Sewanhaka’s cosmetology program got a facelift this year.
The district’s Career and Technical Education program expanded this fall as its cosmetology students returned to school at a freshly constructed training facility on Sewanhaka High School’s campus.
“One of the big, really important parts of any CTE program is the authentic learning experiences,” said CTE director Patrick Dunphy. “This allows us to have a standalone building that has the feel of working in a salon.”
The new building, with its 48 full-service cosmetology stations where students can learn to perform haircuts, styling and treatments, manicures, pedicures, eyebrow waxes and other cosmetic procedures, allows the decades-old program to accept more students than ever before.
It also allows students and teachers to enhance the client experience for their weekly community appointments, where members of the public can book free cosmetic appointments on Fridays, with students working to earn their training hours.
“These services are performed by our students under the supervision of their teachers, who are licensed cosmetologists,” Dunphy said. “Students run these client services. They’ll help to book appointments, check clients in and do the actual service.”
The service hours and training the students receive during the two-year program prepare them to take the state cosmetology licensing exam, which, once passed, qualifies them to work as full-time cosmetologists. Dunphy said he hoped that the new salon building would allow the district to serve as a cosmetology exam testing site in the future, as currently, the only nearby sites are in the city or Suffolk County.
He said the program, which involves students studying in the cosmetology building for four class periods a day, is designed to prepare students to pass the cosmetology licensing exam and become professional cosmetologists.
Dunphy said another major benefit of the new building was that it provided parking for its Friday clients, a more professional and salon-type feel for those receiving services, which, in turn, creates a more accurate real-world training for students.
“It’s really a working salon and high school classroom,” Dunphy said. “I think this raises the expectations and the confidence. If you’re a student who works in these spaces…you’re going to have a certain renewed confidence when you go into the modern workplace and you see where things are, and the appliances look just like what you’re used to from your cosmetology program at Sewanhaka.”
Dunphy said the program’s teachers, all licensed cosmetologists, weighed in on the design of the teaching salon, ensuring it provided students with the best possible learning environment.
“This is not necessarily just a station for getting a manicure,” Dunphy said of the salon stations used by students. “It’s a station for teaching how to get a manicure and getting a manicure.”
Dunphy said that cosmetology students leaving their old space inside Sewanhaka High School has another benefit: it opens up more space for medical assistant CTE students. The district has renovated the old cosmetology space to provide a classroom that better fits those training in the medical assistance program.
“Through a grant, we added an Anatomage table, which gives students a virtual, hands-on look at the human body,” Dunphy said. “Along with new clinical equipment and support from partners like PM Pediatrics, the space has been transformed into a professional training environment where students can build the skills they need for healthcare careers.”
Cosmetology students need 1,000 hours of practice providing services to qualify for state licensure. Those interested in booking an appointment with Sewanhaka’s cosmetology students can call the cosmetology department at 516-488-9637.
