For the first time ever, the Decatur High School floral program hosted an official floral certification event through the Texas State Florist Association.
For the event, more than 120 students from 4 different high schools attended to showcase their floral skills. To earn certification, students were able to test in two categories. Students testing for Level 1, the entry level, were tasking with create a symmetrical trainable arrangement and a single rose boutonniere in 1 hour. The Level 2 students had 1.5 hours to create a modern asymmetrical arrangement, a standard, dozen-rose vase arrangement, and a classic tape-and-wire arrangement.
These industry standard certifications will help the students in obtaining entry level work in the floral industry. The arrangements are graded by TSFA education committee members, board members and education co- chairs, all of which are floral industry professionals.
In all, 27 aspiring florists at Decatur High School competed.
“I am extremely proud of the students for all the hours of hard work and dedication they have put in to preparing for their own certification testing and then continued to amazing me in preparing for, setting up and cleaning up an entire certification event," said Kristen Stockard, a Texas Master Florist who also serves on the education committee for the the state florist association and oversees the high school floral program.
Certification results will be available later this spring. In addition to the floral arrangements, earlier this year, students were tasked with passing a 100-question test within 1 hour. 126 Decatur students passed the exam -- showcasing their vast knowledge of the principles and elements of floral design and general knowledge of the floral industry. This knowledge test is the prerequisite to moving on to level 1 and level 2 design certifications.