Cliffside Park students earn college credits through Bergen Community College ESL dual-enrollment program
Summary
Cliffside Park students completed a two-year dual-enrollment summer ESL program with Bergen Community College that provided tuition, textbooks and supports through state College Readiness funding; district and college leaders said the program helped students accelerate into college-level coursework.
Stephanie Brennan, ESL supervisor, told the Cliffside Park Board of Education on Sept. 17 that a two-year dual-enrollment summer program with Bergen Community College has helped multilingual learners earn early college credits and strengthen language skills. “Through this dual enrollment summer program, students strengthen their academic and language foundations while gaining early exposure to college expectations,” Brennan said.
Laura Madera, director of early-college and college-readiness programs at Bergen Community College, described how participating students can earn associate-degree credits at the same time or shortly before graduating high school. “Cliffside students earning their associate degree at the same time or a little bit before they graduated from high school,” Madera said, noting the program’s advising, placement testing and peer-mentor supports that allow some students to bypass college ESL and move directly into credit-bearing courses.
Dr. Susanna Lansangin, a faculty coordinator in Bergen’s ESL program, said the program was intentionally designed to give high-school students an authentic college classroom experience. “I envisioned a real life college experience … bring the high school students into the classroom and have them experience what it is to take an ESL college class with the ESL professors,” she said.
Program details presented to the board included selection criteria and structure: students were chosen based on placement testing (ACCUPLACER), WIDA access score thresholds (above 3 was cited), and eligibility focused on rising juniors and graduating seniors; sessions ran online in one summer and in-person the next, with schedules that included four days per week. Board members and college staff said the New Jersey College Readiness funding — administered through state higher-education channels — covered tuition, textbooks and student supports for the summer sessions.
The board watched as certificates were presented to participating students, and district and college staff noted positive student outcomes, including completion of college-level ESL levels, invitations for some students to additional college programs, and greater interest in dual-enrollment and AP opportunities among underclassmen. District officials said the program’s supports included application assistance, placement testing, college advising, registration help, peer mentoring and tutoring.
The presentation closed with board members thanking program staff and congratulating student participants. The board did not take a vote on program continuation during the meeting; presenters said outreach and enrollment work for the next summer is ongoing.
