New Courses For Great Neck School District

Written by Wendy Kreitzman Friday, 22 February 2013 00:00

Even though the Great Neck Public Schools Board of Education approved a series of new secondary level courses for September 2013 and January 2014, the approval came with a caution from Board of Education President Barbara Berkowitz. Berkowitz said that actual implementation of these courses will depend on the costs. Financial considerations will be brought to the forefront as the school board begins to consider the 2014-2015 budget.

The courses were proposed either with the recommendations from secondary school administrators (following review by individual school building curriculum committees) or initiated as the result of state approved changes in standards. Final approvals came from the superintendent of schools and his curriculum staff. Then came the cautionary vote of approval from the school board. 

It was noted that each school understood that approval does not guarantee that staffing will be available within the upcoming budget. Electives in particular might have to be cut. Choices might well have to be made. Additionally, some courses might end up being cut out due to constants on the school’s master schedule and small sections might not be able to be justified in the present economic climate. And, courses might overlap school activities.

North High School

The approved, but not finalized, course proposals at Great Neck North High School include Smalltown USA and Introduction to Sociology. Smalltown USA is a course for students interested model-making and crafts. These students will design and build miniature structures that will become part of a complete town, including the underlying structure..

Introduction to Sociology is an elective for 11th and 12th grade students and will provide students who do not want the challenge of an intense AP curriculum with an opportunity to study a social science elective. Sociology explores how groups and social structures influence how people think, act and feel and the course is a complement to the psychology elective. 

South High School

There are several hoped-for courses at Great Neck South High School, including International Business, Introduction to Engineering, Sports Management and Fashion Marketing II. International Business is a college level business elective that permits 10th, 11th and 12th grade students the opportunity to earn three college credits through Farmingdale University. The course examines the complexities of the international business environment and includes the study of foreign trade, exporting and importing, international monetary policy, foreign exchange rates, international foreign markets, culture and ethics and multinational corporations.

Introduction to Engineering is an elective course for students in grades nine through 12 who are interested in learning about he multiple fields of engineering. The course examines: the design process that engineers undertake; engineering standards, research and analysis, technical documentation, global and human impacts, communication methods and team work; develop skills and understanding of course concepts through activities, projects and problem-based learning; and a teaming approach when possible, challenging students to continually hone their interpersonal skills, creative abilities and understanding of the design process.

Sports management is an elective that builds on sports marketing for students who want to continue their studies of the sports business model. This course explores and examines: the industry of sports management; current events and projects that drive the curriculum; decision making, planning, organizing and team building issues; student involvement required in assisting the athletic department in promoting Sough High teams; and sports contract negotiations.

Fashion Marketing II is a half-year course that will be project based and students will have opportunities to implement ideas, previous fashion knowledge and design into real world application of clothing and visual merchandising throughout the world, economy and fashion/ business environment. Students will use the skills and knowledge learned from the first course and apply this in this second course.

South Middle School

Great Neck South Middle School anticipates two new courses: The Internet Startup and Digital Citizenship and Literacy. The Internet Setup is an elective for eighth grades students. The course looks at the history of Internet startups from the early 1990s to today. Students will study the elements that enable a company to survive and the current procedures an entrepreneur will follow to get an Internet startup company off the ground.

Digital Citizenship and Literacy is an elective course for eighth grade students where they will study the nine components of digital citizenship as drawn from a book and online resource (with the same name). Components are digital access, digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health and wellness, and digital citizenship.

Great Neck North Middle School did not have any such newly-proposed courses.