Two new programs are being added to Montgomery ISD’s growing list of skilled trades workforce classes: cosmetology and real estate.

MISD is now partnering with the new Mogo Salon Academy beauty school to help interested high schoolers earn their cosmetics certifications and with the Pioneer School of Real Estate to prepare for the real estate license test before graduation.

Juniors and seniors at Lake Creek and Montgomery high schools are able to sign up now for next school year. Tuition for the entire two-year cosmetology program costs $12,050.

“Cosmetology has always been something we’ve looked at, but it is very expensive to house it at your own campus,” said Stacy LaBruyere, MISD College and Career Coordinator. “What’s great is [Mogo] is offering a discount for kids who are in high school.”

Inger Binns, owner of Mogo Salon Academy, said she approached MISD last summer before opening the beauty school in November. Earning a cosmetics certification during high school requires 1,000 hours of practice when normally it is 1,500, saving students around $8,000 in tuition.

“They would come in from 12:30-3:30 every day, we’ll create a class schedule for them, they’ll have an instructor working with them and they’ll be a little separate from the other adult students,” Binns said.

Cosmetology classes include chemistry for coloring, electricity for tools and heat treatment, hair cutting, nails, pedicures, facials, perms, roller sets and styling. There is also business and salon management, professional relationships, resume writing, interview practice, customer service, anatomy and sanitation.

“When you’re a teen, you think you’ll never use this stuff. In cosmetology, they do: If you have someone come in with a horrible hair color, to fix it you’re using problem-solving, chemistry, customer service, haircuts, geometry, angles and math,” Binns said. “It’s for the learner who needs that hands-on, whether or not they’re interested in hair, but we just want to get them through high school, it really is awesome and combines all these things with a hands-on approach.”

If seniors missed out on the first year of the cosmetology program, a summer and holidays course will also be offered so they can still finish before graduation.

LaBruyere said 54 percent of graduates go straight to college, but the cosmetics and real estate certifications can be beneficial either way.

“[The real estate program] prepares them for the real estate test so they can graduate and, if they’ve turned 18, they can take that test and immediately start working and selling real estate,” LaBruyere said. “If they do decide to go to college and pursue a degree in business, they can work part-time or have their own hours and still do real estate.”

Cosmetology and real estate classes start for students at both high schools August 2019.