SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. | The student-run store at Lehigh Career & Technical Institute was among 221 school-based enterprises in the United States achieving Gold Level Certification (or Gold Level Re-certification) this year and will be recognized at DECA’s International Career Development Conference in Atlanta. The students who worked on the certification were Nathalie Lalande, Jamie Schwoyer, and Sydney Stein, with the assistance of their advisor Mrs. Cyndee Barkley. The school-based enterprise at LCTI has operated for 44 years and is to be commended for this achievement.

A school-based enterprise (SBE) is an entrepreneurial operation in a school setting that provides goods and services to meet the needs of the market. SBEs are managed and operated by students as hands-on learning laboratories that integrate National Curriculum Standards in Marketing, Finance, Hospitality and Management. Marketing educators and 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 21^st Century skill development and prepare students for college and careers.

DECA’s School-based Enterprise Certification Program was developed to provide recognition for outstanding achievement by school-based enterprises and to motivate 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 demonstrates their adherence to various marketing and retail standards. After the documentation is submitted, a review committee evaluates the documentation to determine which level of certification has been achieved.

DECA Inc. is a not-for-profit student organization with more than 200,000 members in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, China, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico and Puerto Rico. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. DECA’s activities assist in the development of academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, experienced leaders.

Complete information about DECA’s School-based Enterprise Certification Program can be found at www.deca.org/sbe.