What We Stand For

In 1946, the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) organized around an ambitions goal: to improve educational and career opportunities in marketing, management and entrepreneurship for students. In the years since, DECA has remained on the cutting edge of educational innovation, working with the business community to integrate academic achievement with vocational and career skills.

Over time, the needs of our membership have changed, and we have changed to meet them. Yet the fundamental reasons we formed remain at our core: First, effective marketing education gives young people the tools and aptitudes they need to pursue their dreams. Second, marketing education works best when it's part of an integrated education program linking classroom instruction with internship experience for career success.

With 180,000 student members and faculty advisors, we function as the companion student organization to over 5,000 marketing education programs in secondary and postsecondary schools across the U.S., its territories and Canada. Our once-revolutionary ideas have become models for effective educational alternatives. DECA remains committed to the advocacy of marketing education and the growth of business and education partnerships.