Hamilton High School students who run the school store, Charger Corner, learned that they earned a top national recertification and will be recognized at the international DECA conference this April in Louisville. For the fourth consecutive year, the store earned the School-Based Enterprise Gold Certification for its business practices.
The students who worked on the recertification were store managers Daniel Waddell and Robert Wiedenfeld, who worked under the tutelage of Hamilton’s DECA advisor and business and marketing educator, Skip Hay. Charger Corner is operated by Hamilton’s DECA Chapter and is managed and staffed by students in Hay’s marketing class.
The gold certification is the highest among three levels available to school stores. The recognition level is based on the number and type of activities completed related to five standards: goals, general business practices, student accountability and involvement, merchandising/promotion/display and high performance factors.
School-based enterprises are effective educational tools in helping to prepare students for the transition from school to work or college. For many students, they provide the first work experience; for others, they provide an opportunity to build management, supervision and leadership skills.
DECA developed the School-Based Enterprise Certification Program to recognize outstanding achievement and motivate excellence and growth. The program provides enterprises with standards for model school store operation.
With more than 185,000 members worldwide, DECA is an international association of students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality and marketing sales and service. Approximately 120 students are involved in Hamilton’s DECA Chapter.