The Maine Department of Education supports public schools in providing high-quality, effective programs for multilingual learners. Differentiated and responsive professional learning opportunities support the efficacy of programs for multilingual learners and build sustainable pathways to systematically integrate language and content instruction and assessment.
Upcoming Events
WIDA Professional Development
What is WIDA? The WIDA Consortium is made up of 41 states, territories, and federal agencies dedicated to the research, design, and implementation of a high-quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate system to support multilingual learners in K–12 contexts. This comprehensive system, based on research and educator feedback, is built on standards, assessments, and professional learning.
WIDA professional development provides practical content and strategies to support multilingual learners in Maine public schools. These Maine DOE sponsored courses are available at no cost to participants and are perfect for teams of educators and leaders seeking impactful collaboration to support students' access to rigorous course content.
All WIDA self-paced workshops can be accessed directly by Maine educators with a WIDA Secure Portal account.
Choose any or all among these modules. Time commitment: 1–40 hours from 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2026, depending on selected modules.
- Developing Language for Learning in Mathematics
- Engaging Multilingual Learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena
- Exploring the WIDA PreK-3 Essential Actions
- Let's Play! Multilingual Children's Joyful Learning in PreK-3 — NEW!
- Making Language Visible in the Classroom
- Newcomers: Promoting Success through Strengthening Practice
- Reading Comprehension Across Content Areas with Multilingual Learners — NEW!
- Reframing Education for Long-term English Learners
- Teaching Multilingual Learners Social Studies through Multiple Perspectives — Updated!
- The WIDA ELD Standards Framework: A Collaborative Approach
- WIDA Español: Desarrollando el español: las expectativas del lenguaje — NEW!
- WIDA Español: Evaluaciones del desarrollo del lenguaje a nivel de salón — Classroom assessment for language development — NEW for Spring!
- Maine DOE ESOL Listserv — Subscribe for updates on professional learning offerings.
- Maine DOE Professional Development Calendar — All online and in-person opportunities offered by the Maine DOE.
Archived Professional Development
| Topic | Date | Files |
|---|---|---|
| SupportEd: Supporting SLIFE Family and Community Engagement | November 17, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| SupportEd: Effective Instruction of SLIFE | October 20, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| SupportEd: Culturally Responsive Teaching and SEL for SLIFE | September 22, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| Engaging Multilingual Newcomers PLC: Social & Emotional Supports for ML Newcomers | September 26, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| Engaging Multilingual Newcomers PLC: Collegial Collaboration | October 3, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| Engaging Multilingual Newcomers PLC: Instruction | October 17, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| Identifying & Serving Multilingual Learners w/Disabilities: Guidance Manual Overview | September 19, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| Identifying & Serving Multilingual Learners w/Disabilities: Deeper Dive | November 9, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 1 | September 1, 2022 | Slides |
| Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 2 | September 15, 2022 | Slides |
| Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 3 | September 29, 2022 | Slides |
| Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 4 | October 13, 2022 | Slides |
| Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 5 | October 27, 2022 | Slides |
| Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 6 | December 8, 2022 | Slides |
| Welcoming Newcomers into our School Communities | June 6, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| Multilingual Education Task Force: Session 1 | May 5, 2022 | Slides |
| Multilingual Education Task Force: Session 2 | May 12, 2022 | Slides |
| Multilingual Education Task Force: Session 3 | May 23, 2022 | Slides |
| Submitting English Learner Data | October 5, 2022 | Slides | Recording |
| Virtual Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 1 | September 13, 2021 | Slides |
| Virtual Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 2 | October 7, 2021 | Slides |
| Virtual Workshop Series for New ESOL Teachers: Session 3 | November 15, 2021 | Slides |
| Legal Rights of Students who are English Learners | October 21, 2022 | Slides | Recording |