Somerville reports ACCESS, NJGPA gains; 12 multilingual learners exited ESL program

Mary Kane, the district—s director of curriculum, told the Somerville Public School District Board of Education on Sept. 9 that the district—s English-language learner testing and graduation-readiness results show progress and point to targeted supports.

Kane said 133 multilingual learners (MLs) were enrolled in the district—s ESL program as of June 2025 and that 120 MLs participated in the ACCESS for ELLs assessment in February 2025. She said 12 students met the state—s minimum composite score of 4.5 on ACCESS and were eligible to exit ESL services in June; the district monitors students who exit for two years.

Kane explained the district—s terminology and services, noting that ESL refers to the program and ML (multilingual learner) is the state—s preferred student label. "When we're referring to ESL, it stands for English second language, and we're talking about a program, a teacher, a course, but not a student. ELL is the English language learner that the federal government refers to. New Jersey has adopted a more asset-based language and they call our students...multilingual learners," Kane said.

She described how services are delivered across grade spans: at the elementary level ESL is a push-in or pull-out service during reading time; K—12 newcomer and lower-proficiency students receive additional meeting time with ESL staff; middle- and high-school MLs are placed in levelled ELA/ESL courses (level 1—6), and high school social studies and some electives are scaffolded for MLs.

Kane reviewed ACCESS proficiency distributions the district reported: about 29% of tested MLs had overall proficiency at level 1, 28% at level 2, smaller shares at levels 3—5, and 12 students reached the exit-eligible 4.5 threshold. She reiterated the state Department of Education—s exit minimum and the district—s post-exit monitoring process.

On graduation readiness, Kane summarized the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA) results for grade 11 students. She said the district outpaced state averages and improved relative to its own 2023—24 results; students who do not meet proficiency on the NJGPA can retake the exam or pursue portfolio/appeal options under teacher guidance.

Kane listed supports and capacity-building: 90 teachers received Sheltered English Instruction (SEI) training last year; the district provided summer and after-school professional development and summer programming for MLs; grading guidelines for MLs and family informational nights are in place. Kane also noted a district ESL parent advisory committee meeting planned for Sept. 29.

Kane concluded that the mix of program models and training aim to accelerate proficiency while monitoring for academic concerns after exit. "Once they receive that 4.5, then there are multiple measures that we go through that they have to meet in order to exit the program," she said.

Ending: The board indicated it will review broader assessment results (NJSLA) at a later meeting when state data are available; Kane said that presentation is anticipated in October or November.