Chapter 33: Wida In The World: Leveraging a Global Network to Serve Multilingual Learners in K–12 Schools

This chapter describes the impact of the WIDA International School Consortium, which is a global network of K–12 schools in over 100 countries. WIDA is a project within the Wisconsin Center for Education Research within the UW-Madison School of Education. Since 2004, WIDA has been developing and administering English Language Development standards and assessments, which have served as an annual measure of English proficiency in 41 U.S. states and territories. WIDA’s mission is to advance academic language development and academic achievement for multilingual learners through high quality standards, assessments, research, and professional learning for educators. While WIDA promotes English language learning, it also focuses on equity and inclusion by helping educators shift from a deficit-based to an asset-based view of multilingual learners. Since the inception of the WIDA International School Consortium in 2013, more than 500 independent international schools have joined this voluntary network that connects international schools to UW. This network supports educators around the world through research and development, with both face-to-face and distance professional development to help member schools build effective and equitable programs to serve multilingual learners. The WIDA International School Consortium also connects global educators within a community of practice to share innovative approaches and collectively inquire into shared problems of practice. This chapter highlights several member schools, describe why they joined the WIDA International School Consortium and the impact of WIDA on teaching and learning in these schools.