CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools unveiled a new, state of the art cosmetology salon at the new West Charlotte High School.

The new 100-classroom school was completely rebuilt using $104 million of bond funding, replacing the old building, which was originally opened in the 1950s.

What You Need To Know

  •  State-of-the-art salon helps kickstart refreshed cosmetology program at West Charlotte High School

  •  Program teacher says the new salon space will help draw new students, give better experience

  •  Students can finish the program with nearly all the hours and education they need to get a cosmetology license 

Cosmetology class at the school starts bright and early at 9:00 a.m. Teacher and cosmetology expert Deborah Ayers has been teaching the subject for more than two decades.

“I love watching the light come on, I love the blank canvas and the part that I had something to do with their journey. That makes me so excited,” Ayers said.

In the school’s program, juniors and seniors can get almost all the hours they need to get a North Carolina license. After graduation, if they have taken all the courses offered, they need just one year at community college to earn the license, according to Ayers.

“We encourage the students, by the time you finish and get your license at 19-years-old, you can have a license and a career that will last you 40-50 years,” Ayers said proudly.

But Ayers’ program just got a face-lift.

“Everything is state of the art, and salon ready. So, they get a true experience of what it will be like to be in a salon,” Ayers said.

The sprawling salon, on the top floor of the new high school, has several new customer stations, mats, chairs and other improvements compared to the old space. Ayers said it was challenging to mix modern cosmetology with a school building built in the mid-1950s.

“We would have issues with the technology at the old school, simply because of the age of it,” Ayers added.

Earlier this spring, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the students opened the salon on a Saturday to cut real hair. For senior Jaylah Henderson, the revamped salon is a major improvement.

“Now, that we are in the new one, everybody walks past our class, and everybody is like, ‘I want my hair done?’ Or ‘Can I join this program?’ So, I feel as though it’s good for people to see, like, what cosmetology is really about at a school,” Henderson said while working on a practice mannequin.

The program currently has about 20 students, who will now offer reduced price haircuts and other services after school and on select weekends to the community. Ayers said it’s all about preparing them for the real world, or in this case, salon.

“A cosmetology license costs about $20,000. And for these kids to be able to identify what they want to do in life, this early, and then get a head’s start on it in a program that’s offered by CMS? I think it’s amazing,” Ayers said.

All are welcome to visit the salon for a haircut as long as they meet the requirements to enter a CMS school campus, according to Ayers.