Students will soon graduate from Commack High School with an essential understanding of real-world financial topics, including investing for retirement and the perils of credit card debt.

 

Superintendent Dr. Jordan Cox unveiled plans during Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting for an innovative partnership with Bloomberg that will include the conversion of existing space at the high school into a finance lab resembling the New York Stock Exchange trading floor — down to a stock ticker streaming across the walls.

 

Beginning with the Class of 2025, all seniors will be required to take a financial literacy course in the finance lab utilizing Bloomberg terminals that will be embedded into their social studies coursework.

 

The high school's staff is beginning to train on state-of-the-art Bloomberg terminals that will be installed in the school's soon-to-debut replica trading floor. The terminals are the same technology used at real-world financial institutions and contain modules for teaching subjects ranging from financial fundamentals to complex topics such as market concepts.

 

Other financial literacy topics students will learn include college loans, mortgages and checking, savings and investment accounts.

 

"This is so critically important," Cox said. "It is our vision to ensure that every senior who graduates from Commack is financially literate, and that they understand how money works in the world and how they run their lives financially."

 

The district has started its search for a financial literacy teacher.

 

Commack High School is transforming the traditional educational experience with real-life spaces, such as a mock courtroom that debuted this past September.
 
 The stock floor, courtroom and associated curriculum are part of a larger plan by Dr. Cox and the Board of Education to expose students to career pathways while still in high school.

 

"Students are empowered to make meaning of their learning by engaging in relevant coursework and applying their knowledge to real-world experiences," Cox said.

 

During Thursday night's board meeting, Dr. Cox announced that the district plans to implement specialized schools within Commack High School, including schools of Business, Education, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Fine Arts, Liberal Studies, Medicine and, in the near future, a School of Law. The schools are set to begin for the 2025-26 schoolyear.

 

Students will be presented with clusters of elective courses that will begin to prepare them for careers in those fields.

 

No specific courses will be mandated within a particular school. A student may take as many or as few of the elective courses as they want — while also receiving the benefits of invitations to attend presentations from guest speakers in that field, college admissions advisors and other programming.

 

Students may freely sample courses from other schools within Commack High School.

 

The School of Liberal Studies is intended to expose students to a wide range of courses and professions.

 

"This is an opportunity to ensure that all students graduate prepared to make the best decision for their college and/or career journey,” Cox said.