DECA District 1 President speak to the UNUSC board about LVHS DECA accomplishments
LAKEVILLE—THE Laville High School (LVHS) DECA team has made some outstanding advancements for their club and school over the last couple of years. This is especially incredible considering the conditions that schools have had to deal with during the pandemic.
DECA, which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of america, gives students an opportunity to gain realworld problem-solving skills in a business environment. “DECA is just doing what every teenager does best… They like to tell adults what they did wrong,” joked LVHS business teacher and DECA advisor, Wayne Thomas. “DECA is just teenagers sitting at a table saying, ‘here’s the problem in a real-world business.’”
He went on to display a comprehensive plan written by LVHS students regarding a cruise line that had received some complaints.
“Kaitlyn and Collin had to sit down and tell this adult, ‘This is how I would handle it if I were in your situation or your shoes,’ and then they got evaluated.” Although about 70% of the evaluation is related to the business model presented by the students, they are also judged on their presentation, including apparent skills like communication, problem-solving, creativity, and more. “These are all hire-ability skills that are very important. This is very important. Our students don’t always go into a business sector… but in reality, they’re leaving much more confident for whatever it is that they decide to go into,” said Thomas.
Not only have LVHS DECA students done very well on state levels in competition in the last six years that Thomas has been the advisor, but they have also ended up doing well in their respective fields. “They are going in and finding the place where they can exhibit those skills,” he told the board. “Year after year, [the numbers] go up because the students are buying in and they get to see what they are capable of.”
Thomas talked about another student who graduated a few years ago. Before joining DECA in his senior year, his GPA was 2.1 and he was not very involved in LVHS outside of class. “Something clicked his senior year and all of sudden, he was getting more involved. His grades went up. He was by no means a straight-a student, but all of a sudden, he was putting in a lot more effort,” Thomas described. “His mom came to find me at parent-teacher conferences and just said that an opportunity like this existed where he could go in, be himself, and find out that was good enough. To succeed, he really didn’t need to change a whole lot.”
Because of its ability to help students utilize and develop skills, it can be used to help fulfill requirements for career graduation pathways. Students who participate in DECA also end up being involved in other extra-curricular activities as well.
Overall, DECA allows students to discover that their natural skills have value. “They’re finding out that they finally fit somewhere. Their skill set, that hasn’t really been categorized for any class yet, fits in the business world. And the business world is huge! They could go into accounting, into business services and marketing, retail, food service—that would probably be my favorite—restaurants, and all of these different 30-something categories that they have an opportunity to go in and showcase their skills.”
Throughout the 2021-2022 school year, the LVHS DECA students have proven themselves to be willing to do more than what’s expected. “DECA stands for excellence because the students I have go above and beyond. They do work worth recognizing without asking for the recognition,” explained Thomas.
They done more than just compete across the country against other high school teams. They have also volunteered and made a difference in the local community, including putting in a special needs playground for Laville schools.
LVHS DECA has a presence on Facebook and Instagram for anyone who wishes to follow them throughout the year.