Professional Learning

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) provides learning opportunities to educators who work with Multilingual Learners (MLs) throughout the school year. This professional development comes in the form of webinars, videos, and college course opportunities. These opportunities are both self-paced and offered on a specific date(s). They are intended for use by both teachers and administrators and can be used as part of the school district’s professional development plan.

The Title III/Bilingual/ESL Unit’s professional development calendar can be found in the Bilingual/ESL Professional Development Calendar, and all NJDOE events can be found at New Jersey Department of Education Calendar of Events.

Professional Development Offerings

To support schools to meet the in-service training requirements under the Bilingual Education administrative code (N.J.A.C. 6A:15-1.8), and the Every Student Succeeds Act Title III ESEA Section §3115(c), the N.J. Department of Education (NJDOE) will provide professional development to all educators (N.J.A.C. 6A:8-3.1), who support the academic and English language development of MLs.

The following educators/personnel should participate in the professional development offerings:

Staff who provide in-class instruction, such as ESL, bilingual and mainstream teachers to MLs
Supervise bilingual/ESL/dual language programs
Observe and evaluate teachers of MLs
Professional development should focus on sustained, job-embedded, and data-driven professional development activities that will support educators to:
- Implement instructional strategies and appropriate assessments to help MLs meet the NJSLS and the WIDA English language development standards
- Understand the use of curricula, assessment measures, and instructional strategies for MLs students

The WIDA Self-Paced eWorkshops and webinars package beginning 09/01/2025 is open to all educators who have a WIDA login.

Registration Instructions

Registration will open approximately one month prior to the event on the NJDOE Events Page.

Everyone must register only for themselves; people with multiple registrations will be deleted.
Ensure your email is entered correctly.
Ensure that the information entered is in the correct column and cell.
After registration, if you no longer can attend, contact ML@doe.nj.gov Unit to remove you from the list or alternatively designate a colleague to attend with your credentials.
Do not register for training if your schedule does not permit live participation.

Event	Description	Date
WIDA Self-Paced eWorkshop Package (Open to all educators, must have WIDA login – e-Learning Courses tile)	Professional learning that educators can complete when they want, where they want, and at their own pace. Twelve different workshops that offer relevant, practical content.	9/1/ 25–8/31/ 26
Uncovering and Leveraging Students’ Home Literacies in the Classroom	Format: One self-paced module, two webinars, discussion boards, and collaborative tasks. Two live webinars not to exceed 75 minutes each, scheduled 1 week apart. Alternate tasks are available for participants who are not able to attend the webinars.	11/3/25-2/13/26, 1-2:30pm
Mathematical Meaning-Making (Virtual Facilitated)	This workshop explores the importance of engagement in math conversations for multilingual learners in a two-part webinar series. Format: One self-paced module, two webinars, discussion boards, and collaborative tasks. Two live webinars not to exceed 75 minutes each, scheduled 1 week apart. Alternate tasks are available for participants who are not able to attend the webinars.	2/24 /26 & 3/3/26, 1-2:30pm
WIDA ACCESS Score Reports for Instruction—Available April 6, 2026	This virtually facilitated offering provides an overview of WIDA ACCESS score reports for educators who have administered WIDA ACCESS assessments in grades K–12.	6/2/2026, 1-2:30pm
Exploring WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten (New	This virtually facilitated offering will identify components of WIDA Alternate ACCESS score reports and how to interpret information they contain. It consists of a live, 90-minute webinar that is complemented by resources and activities in Canvas.	Webinar: 11/18/25, 1-2:30pm
Understanding WIDA Alternate ACCESS Score Reports—Available April 6, 2026	This virtually facilitated offering will identify components of WIDA Alternate ACCESS score reports and how to interpret information they contain. It consists of a live, 90-minute webinar that is complemented by resources and activities in Canvas.	5/12/26, 1-2:30pm
When Language and Disability Meet	2 live webinars; This workshop examines ideas that guide, support, and strengthen instructional planning practices for students who are dually identified. In this workshop, participants will learn about the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) alongside instructional planning considerations from the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards Framework.	4/21/26 & 4/28/26, 1-2:30pm
Working Toward Meaningful Sensemaking in Science with Multilingual Learners (Virtual Facilitated)	Self-paced workshop developing three central themes for science and language educators who have completed Engaging Multilingual Learners in Science: Making Sense of Phenomena may take this workshop as individuals or as members of locally formed teams to learn new ways and strengthen practices for increasing multilingual learners’ engagement in rigorous science learning. Working in a virtual, self-paced context, educators will move through three key themes central to science engagement for multilingual learners.	9/1/ 25–8/31/ 26
Expanding Reading Instruction with Multilingual Learners	This series of two webinars and online resources provides ideas for expanding reading instruction to make it more effective for multilingual learners. Participants will learn ways to build on and expand current approaches to teaching reading and to engage multilingual learners in the interactions that support reading development.	1/13/26 and 1/27/26, 1-2:30pm

Directions

Log in to your WIDA Secure Portal Don’t have an account yet? Visit your member/state page on the WIDA website to learn how.
Locate the course and click on “Course Details.” Click “Enroll Now.”
Complete a self-paced workshop and print your certificate of completion.
Questions? Contact the WIDA Client Services Center at (866) 276-7735 or help@wida.us.

This paradigm allows teachers and administrators to provide diverse groups of MLs with access to classroom content while they acclimate to an English learning environment. The six learning threads of the FABRIC paradigm provide a structure that teachers can use to address the needs of MLs. Each section contains research-based recommendations, a classroom example, and application questions. FABRIC can be utilized during sheltered instruction training, professional learning community meetings, pre-service teacher education, etc.

FABRIC

A Brief Explanation of the FABRIC Paradigm

The objective of this resource document is to offer guidance to New Jersey school district administrators on how to expand the recruitment, hiring, and retention of bilingual and English Language Development (ELD) teachers and support staff by implementing the THREAD (Tap, Harness, Reach, Establish, Awareness, Develop) approach. The THREAD approach provides strategies for administrators to creatively address the shortage of certified teachers. Various strands create a THREAD for developing a staffing initiative in school districts that can increase recruitment and retention of bilingual educators.

THREAD

Sheltered English Instruction (SEI) Online