Grounded Coffee Bar, the school-based enterprise at Ferguson High School, was among 461 school-based enterprises achieving Gold Certification for the 2022-2023 school year and will be recognized during DECA’s International Career Development Conference, which will be held April 22-25, 2023 in Orlando, FL.
School-Based Enterprise
A school-based enterprise (SBE) is an entrepreneurial operation in a school setting that provides goods and services to meet the market’s needs. Students manage and operate school-based enterprises as hands-on learning laboratories integrating National Curriculum Standards in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA advisors have utilized this effective educational tool for over four decades to provide their students with realistic and practical learning experiences that reinforce classroom instruction, enhance 21st-century skill development, and prepare students for college and careers.
DECA at Ferguson High School
The Ferguson High School DECA members who contributed to the certification were Nevaeh Villa and Tyler Rich, with the assistance of their DECA chapter advisor, Laura Wahr. The SBE at Ferguson High School has operated for over seven years.
“DECA’s School-based Enterprise Certification Program is a rigorous process designed to help DECA members demonstrate their classroom learning in a practical, learning laboratory, and then translate that into meaningful outcomes,” said Christopher Young, CAE, Chief Program Officer at DECA Inc. “These DECA members are practicing important workplace readiness skills while preparing for college and careers.”
DECA’s School-based Enterprise Certification Program provides recognition for outstanding achievement by school-based enterprises and motivates SBEs to strive for excellence and growth. SBEs can be certified at three levels: bronze, silver, or gold. In order to apply for the certification, SBEs must submit extensive documentation that explains how the SBE demonstrates the practice of various marketing and retail standards. A review committee evaluates the documentation to determine which level of certification has been achieved. DECA’s School-based Enterprise programs are sponsored by Intuit and Otis Spunkmeyer Inc.
About DECA Inc.
DECA is a career and technical student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs interested in careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA enhances the preparation for college and careers by providing co-curricular programs that integrate into classroom instruction, apply learning, connect to business, and promote competition. DECA student members leverage their experience to become academically prepared, community-oriented, professionally responsible, and experienced leaders. DECA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with over 225,000 members in 4,000 high school and college chapters in all 50 United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Germany.