Lynbrook expands business credentials, Coursera seats and weighs a financial‑literacy course
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
District leaders described student earnable credentials through Coursera, the launch of DECA and plans to add a financial‑literacy class; capacity and staffing needs were discussed but no curricular mandate was adopted at the work session.
At the Sept. 25 Lynbrook work session, district staff outlined recent growth in business‑education offerings, including Coursera‑issued credentials and the launch of a DECA chapter. Dr. Belekas and Mr. Press said the district hired a second business teacher over the summer and is planning ways to expand student access to online course seats.
Why it matters: The district reported students earning industry‑recognized certificates while in high‑school courses, which administrators said may help graduates qualify for entry‑level jobs or include credentials on post‑secondary portfolios.
Dr. Belekas said 31 students in the advertising and marketing class earned the Adobe Content Creator Professional certificate and that 50 students in virtual enterprise classes earned the IBM business analysis certificate and the Google digital marketing and e‑commerce certificates. He said the district intends to treat Coursera seats like library checkouts: district‑owned seats that a student may occupy for a time and then return for another student to use.
The district hired a second business teacher to meet “overwhelming interest,” Dr. Belekas said, and introduced DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) as a new club to support marketing, finance and entrepreneurship pathways. He said the new staffing increases capacity to offer progression in business courses rather than repeating the same classes for returning students.
Board members asked whether a proposed financial‑literacy course would be required for all students. Dr. Belekas said some other districts require a financial‑literacy course but that making such a course district‑wide in Lynbrook would likely require hiring an additional teacher (he estimated a third business teacher would be needed). “For us to do that, we probably would actually have to hire a third business teacher,” he said, adding the change could be considered within the next two to three years and noting the state’s evolving graduation/portrait requirements could make such a course a future mandate.
Staff discussed logistics for tracking and rotating Coursera seats and said students who create their own accounts can retain their earned certificates after graduation. No board vote on a district‑wide financial‑literacy graduation requirement or course adoption occurred at the work session.
Administrators said they will continue to study scheduling, staffing and cost implications and will report back as plans firm up.