Financial Literacy

Through the NAVIANCE program and financial literacy curriculum, you will navigate your way through careers and set realistic goals in motion. You will be setting your own destination and planning the trip to your career and financial future. You will have a chance to connect academic and personal decision-making with reality. You will work backwards (UBD) from your ultimate goal—gaining a clear understanding of the academic preparation required to pursue careers you are likely to find fulfilling. You will experience financial decision-making and planning firsthand through interesting simulations, case studies, and activities. Career and financial planning go hand in hand and the choices you make directly impact your future lifestyle!

Students are required to complete this New Jersey Financial Literacy Standard requirement. 

Introduction to Business

The Introduction to Business course provides students with a broad overview of the world of business, covering topics that include career exploration, owning and operating a business, Social Media Marketing, E-Commerce and much more. Students will be exposed to business terminology, issues and concepts designed to build lifelong decision-making skills.

College and Career Exploration

This course will provide students with a roadmap from high school to the future, while helping them to acquire the life skills necessary be a self-sufficient, successful individual. The major focus of College and Career Exploration is on selecting a career pathway, researching career requirements, researching post-secondary educational institutions, preparing for college/job interviews, preparing a resume, identifying requirements for finding a job and requirements for joining the workplace, acquiring professional development skills, developing life skills, and becoming a lifelong learner. Each individual student, based on their interests, will obtain skills to ease the transition into higher-level postsecondary studies. This course will assist in preparing students for a traditional path, as well as promote the expanded participation of students in the exploration of and preparation for nontraditional careers. This allows students to satisfy their personal interests, make the best use of their particular knowledge and skills, and take advantage of critical growth areas in New Jersey’s economy.

Everything presented in the class will be interactive, allowing the students to learn through classroom guest presentations, oral presentations, and self-reflections. This course helps students set and realize goals, is hands-on, develops the transferrable skills that are desirable to employers, paints a clear picture of independent living after high school, allows students to see firsthand the ins/outs, likes/dislikes, of their chosen career field, and assists students in making sound career/post-secondary choices. Recommended for Juniors or Seniors.

Entrepreneurship

Have you ever thought of owning your own business? Think how great it would be to be your own boss, make all business decisions and delegate work to others. You could also take all the business profits to the bank, or, without careful planning, suffer the entire business loss. Small business ownership represents 85% of our free-enterprise economic system. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, researchers, retailers, and many other professional people often find themselves running their own business. Entrepreneurship is the answer!

Get a jump start on your career! Discover the world of entrepreneurship, explore it as a personal career goal, and learn the basic business concepts and management skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur. You will research your dream business, write a business plan, solve problems, select promotional activities, and watch your idea come alive! You will learn how to compete in the global marketplace, keep records and produce financial reports, as well as draw up plans to protect your business.

There are no prerequisites for this course. College bound 11^th and 12^th grade students will find Entrepreneurship rewarding. Students with a business or academic background and entering college in a business or related field would be well advised to enroll in this course.

Marketing Education I – Sports & Entertainment

Marketing Education helps prepare students for careers in travel, fashion, food services, hotel/motel management, advertising, promotion and the exploding field of sports marketing. We discuss the basics of business operations and management, including sales promotion, communication and human relations. The sports marketing component focuses on the sports industry, its history, the categories of sports, the sports consumer and sports that generate goods and services, discussing their impact on the economy. The Entertainment Marketing segment introduces the variety of entertainment and entertainment products as well as the different types of entertainment businesses.

Service Learning & Internship

Service Learning & Internship is a supervised, non-traditional, independent study* that offers seniors the opportunity to explore careers (paid and non-paid internships), perform community service or artistic expression, volunteer, or complete college courses.

Students will begin making connections (networking) while still in high school, applying learned concepts, plan for a future career, learn by doing, and advance beyond the walls of the high school. Students will be required to communicate with their faculty mentor throughout the duration of their experience.

Students will apply for program participation during the course selection process in their junior year. Eligibility will be determined by guidance in coordination with a business department faculty member. Eligible students will be required to make personal contacts, establish a business partnership, develop field experiences, or select a college to attend.

A Professional Development Portfolio, created by each student, serves as the final exam for this course. This is a Pass-Fail course.

*Students are given one open block for Service Learning & Internship.

Cooperative education

With career preparation in mind, Co-op offers you the opportunity to put your classroom knowledge into training and practice. You will work in local businesses (department stores, discount stores, restaurants, banks, etc.) and be rewarded not only by a paycheck but also with a grade for your efforts. Relating on-the-job experiences and learning more about business enterprise is accomplished in the classroom.

This classroom instruction and work experience provides you with 15 credits towards graduation. Early dismissal is provided for co-op students; however, students wishing to remain in school (for labs, additional course, etc.) can be accommodated in businesses with flexible scheduling.

 AP Computer Science

AP Computer Science A is equivalent to a first semester college level course in computer science. The course introduces students to computer science with fundamental topics that include problem solving, design strategies and methodologies, organization of data (data structures), approaches to processing data (algorithms), analysis of potential solutions, and the ethical and social implications of computing. The course emphasizes both object-oriented and imperative problem solving and design using Java language. These techniques represent proven approaches for developing solutions that can scale up from small, simple problems to large, complex problems. The AP Computer Science A course curriculum is compatible with many CS1 courses in colleges and universities.

This course involves rigorous algorithms that require an advanced level math.

Computer Game Design & Development

Take your love of gaming to the next level! Learn the basics of computer game design and development by creating an original game from initial concept through implementation. Use digital design resources and color theory to draw and animate sprites, objects, platforms, backgrounds and loops and then code through a drag-n-drop method to create your original game using the GameMaker game development tool.