Kettering-Fairmont High School opens salon staffed by students

Kettering, Ohio – The Kettering School District recently announced the grand opening of The Salon @ Fairmont. Salon @ Fairmont is a facility run by Fairmont High School that provides various cosmetology services to the public.

The Salon @ Fairmont is operated by staff and students of the Fairmont Career Tech Cosmetology program. Fairmont Career Tech Principal Liz Jensen said that The Salon @ Fairmont is designed to be a “straight-to work program”.

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The Salon’s grand opening was held Wednesday, November 17, 2021. Kettering School District Superintendent Scott Inskeep was one of The Salon @ Fairmont’s first customers. Inskeep received a haircut and in a district publication said “I was honored to be The Salon @ Fairmont's first client after its ribbon-cutting ceremony this past Wednesday, when cosmetology student, Faith Bennett, cut my hair. Faith, who told me she is planning to attend Ohio State, major in business, and open her own salon someday, did an excellent job!”

Jensen said that students who participate in the program earn the 1500 hours of education that is required by the Ohio Board of Cosmetology to take the State cosmetology licensing exam. Jensen says that students will save roughly $20,000 by being able to take the State licensing exam without having to attend a post-high school beauty school.

Jensen says that there were two factors that caused the district to work towards developing The Salon @ Fairmont training program. First, several years ago over 1800 Kettering 6th to 9th graders were surveyed about their top career goals. Jensen says, “Cosmetology was one of our highest ranked careers.” Second, Jensen said that the Career Tech Program has heard from beauty industry partners that they are having difficulty recruiting and hiring qualified candidates.

Students participating in the program are supervised by cosmetology instructor Monique Lewis and cosmetology aide Lauren Brandenburg. For its opening year, The Salon @ Fairmont has 25 Juniors and 16 Seniors participating in the training program. Jensen said that entry into the program is competitive. Each year Sophomores apply to participate in the program, and 25 are selected for the two-year program that begins in their Junior year.

Jensen says that in addition to the state licensing work time credit, students also receive academic credit towards graduation and college credits in business math, consumer service, and human anatomy & physiology. However, Jensen also said, “Students are not permitted to be paid or to receive tips”. Rather Jensen said that 100% percent of the proceeds from all services go back into the program to cover the cost of the supplies used in the Salon. Jensen also said that the program was initially funded through a permanent improvement tax levy that allowed the district to expand career tech programs.

The Salon @ Fairmont is open to the general public. Salon hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. However, you must make an appointment to receive services – walk-ins are not accepted. The Salon @ Fairmont does not accept appointments for two reasons. First Jensen said, “…we are, first and foremost, a school. We run potential clients' driver's licenses to make sure there are no issues that could jeopardize the safety of our students and staff”. Second, at a recent joint Board of Education Kettering City Council meeting, Inskeep said that the program has been so successful that appointments are limited. He indicated that the public’s response to the program has been so strong that The Salon @ Fairmont is looking at ways that it might be able to expand its hours of operation to accommodate more customers.

The Salon @ Fairmont currently offers the below services:

Salon Services

Shampoo & Style $6.00
Shampoo, Cut & Style $10.00
Haircut only/Clipper Cut $5.00
Style Only $3.00
Conditioning Treatment $5.00
Formal Style $12.00 and up

Chemical Services (haircut included)

High-lights (based on length) $25.00 and up
Color Service (one color) $18.00
Extra Tube of color used $5.00
Chemical relaxer $20.00
Relaxer Retouch $16.00
Permanent Wave $20.00
Specialty Perm $35.00
Additional Perm Product $5.00
Ombre or balayage $40.00

Spa Services (tax added)

Manicure w/ hand & arm massage $8.00
Paraffin Wax Only $2.00
Basic Pedicure or Spa Pedicure $12.00
Facial $8.00
Eyebrow/Lip/Chin Wax each $3.00
Eyebrow Tweeze $2.00

To make an appointment at The Salon @ Fairmont visit https://www.vagaro.com/thesalonatfairmont.

The Kettering-Fairmont Career Tech program also offers career training in automotive, biotechnology, business, construction, digital design, early childhood education, engineering, fire science, information technology, interactive media, marketing, and medical assisting. The program website says that students in each program can earn a $3000 scholarship to Sinclair Community College, earn dual enrollment credits, learn employability skills, and gain the opportunity to explore career opportunities for free.