LONG ISLAND BUSINESS TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION



"Excellence in Business Education"

Electronic Newsletter

Volume 10 Edition 4

JANUARY 2026

 Newsletter by Rita Schmidt

(Connetquot HS -- Retired)

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones that we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

~ Barack Obama

Long Island Business Teachers' Association

 CO-PRESIDENTS

Sallykaye Kaufman

Co-President,

Recording Secretary

Roslyn High School

skaufman@roslynschools.org

President's Message 

by Sallykaye Kaufman

As we hunker down this winter, keep Business Education warm in your hearts. We just finished a comment period and recommendation to the NYS Regents to require a standalone Personal Finance class for graduation, taught by Business Teachers. The research supports our view that dribs and drabs of information about financial literacy sprinkled into other subjects is not effective.

Here is the research brief: https://papers.carlyurban.com/EmbeddedStandalone_brief.pdf

If you’re looking for free materials for your financial literacy classes, please refer to our newsletter from December 2025:

https://files.constantcontact.com/69d652c3501/ab3eee5c-30aa-42c6-8244-312b23baa389.pdf?rdr=true 

We also hope you will join us for a Spring Conference “Business Education: Collaborative Sharing From Classroom to Classroom” on March 18th at the Teachers Federal Credit Union in Hauppauge from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. We’ll be bringing you lesson plans as well as professional speakers just for teachers on financial topics like your 403b and 457 plans and contribution changes for 2026. CTLE credit will be provided.

For me, January is both my first and last day of school, with my whole schedule changing – new students and new subjects. While it is challenging, it gives an opportunity to start fresh and renew my commitment to teaching. In the past few years, it has been hard to find the motivation, but the kids seem to wash away any whiff of procrastination, keeping me on my toes and never letting me wallow. Maybe that is what I love about this profession.

Happy New Year!

Have you renewed your membership?

Click on the link below.

MEMBERSHIP 2025-2026

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR LINKEDIN ACCOUNT

TO SHOW MEMBERSHIP IN LIBTA.

LIBTA LINKEDIN ACCOUNT

INSTAGRAM @libta.ny

KNOW MORE ABOUT US

LIBTA UPCOMING DATES

March 18, 2026 - SPRING CONFERENCE, TFCU,

Motor Parkway, Hauppauge

(SEE FLYER AND REGISTRATION FORM BELOW)

March 31, 2026 SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE

March 31, 2026 -- TEACHER OF THE YEAR DEADLINE

March 31, 2026 - CONTEST

(March 13 Deadline)

May 19, 2026 - AWARDS LUNCHEON

SPRING 2026 CONFERENCE FLYER AND

REGISTRATION FORM



(click image above to print pdf and to register)

LIBTA SCHOLARSHIP 2026 APPLICATION

AND

TEACHER'S INFORMATION SHEET

(PLEASE DOWNLOAD BOTH)

TFCU SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

(March 6 deadlines)

TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND

NEW TEACHER OF THE YEAR

APPLICATION FORMS

Currently, only 35 states require personal finance education courses in the United States. FinEd50 believes all 50 states should incorporate personal finance education into K-12 Education. Scroll down to learn more about how you can get involved and make an impact in your state!

FinEd50

TFCU (TEACHERS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION) SCHOLARSHIP LISTS

TFCU SCHOLARSHIPS

(March 6, 2026 deadlines)

Free Financial Literacy Materials for Teachers

(CLICK HERE TO PRINT PDF)

UPDATES ON PERSONAL FINANCE EDUCATION IN NYS

At the November 2025 Board of Regents meeting, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) proposed the amendment of section 100.2(c) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education to require instruction in climate education and personal finance education for public school students in grades kindergarten through 12. Information regarding the proposed amendment, including a field memorandum and frequently asked questions, can be found on NYSED’s Personal Finance Education and Climate Education webpages.

Send an email urging the Regents to require a standalone, semester-long, credit-bearing personal finance course before the public comment period closes on January 19, 2026.

click here for more info

Financial Education Brief November 2025

Email template to NYS Board of Regents

Email template to NYS Board of Regents from Parent

Email comments:REGCOMMENTS@nysed.gov

Mail comments: Dr. Santosha Oliver, Assistant Commissioner, NYSED Office of Standards & Instruction, 89 Washington Ave,

Rm 860 EBA, Albany, NY 12234

GROUP FUNDRAISING

Complimentary fundraising program with local sports

teams, schools, PTO & PTA groups, and 501(c)(3)

organizations. The more tickets a group sells, the

more funds they will raise for their chosen programs!

SCORE BIG ON YOUR NEXT GROUP OUTING

2026 SPORTS BUSINESS DAY!



(click on image below to print pdf)

2026 NYSCREA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

(click on image below to print pdf)

LONG ISLAND MARRIOTT

UNIONDALE, NY

MAY 20 & 21, 2026

REGISTER HERE

Important Dates/Conflicts:





DECA States - March 4-6, 2026

FBLA States - April 15-17, 2026 in Rochester

VE Youth Business Summit - April 21-23, 2026

DECA Nationals - April 25-29, 2026

CREA Conference - May 20 & 21, 2026 - Long Island

SPONSORS

ALL MEMBER SCHOOLS: If you have any internal competitions, please let us know of these dates. Email us at longislandbusiness1@gmail.com

BUSINESS EDUCATION FACEBOOK GROUPS

KNOW MORE ABOUT US

It is imperative that Long Island Business Teachers continue to unite to strengthen Business Education, not only on a local level but on the New York State level as well. We would encourage you and your entire department to join LIBTA. Your support is paramount to the continued success of our organization. Our goal is to build a stronger voice for the business educators on Long Island and to increase the membership in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Please visit our website at www.longislandbta.org for membership and conference information. Email us longislandbusiness1@gmail.com your thoughts and suggestions.  

WHY JOIN US?



·       Professional Development Workshop

·       Professional Support and Networking

·       State Conferences and Workshops

·       Scholarship and Award Opportunities

·       Student Competitions

·       Contacts with Publishing, Business and Industry Professionals

·       Updates from NY State Education Department

·       Opportunities for Professional Peer Interactions

GET MORE INVOLVED!!

LIBTA Is An Approved Sponsor of 

CTLE Hours

Earn up to 20 CTLE credits yearly as an

Exec. Board Member

·       If you would like to join the Exec. Board, please email or Catherine OR Sallykaye at 



longislandbusiness1@gmail.com

·       Earn up to 2-4 CTLE credits by attending ANY one of our open Executive Board meetings.

ANY LIBTA MEMBER IS WELCOME!!

Please notify us in advance of your interest in attending  at our email address.

The professional certification requirements state that New York State teachers must earn 100 hours of professional development. Our organization has heard its members' concerns about obtaining these hours.  The Long Island Business Teachers Association is proud to announce that we have been approved by The New York State Education Department (NYSED) as a certified provider of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education as of July 28, 2017. As a result your Long Island Business Teachers Membership will include opportunities to attend NYSED approved staff development hours where we will implement training to increase teacher knowledge. 

Board Meeting Minutes available upon email request to:

skaufman@roslynschools.org 

Archived Newsletters are available on our website.