Common Grounds, The Shack, and WRHS Bank, the school-based enterprises at Washburn Rural High School were among 728 school-based enterprises achieving gold-level certification for the 2023-2024 school year and will be recognized during DECA's International Career Development Conference this April 27-30, 2024, in Anaheim, California.

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. 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.

The WRHS DECA members who contributed to the certification were Dylan Dodge, Rebecca Hoopes, Hayden Keller, Keegan Knudtson, and Madison Stout with the assistance of their DECA chapter advisor, Brian McFall. The SBE's at WRHS have operated for more than 10 years and is to be commended for this achievement.

"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 program is sponsored by Otis Spunkmeyer Inc. and Pop Chips/You Need This.