Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
Ongoing professional development is critical to the success of our department and our students. Weekly PLC sessions are held virtually via Zoom from 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM.
Mandatory Scheduling & Attendance: Attendance at your designated weekly PLC cohort is strictly mandatory. All ESL staff must schedule their daily preparation period for the last period of their designated PLC day to ensure uninterrupted participation.
Cohort Assignments
Tuesday Cohort: Paterson, Hudson, and Bergen campus ESL staff.
Wednesday Cohort: Passaic, Paterson High and Bronx campus ESL and ENL staff.
Weekly Topic Rotation & Presenter Responsibilities
Each week, one teacher is responsible for leading a 40-minute presentation or online workshop, followed by a cohort debrief. Both the Tuesday and Wednesday cohorts will run the exact same topic in the same week to ensure all campuses remain aligned.
Claiming a Topic: Sign up for a topic of your choice from the provided list. Presenting is optional for Bilingual aides.
Material Submission (Monday Deadline): The scheduled presenter must share all slides, handouts, and workshop materials with the department by the Monday before their session. This allows both cohorts adequate time to preview the materials.
2026–2027 PLC Weekly Topic Rotation
Marking Period 1: Foundations (September – November)
Week Topic Focus Area
Week 1 The Can Do Philosophy Assets-based planning in practice.
Week 2 ACCESS Score Reports Reading and interpreting composite vs. domain scores.
Week 3 Key Language Uses Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue.
Week 4 Measurable Language Objectives Utilizing Bloom's Taxonomy: verb choice, task, and evidence.
Week 5 Proficiency Level Descriptors 1–6 What changes across levels, and what never changes.
Week 6 Scaffold Clinic Implementing sentence frames, word banks, and graphic organizers.
Week 7 PAC Meetings & Communication Scheduling, parent notices, and managing interpretation.
Week 8 Special Education & ML Status Untangling the two designations effectively.
Week 9 Progress Monitoring Maintaining records that stand up to a compliance audit.
Marking Period 2: Instruction & Assessment (November – January)
Week Topic Focus Area
Week 10 Vocabulary That Transfers Vocabulary tiers, cognates, and morphology.
Week 11 Oral Language Before Written Implementing structured talk routines.
Week 12 Formative Assessment Assessing language acquisition, not just content mastery.
Week 13 Building & Using Rubrics Evaluating language performance tasks.
Week 14 Translanguaging Using translanguaging intentionally as a teaching tool.
Week 15 Differentiating One Lesson Managing three proficiency levels in the same room.
Week 16 Complex Texts Strategies for reading complex texts with Level 1–2 students.
Week 17 ACCESS Testing Logistics Test-prep strategies that do not feel like test-prep.
Week 18 Writing Progression Moving students from simple labels to complete paragraphs.
Marking Period 3: Content Areas & Family (January – April)
Week Topic Focus Area
Week 19 Language in Math Navigating word problems and mathematical discourse.
Week 20 Language in Science Structuring explanations and cause/effect relationships.
Week 21 Language in Social Studies Formulating arguments and analyzing sources.
Week 22 Language in ELA Adapting narrative structures across proficiency levels.
Week 23 Lesson Planning Using AI Building a week of lesson plans using AI
Week 24 MLs and AI Safe, useful classroom applications and what must never be delegated.
Week 25 Translation Friend or Foe?. Best use of translation tools for learning and teaching
Week 26 Webb's Depth of Knowledge Raising task rigor without raising the language load.
Week 27 Push-In Instruction Effective co-teaching models within a content classroom.
Marking Period 4: Exit, Reflection & Sharing (April – June)
Week Topic Focus Area
Week 28 Exit Criteria Navigating the 4.5 and Alternate ACCESS (A3) pathways.
Week 29 Former ML Monitoring Strict documentation requirements for monitoring.
Week 30 Advanced Academics Ensuring Gifted, Honors, and AP access for MLs.
Week 31 Student-Led Conferences Facilitating self-assessment and student ownership.
Week 32 Lesson Study Analysis of one lesson.
Week 33 Data Walk Reviewing what instructional strategies worked this year.
Week 34 Curriculum Revision Providing feedback for the upcoming academic year.
Week 35 Newcomer Summer Transition Planning effective transitions for newly arrived students.
Week 36 Cohort Showcase Sharing the single best strategy from each teacher.