To Be Confirmed
DECA Coordinator
Email: tbc@bellvillebrahmas.org

DECA prepares students for careers in business, marketing, finance, hospitality, management, and entrepreneurship. Members develop leadership, communication, problem-solving, and professional skills through classroom activities, business projects, conferences, and competitive events. Contact the DECA coordinator for information about membership, meetings, competitions, conferences, and upcoming activities.

Business, marketing, finance, and entrepreneurship activities
Competitive events and role-play scenarios
Written projects, presentations, and business plans
District, state, and international conferences
Competition results and student advancement
Officer elections and student leadership
Fundraisers, service projects, and school activities
Awards, scholarships, and member accomplishments

Covering the DECA Beat

Start Here

Introduce yourself to the DECA coordinator and explain that you are covering DECA for the BVP Newsroom.
Ask when and where DECA regularly meets.
Ask how the coordinator prefers to be contacted and how far in advance interviews and coverage should be arranged.
Request the current DECA calendar, including meetings, competitive events, conferences, fundraisers, service projects, and important deadlines.
Ask for the names, grade levels, positions, and contact information of DECA officers and other student leaders.
Ask which competitive events Bellville students plan to enter and who is participating in each one.
Ask whether reporters may attend meetings, practices, presentations, and competitions and whether photography or video restrictions apply.
Check with the coordinator and student officers regularly for schedule changes, competition results, and upcoming activities.
When you discover a possible story, submit it as a pitch before beginning full coverage unless your teacher tells you otherwise.

Your Responsibilities

Check for DECA updates at least once each news cycle.
Maintain contact with the DECA coordinator, officers, competitors, and project leaders.
Keep track of meetings, competition deadlines, conferences, fundraisers, service projects, and other activities.
Watch for students who place, qualify, advance, receive recognition, or complete notable projects.
Pitch promising stories to the newsroom.
Arrange interviews, meeting visits, photography, and video coverage in advance.
Confirm names, officer positions, event titles, competition levels, dates, locations, placements, and results before publication.
Follow up after competitions and conferences to obtain official results, photographs, and student reactions.
Explain unfamiliar DECA events so readers understand what students were required to do.

Important

DECA competition assignments, schedules, scores, and results may change. Do not report that a student placed, qualified, or advanced until the result has been officially confirmed by the DECA coordinator or an official results source.

Use the exact name of each competitive event and identify whether it involved a role-play, examination, written project, presentation, or team event. Do not publish private business information, competition materials, test questions, or details from a student’s project without approval.

Reporting Your DECA Stories

Possible Story Ideas

DECA begins preparing for an upcoming competition or conference.
Students select or are assigned competitive events.
A student develops a business plan, marketing campaign, presentation, or entrepreneurship project.
Members practice role-play scenarios, presentations, or professional interviews.
A student or team places at a DECA competition.
Students qualify for or advance to the next level of competition.
Members attend a district, state, or international conference.
A student earns an award, scholarship, certification, or other recognition.
DECA elects new officers or student leaders.
Members organize a fundraiser, service project, or school activity.
DECA partners with a local business or community organization.
A business professional visits, mentors, or evaluates students.
Students operate a school-based business or complete a real-world marketing project.
A member develops a product, service, or original business idea.
Students solve an unusual business problem or complete a challenging project.
The chapter introduces a new event, activity, or program.
The chapter reaches a competition, membership, fundraising, or participation milestone.
Graduating members discuss how DECA prepared them for college or a career.

Signs There May Be A Story

Pay attention when:

Students begin preparing for a competition, presentation, or conference.
Competition assignments or participant lists are announced.
A student creates an original product, service, campaign, or business plan.
A project connects students with a real local business or community need.
Members are practicing role-plays, speeches, interviews, or presentations.
A student or team wins, places, qualifies, advances, or receives recognition.
Several Bellville students succeed at the same competition.
A student reaches the state or international level.
The chapter organizes a fundraiser, service project, or major event.
DECA elects officers or gives students new leadership responsibilities.
The chapter does something for the first time.
A project produces something that can be demonstrated, displayed, or used.
A deadline, conference, competition, or major activity is approaching.
A business professional begins working with or mentoring students.
Members return from an event with results, awards, photographs, or an interesting experience.
You hear someone say, “This started as a class assignment, but it became something more.”

Questions to Ask: The 5 W's and 1 H

You will not necessarily ask every question below. Select the questions that fit your story and ask follow-up questions whenever an answer is unclear or incomplete.

Who was involved?

Which students participated?
What are their grade levels?
Which DECA event or project did each student enter?
Who advised, coached, or prepared them?
Who placed, qualified, advanced, or received recognition?
Were local businesses, judges, mentors, or community organizations involved?
Were other schools or DECA chapters involved?

What happened?

