- October 21, 2021
- Comments: 0
- Posted by: admin
Eros Shaw, a barber, teaches students at Westfield High School’s barbering program
Eros Shaw, a barber, teaches students at Westfield High School’s barbering program
Westfield High School’s barbering lab, where students can earn a barbering license through the high school’s barbering career pathway.
A Westfield High School student practices cutting hair through the school’s barbering career pathway.
A Westfield High School student practices cutting hair through the school’s barbering career pathway.
Westfield High School students are getting an authentic barbering experience at school, complete with leather chairs, sinks and mirrors, as they work toward their barbering license.
Classes have been held at Mystros Barbering Academy since the program launched last year, but students will soon be able to attend classes on campus with the opening of Westfield High’s very own custom-built barbering academy and laboratory.
On HoustonChronicle.com: Spring ISD superintendent to leave in January
“We are super excited because we are the only district in this region that has a barber school,” Assistant Superintendent of High Schools Rebecca Brown said in a district press release. “Not only is it a barber school where kids graduate and have their certification ready to get a job, but when they finish here and graduate they also get an associate degree. It’s a double whammy.”
The high school offers a four-year program, Spring ISD Career and Technical Education Director Cynthia Williams said, which begins with a customer service class for freshmen; barbering 1 and barbering 2 for sophomores and juniors; and a career prep program their senior year, which lets them work professionally as a fully licensed barber while attending classes once they complete the required number of hours to earn their license.
School notebook: Spring ISD Education Foundation hosting annual golf tournament fundraiser
Eros Shaw helps run the barbering academy, a local barber, Spring ISD alumna, and the owner of the Mystros Barbering Academy.
“I knew that once a school district looked at it from the kids’ perspective, the student perspective, they would see the value of the program,” Shaw said. “I am glad that Spring ISD saw it from that perspective and is moving forward.”
The program began last year but only with 14 students in the freshmen course on customer service, Williams said. The program is completely full this year, with 25 students expected to enroll into the program every year.
Williams said they were looking for career opportunities for their students and had seen some interest from Westfield students about a barbering program.
“We know young men that wanted to be barbers, cut hair, some of them were already doing it just from their own skills and so we decided if we offer the program, this is where they could leave high school as licensed barbers and start to work and make a decent, viable salary,” Williams said.
The barbering courses involve learning everything barbers do, she said. Aside from just cutting hair, they learn shaving, the basics of manicuring and facials, as well as braiding and weaving.
While the program is only offered at Westfield High School currently, Williams said, there are plans to expand the program.
Spring ISD has more than 30 career pathway courses currently, she said. Some are offered at specific campuses while some are offered at all, such as health science or engineering.
“These (pathways) provide our students with the opportunity to figure out what they want to do, and how to get there,” Brown said. “We have such a variety for our students, not only for high-performing students, but those who also need extra support or who need guidance on where to go with their future.”
Shaw said the best part of barbering is the creativity and fulfilling a purpose.
“You have the opportunity that, every time someone is in your chair, you can change a life,” Shaw said. “You never know who is going to sit in your chair, and you never know what they’re dealing with. A barber shop is a family. It’s a family experience. But when you’re here on a daily basis, it’s a beautiful thing.”
The district plans to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony next month for Westfield’s new barbering academy and lab.
paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
The long-held 10 percent standard — with defendants or their loved ones paying a tenth of the bail amount to a private company — is not gospel anymore in Harris County and likely never was.
source
