text: Teacher designed summer projects are needed because, if actually completed, they guarantee that the student will retain new information. Although not over-break assignments, DECA projects, which are designed by DECA executives, have produced countless intelligent people that can solve real world problems with ease. DECA is a national organization in which peers compete against one another through the creation of business solutions projects. Many students who have participated in DECA and have solved these types of issues,either come out of secondary education feeling confident about economics, or actually go into the business field. Projects like these teach students how to use whatever they are learning, in a non-classroom environment, ultimately boosting student growth.