What was the name of the competition, conference, project, or activity?
What did students have to do?
Was it a role-play, examination, written project, presentation, or team event?
What business problem or situation did students address?
What product, service, campaign, or plan did they create?
What were the official results or accomplishments?
What made the project or result notable?

When did it happen?

When was the competition, conference, presentation, or activity?
When did students begin preparing?
How long did they prepare?
When were the official results announced?
Is another deadline, event, or competition coming next?
When will advancing students compete again?

Where did it happen?

Where was the event held?
Did students compete at Bellville High School, online, or somewhere else?
Where did students develop or present their projects?
Where can people see the finished project or results?
Where will the next competition or conference be held?

Why does it matter?

Why did students choose this event or project?
Why was this business topic or problem important?
Why is the accomplishment significant?
Why should other Bellville students care?
What professional or career skills did students develop?
What opportunities could result from this experience?
Why was the project especially difficult or meaningful?

How did it happen?

How did students prepare?
How were events or team assignments selected?
How is the competition scored or judged?
How did students develop their idea, project, or presentation?
How did they solve the business problem they were given?
How did they respond to questions, pressure, or unexpected challenges?
How did a business, mentor, or community partner help?
How can other students join DECA?

Questions for Competitors

Why did you choose this event?
What does a competitor do in this event?
How did you prepare?
What was the most difficult part?
What were you thinking while waiting for the results?
What did you learn about business or leadership?
What would you change before competing again?
What happens next?
What advice would you give another student interested in DECA?
Who helped you reach this point?

Questions for Project Participants

How did you develop the original idea?
What problem were you trying to solve?
Who was the intended customer or audience?
What research did you conduct?
What was the biggest challenge?
How did your idea change while you worked on it?
What feedback did you receive?
Could this project work as a real business? Why or why not?

Questions for Officers and Chapter Leaders

What is your position and what are your responsibilities?
What goals does the chapter have this year?
How do officers plan meetings, activities, and projects?
How do you encourage other students to participate?
What have you learned about leadership?
What activities or competitions are coming next?
How can other students join or become involved?

Questions for the DECA Coordinator

What skills did students need for this event or project?
How were competitors selected or assigned?
How long did students prepare?
What made this student or team stand out?
How is the event scored or judged?
How does this result compare with previous years?
What professional skills did students demonstrate?
What comes next for the students or chapter?
Is there anything about the event, project, scoring, or result that people might misunderstand?

People You May Need to Interview

Depending on the story, consider interviewing:

The DECA coordinator
The student who placed, qualified, or advanced
Students who participated in the competition or project
DECA officers and chapter leaders
The student who developed or led the project
Other team members
A first-year DECA member
An experienced competitor who can provide perspective
A graduating member
A teacher connected to the business or career program
A local business owner, professional, judge, or mentor
Representatives of organizations working with DECA
Students or community members affected by the project
Competition or conference organizers, when clarification is necessary

Do not interview only the coordinator when students are the focus of the story. Include the students who developed the project, competed, led the activity, or were directly affected.

What You Need to Collect

Before writing or producing the story, collect:

The complete and correctly spelled names of everyone involved
Each student’s grade level
Each student’s DECA position or project role, if applicable
The exact name of the competitive event
The official name of the competition, conference, or activity
The date and location
The competition level
Whether the event involved a test, role-play, written project, presentation, or team activity
A clear explanation of what students were required to do
The project’s purpose, target audience, or business problem
Official scores, placements, awards, or advancement results
The number of schools or competitors, when relevant
The date and location of the next competition
What students did to prepare and how long they worked
The names of any businesses, mentors, judges, or community partners involved
At least one useful quote from a student
At least one useful quote from the coordinator
A quote from a business or community partner, when appropriate
Photographs or video of students preparing, presenting, competing, or receiving awards
Photographs of projects, displays, certificates, medals, or trophies
Identification of everyone shown in photographs
Relevant schedules, programs, project summaries, result sheets, or official announcements
The name of the person who confirmed the information and results

Before You Leave

Ask yourself:

Do I have the correct spelling of every name?
Do I have each student’s grade level and role?
Do I have the exact name of the DECA event?
Can I explain what students did in that event?
Do I know whether it involved a test, role-play, project, presentation, or team activity?
Do I have the official name, date, location, and level of the competition or conference?
Have all scores, placements, awards, and advancement results been officially confirmed?
Do I understand why the project or accomplishment matters?
Do I know what happens next?
Did I interview at least one student?
Did I speak with the coordinator or another person who can confirm the information?
Do I have a strong quote—not merely “I’m excited”?
Do I have usable photographs or video?
Did I identify everyone shown in my photographs?
Do I have permission to publish details or images from the student’s project?
Did I avoid publishing protected competition materials, test questions, or private business information?
Is there another competitor, officer, mentor, or partner I should interview?

The Bellville Herd

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