No child left unkempt

March 6, 2020 | COLLEGE NEWS

Instructor Charles Harris putting his final touches on nine-year-old Daniel Newson’s hair
at Campbell Park Elementary School on March 3.

Different community organizations hold annual back-to-school events where children receive school supplies and free haircuts, but what happens down the road when wallets are still strapped, and hairdos have long grown out?

Well, the Barbering program at Pinellas Technical College Clearwater campus (PTC-CLW) aims to solve that problem one haircut at a time.

Barbering instructor, Charles Harris, and 11 of his students took the styling show on the road and set up shop at Campbell Park Elementary School where they cut more than 40 students' hair. 

"I know some of our families won't be able to afford haircuts, and we saw that there was definitely a need," said Kathleen Parker, principal at Campbell Park Elementary.

Parker explained that Campbell Park is a community school that offers wraparound services to its children and parents, such as mental health counseling for those experiencing trauma, and a fully stocked food pantry. However, Tuesday's event was the first time barbering services were offered.

PTC-CLW Occupational Specialist Dr. Dallas Jackson, who has been friends with Parker since they were in elementary school, connected Harris and Parker, and the outcome was some thrilled students.

"I think this is the best place ever that I got my haircut," said nine-year-old Daniel Newson, who is in the fourth grade.

Harris said the event not only gave his program a chance to give back to the community, but it also allowed his students to work on more live clients.

"In our class, we may not get enough clients to really work on, so this really exposes them to different textures of hair and give them an opportunity to work as they learn," explained Harris.

Since Harris is the only instructor, he finds it hard to take his class on outings such as this one, but he's rethinking his strategy.

"Only because I have other classes to attend to, I have minimized these types of activities. But to see the level of excitement that we had today, we're going to have to turn it up a notch," Harris shared.

Harris and his students will be back at Campbell Park Elementary on March 11, and he and the Barbering class plans to visit the school once a month.

If you'd like your program to be featured, please call Lyn Johnson in the Office of Workforce Innovation at 727-893-2500 ext. 2655.