When you’re walking around Sachem East on a weekday you’ll hear the normal sounds of the educational hustle and bustle that swirl through most secondary buildings.
There’s the music pouring out of classrooms, balls bouncing in the gym, teachers teaching, administrators administering, and so on. But there is a new facility at Sachem East this year that adds a unique element to the building unlike before.
From one area of the building, if you listen closely, you’ll hear scissors snipping, water running in sinks for washes, nails being clipped and a whole lot of chatter that is reminiscent of a salon. For the first year ever, the Sachem Central School District is offering a full-fledged in-house cosmetology program for its students and the facility at East is brilliantly equipped.
Students used to attend a BOCES facility and the district paid a fee for every student who attended, but now they are saving an estimated $500,000 a year by having their own program, according to Mary Faller, the Chairperson for Sachem’s Family and Consumer Sciences Department.
“The practical area is geared and mirrored as a salon,” Faller said. “We try to be as career ready and professional as we possibly can, but still remember it’s an instructional type program.”
The cosmetology program is offered to prepare students in becoming licensed hairdressers. Before applying for licensing examination, each student is required to complete 1,000 hours of instruction along with the development in all manipulative skills of the trade, as well as having enough technical know how to be a conscientious worker.
Among the core areas that students will experience and learn in are theory, bacteriology, shampoos, hairstyling, haircutting, hair coloring, chemical rearranging, manicuring, pedicuring, in-depth functionality of the salon business and more.
“Having an occupational class in the school gives them the confidence and skills to get a job where they can make good money as soon as they graduate,” said Sachem cosmetology instructor Michelle Savickas. “There are very few high schools that offer this type of program.”
On Fridays from 7:30-9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the classroom, which was redesigned by Sachem’s diligent facilities staff, turns into a salon which is open to staff, and friends and family of students. For $8 you can get a haircut, or for $5 you can get a manicure. They offer all the services of a regular professional salon for less than half the price, which eventually is enough to cover costs of the supplies.
With the help of Sachem district administration, the entire project from its initial presentation at a Board of Education meeting last year took about seven months to complete and become fully operational.
“Without the collaboration and synergy and teamwork it really could not have happened,” Faller said. “All the right people were doing the right things.”
For the students, it’s a practical glimpse at real-life work in cosmetology. Tiffanie Matos, a senior from Sachem North, spends part of her day at East in the program.
“You get to be creative,” she said. “I want to eventually own my own salon and we get to learn the business part and all the hands-on stuff during the day.”
Julia Petrozzino, a junior at East, is grateful Sachem provides her the opportunity.
“This is the favorite part of my day,” she said. “It’s great to get off the bus and do hair and nails. It’s a great experience learning a trade in high school.”
Sonia Meneses, also a junior at Sachem East, takes a very practical approach to her learning experience.
“It helps me get ready for what I want to be,” she said. “It gives me a better outlook on what I can expect and how to complete it. If there’s something we don’t understand our teachers take the time to explain it. These are going to be the best years of my schooling due to such an amazing place Sachem is able to provide us with.”
RELATED: PHOTOS: Sachem’s Cosmetology Program
-Words and Photos by Chris R. Vaccaro