College Readiness – Bridging Pathways to Higher Education
Leah Carmona
Higher Education SIG Representative
In October 2024, the New Jersey Council of Community Colleges (NJCCC) held the College Readiness Now (CRN) XI Statewide meeting. This meeting was a great opportunity for colleges, especially community colleges, to share their dual enrollment or summer bridge programs for middle and high school students funded by the CRN grant. Attendees learned about innovative ways to expand these programs and networked with one another. They also understood the importance of continuing the conversation at similar gatherings.
2025 Spring Conference Silver Sponsor
This chance came soon after, when a panel discussion took place at the 2025 NJTESOL/NJBE Spring Conference. Linda Scherr, Chief Academic Officer at the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, opened the discussion by explaining the CRN grant and dual enrollment options for middle and high school students. She described CRN as a partnership between community colleges and high schools to find educational gaps. The goal is to improve the experiences of multilingual learners (ML) and help them succeed in higher education. The next presenter, Marva Cole-Friday, Associate Director of Dual Enrollment & CRN Coordinator at the County College of Morris, described her college’s program and its collaboration with middle schools. She pointed out some challenges MLs face when taking placement exams and explained that this can lead students to spend a lot of time in ESL courses in college before they can start taking classes for credit. Finally, Leah Carmona, Assistant Professor at Bergen Community College (BCC), described a Summer Bridge program for junior and senior high school students offered by BCC. She also explained the process of recruiting and enrolling these students in this program. Stephanie Brennan, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction at the Cliffside Park School District, shared the experiences of the MLs from her school who enrolled and highlighted the benefits of exposing MLs to college environments and the support offered at community colleges while in high school.
2025 Spring Conference Gold Sponsor
Because higher education offers various programs to support MLs during their transition to college, NJTESOL/NJBE recognized the need to promote collaboration. Hence, it sought to learn about the resources and support systems available to MLs and developed a survey for high school teachers, counselors, and program directors in community colleges in NJ. The survey questions are intended to collect detailed information that can help shape policies and improve the educational experiences of MLs as they pursue their paths after high school.
Please help us by completing the following surveys.
High School Teachers ESL Survey
Leah Carmona serves as the Higher Education SIG representative at NJTESOL/NJBE, where she collaborates with colleagues to promote best practices for teaching English language learners. Leah is a full-time faculty member at Bergen Community College and is committed to developing strategies that students in secondary and higher education can use across the curriculum.
