: Wenatchee Convention Center and virtual attendance option.
Submit a proposal to present at the WABE Fall Institute.
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ELL Endorsement Academy | Seattle University’s College of Education offers an online English Language Learner (ELL) endorsement academy for Washington state teachers.
Start Date: Fall Quarter 2022
Duration: Intensive 9-month program with 24 credits
Cost: Post-BA Track: $300/per credit
For more information please visit the ELL Endorsement Academy website.
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Registration is open for the 2022 La Cosecha Dual Language Conference | Join us as we share current theories, best practices, resources, and build networks to fuel our community's efforts for a better future for our children!
Dates: November 2 – 5, 2022
Location: Santa Fe, NM
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 Kristin Percy Calaff, Ph.D. – Director of Multilingual Education | 564-999-3144c
Virginia Morales – Supporting (NW) ESD 121 & 189 | Multilingual Education Program Supervisor | 360-725-4477
Shannon Martin – Supporting (SW) ESD 112, 113 & 114 | Multilingual Education Program Supervisor | 360-725-4476
Katie Sperling – Supporting (NE) ESD 101 & 171 | Multilingual Education Program Supervisor
Sue Connolly – Supporting (SE) ESD 105, 123 & Charter Schools | Multilingual Education Program Supervisor | 360-522-0001c
Patty Finnegan, Ph.D. – Assistant Director of Dual Language | 360-725-4468
Ema Shirk – Supporting Dual Language for all districts | Dual Language Program Supervisor
Teresa Mendoza-Casby – Supporting Dual Language for all districts | Dual Language Program Supervisor
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