A local cosmetology school signed a contract with DSUSD to add a new program

Elite's Cosmetology and Barber program signed a contract with the Desert Sands Unified School District. The program will be in effect in January 2023. "We started this program with high school students because we felt that they deserved a marketable skill upon graduating high school; college four-year college is not standard for every high school student, said Jodi Hussey, co-owner of Elite Cosmetology.

Goal: 

To ensure we offer a path where students can acquire the experience and skills to go straight into the industry right after high school.

Benefits:

1. D.S.U.S.D will pay for each student’s tuition, book, materials, and supplies.
2. Students will earn credit to complete high school graduation requirements.
3. Students will be prepared to take the California State Board of Barbering and/or Cosmetology exams as soon as they complete the coursework and the hours.

Structure:

1. Students will be enrolled in up to 1000 hours of theory and practical training for their 11th and 12th-grade years.
2. Students will have an adjusted school day where they take their academic course in the morning and their Elite Cosmetology courses in the afternoon; 1 pm -3 pm. 
3. The plan is to make the program available to all DSUSD 11th-grade students. However, we will start with a cohort of 22 students at Summit High School. 

News channel three recently reported that they were in negotiation when we learned, "We completed a very successful year with the Palm Springs Unified pre-pandemic, and now we are negotiating with DSUSD to start our program," said the co-owner, Maurice DiVirgilio. The Palm Springs Unified School District partnership is no longer in effect. News channel 3 now knows that Elite Cosmetology secured the contract with DSUSD, they will host students at the Elite Cosmetology School in Palm Desert (located in the mall). The junior and senior students can participate in Elite's Cosmetology and Barber program. The goal is to have students graduate with a career in cosmetology and no out-of-pocket costs or student loans.