Stephanie Kearns Wildman Ph.D., PsyD.
About Company
Dr. Stephanie Kearns-Wildman is a Midwest educational leader and psychologist with more than 23 years of experience serving students, educators, school leaders, and communities. Her career includes experience as a bilingual teacher, bilingual coordinator, Director of Multilingual Services, university instructor, and psychologist. As a district leader, she directed multilingual learner services, overseeing services for multilingual learners and professional staff. Her expertise includes multilingual learner programming, bilingual and dual language education, newcomer and refugee student services, family engagement, translation and interpretation, culturally responsive education, and systems supporting students who are dually identified as multilingual learners and students receiving special education services. At the state level, Dr. Kearns-Wildman has served as a consultant for dually identified students, contributed to the development of Illinois Learning Standards, and supported multilingual learner grant initiatives.
Dr. Kearns-Wildman believes strong educational systems are built through collaboration, planning, culturally responsive practices, and a clear understanding of the individual strengths and needs of students. Her leadership experience includes developing and implementing strategic plans, strengthening multilingual learner programs, supporting the identification and evaluation of dually identified students, and guiding teams in distinguishing language acquisition from disability when making educational decisions. She has supported districts in examining assessment practices, curriculum, instruction, and student data to ensure that language differences are appropriately considered and that students receive the services they need. Her leadership responsibilities have extended beyond multilingual learner programming to district initiatives and cabinet-level responsibilities. Dr. Kearns-Wildman has provided professional learning in GLAD, DAR, multilingual learner best practices, assessment, and instructional strategies and has taught graduate-level multilingual learner courses.
Dr. Kearns-Wildman provides consulting in multilingual learner programming, dual identification, culturally responsive practices, program evaluation, assessment, curriculum and instructional planning, professional learning, strategic planning, and district systems development. She is particularly interested in projects that help districts strengthen services for multilingual learners, develop effective systems for students who are dually identified, examine assessment and identification practices, and build educator and leadership capacity. Her background in school psychology provides an additional lens for understanding student assessment, academic and behavioral needs, social-emotional development, and the intersection of language and disability. Dr. Kearns-Wildman brings a systems-level perspective grounded in more than two decades of direct experience as an educator, district leader, state consultant, university instructor, and psychologist, with a focus on creating equitable and effective systems that allow multilingual learners and all students to thrive.
