Courtesy Photo Alpena High School DECA members who contributed to the certification were Alison Borowski and Madilynn Meyer, pictured here, and the Campus Closet student staff with the assistance of their DECA chapter advisor, Melissa Timmreck and para-pro Kiersten Wirgau.

ALPENA — Campus Closet, the school-based enterprise at Alpena, was 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, 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 provides students with realistic and practical learning experiences that reinforce classroom instruction, enhance 21st Century skill development, and prepare students for college and careers.

The Alpena High School DECA members who contributed to the certification were Alison Borowski and Madilynn Meyer and the Campus Closet student staff with the assistance of their DECA chapter advisor, Melissa Timmreck and para-pro Kiersten Wirgau.

“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.