Orders for ACCESS For ELLs and ALT ACCESS

October 14-November 23, 2020

A materials order must be placed for ACCESS for ELLs or ALT ACCESS for both testing modes, online or paper, through DRC using WIDA AMS. Building Test Coordinators/District Test Coordinators should follow the test materials ordering procedures outlined in the WIDA Assessment Management System (WIDA AMS) User Guide. All orders must be placed between October 14 - November 23 in order for schools or districts to receive materials during the shipment window. Pre-ID labels will be included in the initial materials shipment regardless of materials ordered.

ORDERING MATERIALS

1. Log in to WIDA AMS. 
2. Click Materials>Materials Ordering. 
3. Choose the administration WY ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 2020-2021.
4. Click Show Materials.

View the Ordering Materials tutorial in the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs training course. You may access the training course on the WIDA Secure Portal by logging in at the top right corner of the homepage. Once you are logged in, you can select the appropriate training course.

Ordering Materials Training

Webinar Noon-1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13

This webinar will provide how-to information on ordering test materials for paper and online testing, monitoring order status, confirming shipping address, communicating ordering expectations, and sharing ordering considerations for grade levels 1-3 and 4-5.

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.

The EL Guidebook sets forth the conditions and methods for identifying, serving, and reporting to the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) a student as an Active English Learner (EL) or EL on Monitor Status. The EL Guidebook provides support for Wyoming educators, administrators, and school board members in their continuing efforts to address the linguistic and educational needs of ELs. To help local education agencies (LEAs) plan further for EL success in school, the WDE has developed guidance, materials, and broad recommendations concerning standards, instruction, and assessment information for English Learners, as well as information on mandated policies and best practices.

Follow this link to the updated 2020-2021 EL Guidebook. 

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.

WIDA Training Opportunity 

Webinar 1: November 3, 2020

Webinar 2: November 17, 2020

This eWorkshop is designed to support mathematics educators and language specialists who have responsibility to share their learning with colleagues through collaboration or coaching. Participants will explore the importance of equitable engagement in math conversations for multilingual learners in a three-part webinar series. By engaging in this eWorkshop, participants will build their skills in:

• Recognizing characteristics of equitable classroom spaces where multilingual learners engage in deep mathematical discourse.

• Structuring supports and scaffolding that build students’ repertoires for communicating their math questions and ideas.

• Deciding when to guide students toward more precise mathematical language.

All materials and the webinar platform will be housed in the WIDA eLearning Center, which can be accessed by participants with a WIDA Secure Portal login. Participants are required to do pre-webinar work beginning October 19, 2020 and must be completed before the two above webinar dates.

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.

October 5, 2020-January 29, 2021 (6 modules)

Participants will have two weeks to complete each module, focusing on the following Guiding Questions: 

• Module 1: What is different about teaching reading in English to bilingual students? 
• Module 2: How can I use co-constructed texts to help my bilingual learners read texts with confidence? 
• Module 3: How can Shared Reading help bilingual learners read and comprehend texts in English? 
• Module 4: How do patterned texts help bilingual learners read and produce sophisticated, fluent text? 
• Module 5: How can I help my bilingual learners develop a deep curiosity for the way language works? 
• Module 6: Answer the Essential Question.

Review the workshop schedule for more details.

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.

WDE is committed to providing educators with English Learner (EL) professional learning opportunities. Professional learning is a process that continues over time and extends into practice. The goal is to provide ongoing, relevant opportunities that meet all educators' needs and stages of career development. Professional development opportunities that will occur throughout the 2020-2021 SY are posted on the EL Webpage under WIDA Workshops/Training provided by WDE. 

For more information, contact Antoinette Hallam, WDE EL Consultant, at 307-777-5217 or antoinette.hallam@wyo.gov.

Starting at Noon on October 16

WIDA is offering The WIDA eSummit, a free virtual learning opportunity for educators, which will take place October 12–30, 2020. An additional session topic has been added to the first week of the WIDA eSummit!the session titled “Collaborative Planning for Content and Language Integration,” which can be found under the weekly theme of the WIDA ELD Standards, 2020 Edition. This session will focus on collaborative planning for content and language. The full session description can be found on the WIDA eSummit webpage. 

Registration is not required; however, attendees must have a WIDA Secure Portal Account. 

Weekly Topics: 

Week 1: Session will introduce the WIDA ELD Standards, 2020 Edition, discuss the Proficiency Level Descriptors, and update Key Language Use. 

Week 2: Sessions will focused on the intentional planning and implementation of instructional practices that support language development and content learning.This will include a panel discussion with the WIDA Fellows exploring responses to COVID-1.

Week 3: Session will discuss the WIDA Assessment system, WIDA Screener for Kindergarten, and WIDA MODEL.