Business Course Composites | Westford Public Schools

Business / DECA

The Business Department offers a curriculum that facilitates an academic and practical understanding of the scope, function, and nature of business in a free-market society. Course content is supplemented with the study of real-world business examples, using the case study method and in-class discussions on relevant business news articles. Our goal is to provide a well-rounded educational experience that will not only prepare our students for college level business courses, but also to prepare them to become productive citizens.

The DECA Business Club prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in the areas of marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. DECA’s competitive events directly contribute to every student being college and career ready when they graduate Westford Academy by focusing them on being academically prepared, community oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders.

Westford Academy’s DECA club is for students (grades 9-12) who have an interest in the business field or want to better prepare themselves for college or career after high school. Our members compete in a program that uses interviews, tests, role plays, and written projects to evaluate their professional skills. WA DECA provides its members with a unique, comprehensive, and time-tested Training Program, which offers a library of online resources, Training Classes and one-on-one instruction are available and adaptable to the students’ varied schedules, and practice presentation sessions with a judge all designed to ready the WA members for competition. Members have an opportunity to compete at three qualifying levels (Districts, States, and Internationals) as either individuals or in teams of 2 or 3.

500 - Marketing I CP (9-12) - 2.5 credits

This semester course examines the basic functions involved in the exchange process that is designed to meet customer's needs. It also explores the behavior that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, and evaluating products. Topics include: marketing ethics, market segmentation, product development and brand management, pricing, distribution strategies, and promotional activities.

501 - (Principles of) Management CP (9-12) - 2.5 credits

This semester course introduces basic functions and how businesses are owned, managed, and controlled. Topics include: organizational communications, fundamentals of human resource management, and the basics of management decision making and effective leadership.

502 - Social Media Marketing CP (10 - 12) - 2.5 credits

Prerequisite: Marketing I

This class immerses students in the marketing application of social media and other newly emerging media channels. The course covers the planning and integration of social media into the marketing mix. Students will learn to set objectives, develop social marketing plans, integrate social media into overall marketing and communication plans, measure program results and utilize new media technologies. The class includes hands-on development of social media tactics and channels including video content creation, and other advanced engagement techniques to increase followers. This may require students to set up individual social media accounts.

503 - Entrepreneurship H - Developing an Innovative Mind and Culture - (12) - 5 credits

Prerequisites: Marketing 1, Principles of Management, Accounting I

Entrepreneurial businesses are a major force in our economic community. This fast paced course reinforces all previously learned materials from the Marketing, Management, and Accounting curriculums and prepares students for what it is like to be an effective entrepreneur in the real world. All students will be required to formulate a Business Plan (See DECA Event Requirements), while gaining real life hands on experience of actually starting and operating their very own small business.

504 - Sports (& Entertainment) Marketing CP (11-12) - 2.5 credits

Prerequisite: Marketing I

This course is designed for students interested in sports, entertainment, and event marketing. This course is meant to cover three basic components: (1) the use of sports as a marketing tool for other products; (2) the marketing of sports products themselves; and (3) the strategies relevant for both marketing and the marketing of sports. Component one addresses the extent of the sports industry, as well as the various domains of the sports marketing environment. Component two includes coverage of branding, product positioning, promotions, and sponsorships. Component three addresses the emerging issues of social marketing, technology, and non-traditional or "outside the box" sports marketing strategies. This course satisfies the DECA membership requirement.

505 - Accounting I CP - (9-12) - 2.5 credits

The purpose of this course is to develop employable skills for simple record keeping tasks and to encourage the ambitious to seek additional knowledge in the field of accounting. Principles of double-entry bookkeeping are taught and business terminology is developed. The students will be taken through the accounting cycle for a sole proprietorship service industry and merchandising company. Computer based accounting simulation lessons will be utilized throughout the course of instruction.

507 - Intro to Business & DECA Prep CP - (9-12) - 2.5 credits

This course is designed to introduce the nature and scope of Business through the framework of DECA’s world-renowned Competitive Events Program, which focuses on academic and technical content (Knowledge & Skill Standards) that are common to each of the 5 main business clusters or occupational groupings: Marketing, Management, Finance, Hospitality, & Entrepreneurship. This course will underscore WA’s 4-year business curriculum, as well as the student benefits of and career connections to WA’s DECA Business Club program, open to all students (grades 9-12) interested in further secondary education and a development of skills vital to any career in all fields.

508 - Law & Ethics in Business CP (formerly Business Law) - (10-12) - 2.5 credits

This course introduces the student to the legal and ethical framework of business. Contracts, negotiable instruments, the law of sales, torts, crimes, constitutional law and the court systems are examined. Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to identify legal and ethical issues that arise in business decisions and the laws that apply to them.

509 - Consumer Behavior CP - (10-12) - 2.5 Credits

Prerequisites: Marketing I

This course offers students the opportunity to further explore a variety of components in the business environment such as consumer behavior, sales, market research and current market trends. Students will learn about how consumers select products, services, experiences and ideas. Sales curriculum will also help students improve their persuasion and selling effectiveness as well as cover all the elements of the sales process. Students will also explore further concepts in market research and dissect current business events/trends.

512 - Personal Finances CP - 2.5 credits

This course is designed to help students understand the financial planning processing and to develop sound money management skills. Students will have hands on experience learning and examining how to save money and build wealth, negotiating, preparing budgets that work, identifying and understanding different types of investments, the many dangers of debt and becoming aware consumers. In addition students will examine broad concepts such as gross income, taxes, payroll deductions and debt management. The desired outcome of this course is for students to develop the computational skills needed to understand, actively budget and manage their personal finances.

553 - Web Page Development CP (9-12) - 2.5 credits

In this course students will gather information, plan, design and create web pages. Using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) as well as Macromedia Dreamweaver, students will create web sites that incorporate hyperlinks, text formatting, color images, tables, sound, video, frames and forms. Successful completion of course materials will be demonstrated via projects such as creating web pages for a Record Company, Sports Team, Vacation destination, etc. Class critiques will further reinforce understanding of basic information analysis, planning and design elements of an effective web page. Satisfies Technology requirement.

554 Digital Skills for Today and Tomorrow (G00gle Suite certification) - (9-12) - 2.5 credits

Students will learn basic and advanced applications within the Google Suite. Students will also improve upon their collaborative and critical thinking skills through authentic business-oriented projects. Google units will include advanced skills within Sheets (Spreadsheet skills), Slides (Presentation and Engaging Delivery skills), Docs (Advanced Word Processing skills), Forms (Surveys), Sites (Webpage Builder) and calendar functions. Satisfies Technology requirement.

567 - Microsoft Certified Application Specialist - (9-12) - 2.5 credits

Earning Microsoft Certification acknowledges your expertise in working with Microsoft products and technologies. Upon completion of this course, Westford Academy students will be prepared for Certification Testing through the Microsoft Corporation in MS Word, MS Excel and MS PowerPoint and MS Outlook. Adding these skills and certificates to your credentials would be recognized by many universities and/or employers.

During this elective, students will learn to produce useful Office documents such as letters and reports. Students will learn to design complex spreadsheets using formulas, charts and graphs. Students will be required to produce PowerPoint presentations that include audio, animation and video components. Students will learn how to transmit their documents via email and how to publish them to the World Wide Web. At the end of this course, students may elect to take an exam (at minimal cost) which is accepted by many colleges for credit. Satisfies Technology requirement.