DHS DECA Students Go on to Nationals

Seventeen students from Danbury High School will be competing in the National DECA competition in Orlando at the end of April.  These students are one step closer to seeing their marketing reports come to life.

 Throughout Connecticut, reports were submitted by 98 teams from 42 schools. Twelve of Danbury's teams placed in the top three of their categories in the State and will present their reports at Nationals. According to Bill Leete, the State Advisor for DECA, “Danbury is probably the best school in Connecticut for written events. This is not child's play. They have to get up there and defend their reports. When Danbury goes to Nationals, I know they will be polishing up their performance. They'll be out practicing in the hallways. I know Danbury will bring their A game.”

 Two of the teams selected will be shining a bright light on their home town.

 Concerned with misperceptions of the Danbury School System, students Stephen Dickerson, Chris Kenney and Colin David wrote their project report as an extensive Public Relations Campaign to change the image of Danbury's schools. The team worked with the Northern Fairfield County's Realtor's Association (NFCRA).

 Dickerson said that many people think the real estate market in Danbury is suffering because people think the schools aren't good, they are “too multi-cultural and too big.” Dickerson said he was proud of his multi-cultural school and that he was now well prepared to live in the real world. He said, “We created some tools to prove that the perceptions were wrong.”

 The students created a website and launched a survey that allowed parents from Danbury and surrounding towns to evaluate their school systems based on teacher quality, extracurricular activities and curriculum. The best results came from Danbury parents.

 According to the survey, approximately 60% of the Danbury parents rated the schools above average to exceptional, which was a much higher percentage than the results from other towns. Dickerson said, “These are real facts, we proved it. It is a really good school system.”

 Besides the survey, the students made an 8 ½ minute promotional film that won an award for High School Excellence and was linked to the NFCRA's website.  That video can be seen in the gallery above.  They also ran a commercial on ESPN, the Weather Channel, and other local and statewide television channels. Kenney said, “We have all grown up in the Danbury schools and we want people to know how good the schools are.”

 “The main reason Danbury is in a recession is because home buying is down. With Danbury having a bad reputation for schools, people are not buying houses here. We are hoping this plan will improve Danbury's housing market,” said David.

 “Up until now, there has been no way to show people how many more opportunities we have here than other schools do,”  said Kenney. “I can positively say that I am more ready for the real world through the diversity and amazing opportunities here that other schools just can't give.”

 “The AP classes and college level classes are like early college experience. UCONN allows us to leave here with a B average or higher and I can start school as a second semester freshman. I don't think any other school locally can provide that,” said Kenney.

 Another team of Statewide winners, Anjali Kharawala, Reshma Kharawla (cousins with slightly different name spelling), and Ardita Ismali created a project that centered on improving the perception of downtown Danbury.

Working with CityCenter Director Andrea Gartner, and Pat Hembrook, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Mayor Mark Boughton, they created a plan to bring more people into the downtown area. They put together a directory that details all of the resources available, including all of the shops, restaurants, and other important phone numbers. Kharawala said, “If people don't know what is available downtown, they won't come. We wanted everyone to see how much downtown Danbury offers.”

 The girls are looking forward to being introduced into the Danbury's business community when the Chamber of Commerce holds their Women's Business Council kickoff event on April 14.

 The girls created pages for Twitter, Facebook and a blog on Tumblr.com to promote their project, entitled, I Love City Center. Kharawala said, “We tweet about what is going on. We are also thinking about doing a friendly neighbor program with specific seasonal downtown events to attract young families, such as a pumpkin carving event. We are also working on a jingle for City Center.”

 Carmela Calafiore has been teaching marketing at Danbury High School for 28 years. She said, “I love working in Danbury. The town is so open to the students. Andrea Gartner, the mayor, they are so considerate and supportive. This has been a great place to work from the first moment I came here. The people in Danbury embrace education.

 “The kids love doing these plans,” said Calafiore. “It's taking the class and putting it into practice. The kids don't forget you. I remind myself of that when I get tired- I have the opportunity to change people's lives and that is a gift.”