Year at a Glance
Dates follow the iLearn 2026-2027 NJ Academic Calendar. Every ESL teacher and aide is responsible for meeting each item below.
Marking periods: Q1 Aug 24 - Oct 30, Q2 Nov 2 - Jan 22, Q3 Jan 25 - Apr 9, Q4 Apr 12 - Jun 17.
Aug 17-21, 2026 - Staff report back. Staff week / Preparation. Review returning MLs' prior-year ACCESS/WIDA MODEL scores, update ML student files, and prepare annual continuation notification letters.
Aug 24, 2026 - Home Language Survey begins. First day of school / Step 1. The HLS is administered to all newly enrolled students as Identification Step 1.
Aug 24 - Sep 4, 2026 - Complete HLS and Records Review. Review the HLS for all new enrollees, conduct Records Review where the HLS indicates further review, and send WIDA MODEL/ELP screening notification letters home.
Sep 8-17, 2026 - Administer ELP screening. Administer the WIDA Screener, score results, and complete English Language Observation Forms for any student who meets exit criteria.
Sep 18, 2026 - Identification 100% complete. Hard deadline. HLS, Records Review, and ELP screening fully documented for every student. No exceptions, no extensions.
Sep 18-21, 2026 - Instruction begins immediately. No gap between finishing identification and starting services. The ESL teacher and school ADA finalize stand-alone versus integrated placement by proficiency level.
By Sep 21, 2026 - Parent notification letters sent. Legal window / Notices. New ML placement, continuation, and exit notifications go out within the 30-day (returning) and 14-day (new enrollee) windows.
Sep 21, 2026 - Program start date. Official start / Program. ELL database tab updated; class rosters and schedules finalized and shared with the Department Head and school ADA.
Every Friday from Sep 21, 2026 - Lesson plans due. Weekly. Plans for the following week are shared via Google Drive with Ms. Cosgun and the school ADA.
Daily from Sep 21, 2026 - Push-in journals completed. Daily. ESL teachers and aides log every integrated session - one row per period.
Per PLC calendar, ongoing - PLC attendance. Mandatory. All ESL teachers, bilingual teachers and bilingual aides attend PLC days with their designated cohort.
By Oct 30, 2026 - 1st Parent Advisory Committee meeting. Quarter 1 ends / PAC 1. Mandatory for ESL and bilingual staff and open to ML families.
Nov 13, 2026 - Parent-teacher conferences. Early dismissal / Conference. ESL teachers participate and share ML progress with families.
By Nov 30, 2026 - 1st progress report card. Quarter 2 / Reporting. Issued for all MLs.
By Feb 12, 2027 - ACCESS testing notification. Quarter 3 / Notices. Notify ML families about the upcoming annual ACCESS for ELLs testing window.
By Feb 19, 2027 - 2nd Parent Advisory Committee meeting. Quarter 3 / PAC 2. Mandatory - not optional.
Late Feb - Apr 9, 2027 - ACCESS for ELLs testing. State window / Assessment. Conduct the annual state English language proficiency assessment.
By May 21, 2027 - 3rd Parent Advisory Committee meeting. Quarter 4 / PAC 3. Mandatory - not optional.
By May 28, 2027 - 2nd progress report card. Quarter 4 / Reporting. Issued for all MLs.
As criteria are met, ongoing - Exit procedures completed. Exit. Complete exit paperwork and parent exit notifications as soon as a student reaches a 4.5+ composite. Never held until the end of the year.
June 2027 - Preliminary ACCESS results. Year close / Review. Review results and begin preparing ML student files and continuation letters for 2027-2028.