PHOTOS: Richfield DECA Receives National Certification Award

DECA students were surprised by their instructor, Dean Breuer, as he announced the school's store received School Based Enterprise Gold Level Certification Friday morning.

While students thought they were creating a press release for an in-class assignment, they were eventually told it was to announce the good news to the community.

The following is the release created by students:

Richfield High School’s DECA chapter has earned the prestigious Gold Level Certification for the operation of its School-Based Enterprise (SBE), the “Spartan Avenue” store. This certification earns team members a trip to the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Salt Lake City, UT April 28 through May 1 where they will participate in the SBE Academy and receive their awards. The award marks the first time RHS will send DECA students to the ICDC since 2002.

The SBE Certification program was developed to provide recognition for outstanding achievement by school-based enterprises and to motivate SBEs to strive for excellence. The program provides SBEs with standards for model school store operation and provides recognition for school-based enterprises at three levels: bronze, silver, and gold. To achieve gold certification, school store teams compile an application manual demonstrating professional operating standards in twelve sections including accounting measures, use of space and facilities, policies and procedures, merchandising/promotion/display, and marketing mix.

Richfield’s “Spartan Avenue” store has been in operation since November 2010, when the previous store model was re-branded to emphasize school spirit and community pride. The store is managed and operated by students participating in the DECA program, a student marketing association preparing emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. The operation of the store serves as a “testbed” for concepts and innovations taught as part of the Marketing classroom curriculum.

A team of 1-3 store managers will accompany chapter advisor Dean Breuer to the ICDC in late April to learn additional strategies of high-performing business operations as well as to share information on the success of their own school store. The certification award marks the first time in the history of Richfield High School that its school store has been recognized nationally. There are over 5,000 high schools in the United States with active DECA chapters, and in 2011-2012 there were 187 applications for certification submitted. Richfield High School was one of 35 schools nationally that earned first-time Gold Certification recognition.

Congratulations!