Contact Information
English Learners (ELs) are those students in Wyoming schools whose primary language is a language other than English. English Learners enter Wyoming schools with a variety of language backgrounds, educational experiences and levels of English proficiency. Wyoming State educational agencies, local education agencies and schools are held accountable for increasing English proficiency and core academic content knowledge of English learners.
Wyoming is part of the WIDA (World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment) Consortium, a member-based organization, which provides a flexible suite of tests suitable for all students in Grades K-12 who have been identified as Active English language learners. WIDA is dedicated to the design and implementation of high standards and equitable educational opportunities for English language learners which offers programming for identifying and annually assessing the English language development of its English learners.
Districts, teachers, families can find resources on the WIDA webpage to better understand assessment, instruction, and growth of English Learners and educators. Their Resource Library is full of useful information and documents for everyone connected to an EL student.
Federal Statutes and Guidance for ELs
Title III funding is provided to the WDE by the United States Department of Education (USED). The WDE allocates funding to Wyoming school districts based on the number of Active EL students identified in each district. Wyoming uses the various WIDA Screeners (dependent on grade level) to identify a student as an Active EL for Title III funding purposes. Students who score below proficient on either the MODEL, WIDA Screener for Kindergarten, or WIDA Screener are included in the count of Active ELs, which is reported by each district in the WDE684 October data collection.
- Dear Colleague Letter – No Opt Out
- English Learner Toolkit (OELA)
- Every Student Succeeds Act
- Newcomer Toolkit
- OCR Requirements for ELs
- Office of English Language Acquisition
- Title III Non-Regulatory Guidance
- Title III Webpage
- USDE Civil Rights for ELLs Webpage
Identification
The identification of a student as an Active English Learner in Wyoming is a three-step process. Federal statute requires that students are accurately identified, so they may receive English Language services.
- Step One: Home Language Survey
- Step Two: Follow-up Family Interview
- Step Three: English Language Proficiency Screener
Serving English Learners
LEAs must monitor the progress of all ELs in achieving English Language Proficiency (ELP) and in acquiring content knowledge. Districts should establish rigorous monitoring systems that include benchmarks for expected growth and take appropriate steps to assist students who are not adequately progressing towards those goals.
- District EL Plan Minimum Requirements
- Individual English Learner Plan (IELP) Fillable Templates
- Sample Monitor Form (Elementary) (DOCX)
- Sample Monitor Form (Secondary) (DOCX)
Assessing English Learners
The WIDA ACCESS for ELLs English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) is taken annually by Active English Learners (ELs) in Kindergarten through Grade 12.
WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework, 2020 Edition
- ELP Standards: WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards
- ELP Assessment: WIDA-ACCESS for ELLs and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs
Supporting Families
Learning about your EL families provides important information about students’ ethnic, linguistic, cultural and education backgrounds, and family situations, which can help districts match students with the appropriate services and programs
Professional Development
Attending professional development courses will increase your expertise in your field, expose you to new ideas and perspectives.
Quarterly Webinars
- Quarter 1 2022–February 24, 2022 webinar recording
- Quarter 2 2022–May 25, 2022 webinar recording
- Quarter 3 2022–September 22, 2022 webinar recording and slide deck
- Quarter 4 2022–December 15, 2022 webinar recording and slide deck
- Quarter 1 2023–March 16, 2023 and slide deck
- Quarter 2 2023–May 18, 2023 and slide deck
- Quarter 3 2023–September 18, 2023 webinar recording and slide deck
Other Resources
English Learner (EL) Status Manager
The EL Status Manager is a English Learner tool for districts which serves two purposes:
- Provides EL historical information based on Wyoming data.
- Allows District Test coordinators to apply for an override of an Active EL Status and correct monitoring and/or reporting classifications.
View the English Learner updates for April and May here.
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
Professional Organizations
- Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
- Center for Applied Linguistics
- National Association of Bilingual Educators
- National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages