West Bloomfield's Laker Landing Earns National Gold Certification

West Bloomfield, MI– West Bloomfield High School’s School-Based Enterprise Laker Landing earned National Gold Certification from National DECA February 7, 2020.

To earn this certification, the Laker Landing student management team of Deniz Uzunov, Max Goldstein and Frank Bachulis worked to complete a fifty page written project showcasing how Laker Landing's retail operations adheres to national retail model business standards.

Laker Landing is an entrepreneurial operation within West Bloomfield High School overseen by the Marketing teaching team and managed by students enrolled in Advanced Marketing and operated by students participating in the districts Marketing course. The courses are hands-on learning laboratories integrating National Curriculum Standards in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Students have the opportunity to further skills learned within the classroom. Laker Landing’s SBE provides students with valuable learning experience of an internship or part-time job without requiring students to leave the school building. By working in a real business within the school, students are provided real-world experience vital to developing 21st century skills and preparing for future careers.

In addition, Laker Landings, School-based enterprises is an effective educational tool to prepare students for the transition from school to work or college. For many students in the entry level marketing class, this is their first work experience for others and those who enroll in Advanced Marketing, it provides them an opportunity to build upon their management, supervision and leadership skills. In addition, students who earn a,“B” or better in the WBHS Marketing course are eligible to earn Oakland Community College Credit.

“I learned so much about business and how to create charts, problem solve and develop people skills. My team and I worked hard to collaborate on a document that I can remember and use throughout the rest of my future.” Frank Bachulis

“Through passion and hard work, I have been able to develop business and social skills throughout the writing of this paper. Being a junior in high school, I never thought that this level of collaboration would have the effect on me that it did. I learned how to commit to a project and consistently work to perfect it.” Deniz Uzunov

“This paper has given me important lessons on collaboration and determination. I have grown as a writer through this paper and look forward to future business papers.” Max Goldstein

Uzunov, Goldstein and Bachulis will represent Laker Landing and West Bloomfield High School by attending the DECA International Career Development Conference in Nashville, Tennessee this April along with fifteen other members of their DECA chapter with more to be announced in March. In Nashville, they will participate in an academy combining educational experiences and competition while networking and interacting with vendors. They will participate in professional development sessions specific to the field of entrepreneurship and share dialogue with other Gold Certified SBE’s around the country.

About West Bloomfield High School DECA
West Bloomfield High School DECA is a Career and Technical Student Organization of 200 members. West Bloomfield High School DECA works to prepare emerging leaders
and entrepreneurs in four fields of business: marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. DECA integrates into classroom instruction, applies learning, connects to business, and promotes competition to prepare the next generation to be academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible, and experienced leaders. Students enrolled in West Bloomfield High School’s Marketing, Advanced Marketing, Fashion Merchandising, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Personal Finance, Growing Your Own Business, Accounting or Advanced Placement Macro or Micro Economics may participate in WBHS DECA’s co-curricular organization.
www.westbloomfielddeca.com www.wbhslakerlanding.com