Four Students Say Cosmetology School Not Operating Properly

Four students at a local cosmetology school are not happy with the way the school is operating.

The students at the newly established Bradenton Beauty and Barber Academy, 135 U.S. 27 N. Sebring, talked Tuesday about being locked out three days for about an hour at the beginning of the school day, a lack of work stations and a dearth of clients to work with.

Holly Kuschke, 36, of Sebring, said there are not enough work stations, but the school continues to accept more students.

Johnathan Freeman, of Sebring, wants to own his own salon and said he was promised by staff to receive more personal and one-on-one contact with instructors than he has to date.

Freeman and three other students interviewed said instructors regularly gave out the test answers prior to test taking and several students had not received promised books and other instructional materials.

"They're not making us do the work," said Freeman. "I don't think telling people the answers to test questions before the test is a standard of excellence."

Natalie Santiago complained that the scissors used to cut hair, and supplied as part of incomplete "kits," were designed as barber scissors, and the students were told to use them exclusively for cutting the hair of mannequins.

Kuschke displayed scabs on her hands she said were caused from using the wrong scissors.

Santiago added that teachers change almost daily, and at one point there was no instructor for about two weeks of classes.

The director of a cosmetology school in Bradenton with the same name said she is the director of both the Sebring and Bradenton schools. The Sebring school occupies the site of the former Sebring School of Hair Design

Lettie Velasquez said in a phone interview, "We just took over the school. We're trying to make everybody happy. And working very hard to make sure everybody gets an excellent education."

Velasquez was asked about complaints concerning test questions, the late openings, complaints of too many students and lack of text books.

She said flooded floors prevented entry by students on Tuesday and although each student had 24 hours-a-day access to Velasquez through her personal cell phone, she was "very surprised to hear something like this."

"Facts are very important," said Velasquez. "Somebody can take it literally. Whether it's true or not, people are going to make their own assumptions. Our goal is to provide the best education possible."

Students interviewed said they paid about $12,000 each for a 1,500-hour course.

It appears that while the business is licensed to operate as a school (any school), it is not an approved provider for barber or cosmetology training.

Jenn Meale is a communications director for the Department of Business and Professional Regulations for the state of Florida. The department oversees the licensing of, and regulates, cosmetologists.

"The Department of Business and Professional Regulation has no record of the Bradenton Beauty and Barber Academy as being an approved provider for examination or continuing education in barber and cosmetology within its Bureau of Education and Testing," wrote Meale in a Tuesday e-mail.

"However, the Bradenton Beauty and Barber Academy Inc., located at 5505 Manatee Avenue West (Bradenton), is licensed by the Department of Education. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which licenses and regulates cosmetologists, would accept initial education program hours from the school for initial licensure application."

A representative from the Commission for Independent Education press contact Tom Butler confirmed that the business is licensed to operate as a school.

A couple of complaints were investigated this summer concerning the Sebring location and were found to be unsubstantiated. There are no outstanding complaints at this time against the school, he said.

When asked in Sebring on Tuesday, staff at the school, Patty Galdamaz and Ron Laverty, refused to answer direct and specific questions concerning information given to a reporter by students.

"I don't know what the students told you," said Laverty. "We're here for the students."

Numerous follow-up phone calls to Velasquez for more comments were not returned.