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Roselle releases WIDA ACCESS 2026 results; ESL supervisor outlines priorities for multilingual learners
Summary
Maya Ruiz, district supervisor for ESL and bilingual programs, presented WIDA ACCESS 2026 data, reporting about 600 multilingual learners (~18% of enrollment) and strong growth in grades 2–5 while noting targeted supports are still needed for grades 6–12 and newcomers.
Maya Ruiz, supervisor for ESL, bilingual education and world languages, presented the district’s WIDA ACCESS 2026 results and explained how the redesigned assessment establishes a new baseline aligned to 2020 EL standards.
Ruiz reported the district serves roughly 600 multilingual learners (about 18 percent of enrollment), including 113 students in bilingual education and 43 MLS (multilingual learners) with IEPs. She said grades 2–5 showed the strongest English‑language growth, with many students clustered at developing and expanding proficiency levels, while students in grades 6–12 and long‑term multilingual learners will require continued targeted supports.
Ruiz described the district’s exit criteria for ESL services (an ACCESS overall score of 4.5 plus multiple measures such as academic performance and teacher recommendation) and said students who exit are monitored for two additional years. She emphasized collaboration with special‑education staff on IEPs for students who are both MLS and have disabilities and said summer ESL programs and curricular scaffolds for grades 9–12 are planned to close gaps.
"We are going to support every multilingual learner. We are going to ensure equitable access to rigorous and grade‑level instruction to support both language development and academic achievement," Ruiz said.
During Q&A, board members and Mr. Travis asked about the staff’s language diversity and supports for newcomers. Ruiz said the ESL team includes about 20 staff and 10 paraprofessionals; a minority of staff members speak Haitian Creole and Portuguese in addition to Spanish, and the district uses translation tools for family communication while aiming to diversify staff as vacancies permit.
Next steps include targeted professional development, alignment of ELA curriculum scaffolds for high school grades, continued IEP collaboration between ESL and special‑education teams, and using ACCESS data to guide interventions and placement decisions.
