Welcome to Ann Arbor Pioneer DECA -
WHAT IS PIONEER DECA?
Mrs. Morabito and Mrs. McCully - Staff Advisors
DECA is an association of marketing students that conducts academic games competitions and educational field trips for students interested in management, marketing, and entrepreneurial careers. DECA is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States with a membership of approximately 210,000 students in the high school division. There are approximately 220 Michigan High Schools that offer DECA as part of their high school curriculum. Last year Pioneer High School had over 100 members and 55 of these qualified for and participated in the Michigan State DECA Championships. Since Pioneer DECA was established in 1980, there have been hundreds Pioneer Michigan State DECA Champions who qualified for and participated in the International DECA Championship in various U.S. cities.
DECA is a co-curricular activity specifically designed to challenge and motivate high school marketing and business students. DECA is not a club at Pioneer High School, but a part of the marketing, sports marketing, and entrepreneurship education’s curriculum. DECA is another method of instruction that we have found to be very effective. Impromptu role-plays of business case problems or defending written business plans with volunteer business professionals serving as judges are the main focus of the three conferences that Pioneer will enter. Role-play situations are similar to forensic competitions, but on a much larger and more competitive scale. All role-plays will be based upon oral presentation and problem-solving skills taught in Pioneer’s Marketing and Business classrooms. Some of the role-plays have involved such situations as job interviews, sales presentations, customer complaints, advertising campaigns, marketing strategies, employee motivation, business proposals, and financial analysis. Students must also score well on online examinations based upon topics taught in their marketing, sports marketing, and entrepreneurship classrooms. Students prepare for DECA competition by enrolling in Pioneer’s Marketing Education class, Sports and Entertainment Marketing class, Business Education classes, and/or enrolling in the Cooperative Occupational (C.O.E.) Program where they can experience many of the situations at a paid work experience.
Judges have commented that they can tell which DECA delegates are from Pioneer High School because they were very prepared. Most Pioneer students have an advantage over most other high schools because many of our students have applied and practiced skills taught in our classes in paid part-time jobs as part of our C.O.E. Program. We feel that as general rule, Pioneer students will be among the most prepared students at our district and state DECA Career Development Conferences. It is our goal to qualify as many of our students as possible for the Michigan State Career Development Conference. Participating in the Michigan State DECA Conference/Championships will be an experience that most high school students will never forget. The Michigan State DECA Conference will have 4,000+ students from over 220 Michigan High Schools at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit in March. The International DECA Conference is an even larger conference with 18,000+ students from all 50 States, U.S. Territories, Canada, Mexico, and Germany.
Participation in DECA motivates students to prepare for life in our competitive business world and helps students to form college and career goals. Participation also allows students to associate with other highly motivated and career orientated young people. The majority of Pioneer DECA members decide to continue their education by studying business administration in college and attribute that DECA success was a factor that helped them make this decision. Former Pioneer DECA members have mentioned to us that they had something extra to list on their resumes that helped sell them during future job interviews. Most former members have indicated that having DECA on their resumes allowed them additional minutes with an interviewer as they discussed occupational skills that they practiced during their high school DECA conferences. For additional information about DECA, visit Michigan DECA’s informative website at www.mideca.org.
Mrs. Morabito and Mrs. McCully - Staff Advisors
DECA is an association of marketing students that conducts academic games competitions and educational field trips for students interested in management, marketing, and entrepreneurial careers. DECA is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States with a membership of approximately 210,000 students in the high school division. There are approximately 220 Michigan High Schools that offer DECA as part of their high school curriculum. Last year Pioneer High School had over 100 members and 55 of these qualified for and participated in the Michigan State DECA Championships. Since Pioneer DECA was established in 1980, there have been hundreds Pioneer Michigan State DECA Champions who qualified for and participated in the International DECA Championship in various U.S. cities.
DECA is a co-curricular activity specifically designed to challenge and motivate high school marketing and business students. DECA is not a club at Pioneer High School, but a part of the marketing, sports marketing, and entrepreneurship education’s curriculum. DECA is another method of instruction that we have found to be very effective. Impromptu role-plays of business case problems or defending written business plans with volunteer business professionals serving as judges are the main focus of the three conferences that Pioneer will enter. Role-play situations are similar to forensic competitions, but on a much larger and more competitive scale. All role-plays will be based upon oral presentation and problem-solving skills taught in Pioneer’s Marketing and Business classrooms. Some of the role-plays have involved such situations as job interviews, sales presentations, customer complaints, advertising campaigns, marketing strategies, employee motivation, business proposals, and financial analysis. Students must also score well on online examinations based upon topics taught in their marketing, sports marketing, and entrepreneurship classrooms. Students prepare for DECA competition by enrolling in Pioneer’s Marketing Education class, Sports and Entertainment Marketing class, Business Education classes, and/or enrolling in the Cooperative Occupational (C.O.E.) Program where they can experience many of the situations at a paid work experience.
Judges have commented that they can tell which DECA delegates are from Pioneer High School because they were very prepared. Most Pioneer students have an advantage over most other high schools because many of our students have applied and practiced skills taught in our classes in paid part-time jobs as part of our C.O.E. Program. We feel that as general rule, Pioneer students will be among the most prepared students at our district and state DECA Career Development Conferences. It is our goal to qualify as many of our students as possible for the Michigan State Career Development Conference. Participating in the Michigan State DECA Conference/Championships will be an experience that most high school students will never forget. The Michigan State DECA Conference will have 4,000+ students from over 220 Michigan High Schools at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit in March. The International DECA Conference is an even larger conference with 18,000+ students from all 50 States, U.S. Territories, Canada, Mexico, and Germany.
Participation in DECA motivates students to prepare for life in our competitive business world and helps students to form college and career goals. Participation also allows students to associate with other highly motivated and career orientated young people. The majority of Pioneer DECA members decide to continue their education by studying business administration in college and attribute that DECA success was a factor that helped them make this decision. Former Pioneer DECA members have mentioned to us that they had something extra to list on their resumes that helped sell them during future job interviews. Most former members have indicated that having DECA on their resumes allowed them additional minutes with an interviewer as they discussed occupational skills that they practiced during their high school DECA conferences. For additional information about DECA, visit Michigan DECA’s informative website at www.mideca.org.