Demyah Proctor soaked a mannequin head’s hair in a basin, running conditioner-lathered hands through it. After rinsing, drying, then styling the hair in finger waves, Proctor returned the mannequin to a shelf in the back of the cosmetology class for other students to use it.
Nearby, two dozen students were stationed at a long table with stands and mirrors on both sides, coloring and styling hair. Proctor’s task — shampooing and conditioning mannequin hair — simulated servicing a real client, her career goal.
“I want to be able to graduate, get my license and open up a shop one day,” said Proctor, a junior at Buchtel Community Learning Center who’s styled hair since she was a kid. “Hopefully this is preparing me, teaching me salon management.”
Those dreams are first being realized in this West Akron classroom, where Proctor and her peers in the school’s career pathway program receive intensive, in- and after-school practicum that moves them toward licensure. By learning this trade during their high school years, students are set up to graduate and enter the workforce immediately instead of spending between $10,000 and $25,000 on beauty school tuition and equipment in Northeast Ohio.
If successful, graduates can transition to a range of jobs, from stylists and aestheticians to nail technicians and salon owners. Beyond salons, they can also work for movie productions, wedding parties, music tours and in other specialized spaces.
The program also teaches barbering, braiding and makeup. Tamiyah Ray, a junior at Buchtel CLC, wants to one day specialize in facials.
“Some stuff can be [challenging],” Ray said, “but as long as you keep practicing and show up, it’s good.”
Cosmetology is a people-centered industry; millions rely on these professionals not just for services, but for the conversations that come with them — a level of connection that for now, AI can’t replicate.
“This is one of our most popular programs,” said De’Anna Edwards, Buchtel CLC’s College and Career Academy Coach. “Between cosmetology and our sports medicine and healthcare profession, these are our top two pathways of interest.”
Buchtel CLC’s cosmetology practicum is taught by Robert Denson, who’s worked as a licensed cosmetologist for more than 20 years. His classroom hosts a revolving roster of 25 students across the ninth through twelfth grades.
“You get to see their progress, like, ‘Aha, I got it!’” Denson said. “Teaching is challenging, but seeing their progression all the way to twelfth grade year is the most rewarding part.”
More urgently, students are preparing for the Buchtel CLC’s annual hair show, which this year falls on April 25.
“I went to the hair show in the eighth grade and it looked like so much fun,” said Buchtel CLC junior Sommer Gaiter-Baker as she practiced finger waves on a red-haired mannequin head.
Keeping up hours, attendance and morale
Cosmetology education in Akron Public Schools started at now-closed Garfield High School as early as the 1960s. The program moved to Buchtel CLC in 2018 as part of its career pathways program.
Edwards said at Buchtel CLC, students select their top three pathways in February of their ninth-grade academic year and give a presentation on why each one interests them. Career pathways at the school include masonry, information technology, entrepreneurship, culinary art and sports medicine.
For programs like cosmetology — where interest exceeds classroom capacity — students are selected randomly. The program currently offers up to 1,768 hours of practicum. For students to receive a state cosmetology license, they need to complete at least 1,500.
Principal LaCresia Denson — her husband, Robert, is the cosmetology instructor — said that students missing class, as well as school closures and overlapping extracurricular activities, can make it challenging for them to attain enough hours to qualify for the state board exam. It’s not immediately known how many Buchtel CLC students in recent years have graduated with 1,500 hours and passed state boards.
“Chronic absenteeism is an issue; not just at Buchtel, but across the nation,” LaCresia Denson said. “For a student to earn all 1,700-plus hours, they would have to have perfect attendance for all three years and take advantage of the summer opportunities [a 110-hour summer camp] or do distance-learning.
“It’s very difficult to obtain, but they should still be in good standing to get the hours they need.”
In response, Buchtel CLC hired Ericka McGuire, who now serves as a part-time instructor Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. Before becoming a certified cosmetologist 24 years ago, McGuire spent six years practicing on family and friends — much the same as students here.
“The best part is that I get to pour it back into them, that which was poured into me growing up,” said McGuire, who is serving in her first instructional position.
“It was hard work; I wanted to quit every day. But I want them to know, don’t quit!”
McGuire prepares students for the state certification exam and helps teach theory, such as how to safely prepare and sanitize workspaces then clean them. She’s also trying to curb absenteeism and increase morale, especially as students face challenging circumstances outside school.
“Sometimes the hardness is because of home life, and sometimes this is their escape where they can be relaxed in who they are,” said McGuire, who worked and trained under Vicky Richardson-Collins, the owner of Perfection Hair Consultants, located on North Main Street in Akron.
“You find that open door to get in there with them and you try to bond as much as possible.”
Buchtel CLC students and staff showing up for each other
Mannequin heads swap hands as students help each other find tools, refine techniques and build confidence. The relationship between students and instructors is collaborative — one that teenagers say helps them find their voice and develop their own style.
To become state-certified, Buchtel CLC students must practice on real people — not just mannequins. LaCresia Denson said students sometimes practice on each other, outside clients, and even her.
“I actually had one of the junior students do my hair,” she said. “I was kind of nervous, but she did an amazing job.”
While the program prioritizes hair, Gaiter-Baker said her favorite skill is learning facials.
“I have face problems myself, with getting my face clear,” she said. “But while you’re in here, you learn about mostly everything, so I do like hair.”
Alahna Williams, a junior, does not intend to practice cosmetology as a career, but finds value in the space and its people.
“My favorite part is just being able to express myself,” Williams said. “I hope to use this when I’m in college as a job, helping do other people’s hair and everything.”
