The Hawks Nest is One of Three SBEs to Gain Recognition in NYS
(Contributed photo)
The Hawks Nest, the student-run school store at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, was among 461 school-based enterprises achieving Gold Certification for the 2021-2022 school year. The Hawks Nest will be recognized during DECA’s International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, GA, making it one of only three New York school-based enterprises to be recognized.
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 club advisors have utilized this effective educational tool for over four decades to provide their students with realistic and practical learning experiences that reinforce classroom instruction, enhance 21st-century skill development, and prepare students for college and careers.
The Plainview-Old Bethpage DECA members who contributed to the certification were Nicole Beinstock, Julia Hall and Dani Pearlman with the assistance of their DECA chapter advisor, Lindsay DeLucca. The SBE at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK has successfully operated for 20 years.
“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 to motivate students 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. DECA’s School-based Enterprise programs are sponsored by Intuit and Otis Spunkmeyer Inc.
For more information about the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District, please visit the District’s website at www.pobschools.org. Exciting activities happening throughout the District and programs celebrating student achievement can also be found on the District’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pobschools/.
