Glenwood Beauty Academy

Well let me start by saying if all the teachers were past students or are related to the owner - we might have a problem. I went to this school for two weeks which cost me about $2000.00 to learn what I should have known walking into this place, it is a nightmare. When I started we were supposed to be working out of our books as well as we jumped right into waxing. That would have been fine if we all had our books. (which on the first second and third day of school we did not.) We watched a video and waxed each other. Our teacher was knowledgeable and I would say very informed about what we were doing in this area and so I was feeling okay about things (even though we still did not have our books.) On Thursday we watched "protocols" which would have been informitive, except none of this was explained. What is a protocol? What is a board? If you are like me- I have no idea and yet I found myself having to spend 2 hours watching the floor students practice something that the teacher fumbled all over. From what I gathered in my short time at this school; boards are what you do to test for the state to get your license. This should be a timed test that is supervised by the teacher to make sure you are doing the correct standards. While watching these so called practice boards I saw the teacher not set the timer, fumble over paperwork for the tests and overall show a total lack of knowledge for what was expected at the state licensing exam. It gets worse because we were expected to work with this same teacher to learn the next part of our studies- facials, and back treatments ( Fyi- I was informed from my school here in Denver that they are not even supposed to be teaching back treatments. I believe this is why it is not found in any of the books that we were working out of, or offered as a service from any of the other local schools.) On the day we started facials we (me and the one other cosmetology student) received our book for the class- and once again another fail- our books were not the same. Apparently there is a 2013 edition and a 2014 edition making the books not the same. The chapters are different and the pages are not the same as the other book format. Instead of sending the incorrect book back they choose numbers to decide who got what book (real professional I know) I was informed I got the book that was not the same as the teachers edition, and that they would be moving over to that edition eventually... EVENTUALLY- which means that I am constantly trying to catch up on where we are at currently, and what the teacher is talking about currently, I am trying to find eventually, because we as a class are not on the same page. We started in on facials and were informed that there were some students that found our newest teacher to be racist. We listened to her go on and on about how she was part hispanic and proceed to vent to us about the other students and the problems she was having with them. We were even informed that there had been a petition started by another student to have her fired. Now I know this is only a 13 month program, but I am an adult, and I expect a certain amount of professionalism when paying for my education from the teachers, and this school lacks that completely. In the short amount of time I was at the school I witnessed the same educator freak out over the galvanic machine, the same machine that is taught in the book, the same machine that is used in most salons for treatment of acne- a machine that would not be used in a learning environment if it could kill you; and yet there our teacher stood with another teacher jumping like a schoolgirl when the machine was powered on in fear of being electrocuted. We did not learn the use of this machine correctly and because of the mishap my skin became extremely dry and irritated only on the areas I used this machine. It was my understanding that there was a teacher out and that the only other teacher that knew what was going on would have to be out for a surgery eventually, so I don’t know if this school gets any better. (the way they charge I didn’t want to stick around to find out!) The students don’t show up, the teachers talk to us about religion, their personal lives, and even at times their personal beliefs. I was completely offended that any teacher would specifically talk about a gay man that came into the salon. He had wanted his hair and makeup done. She told the class that she would not work on that client, because she did not want to contribute to his delinquent behavior. (As if looking beautiful on a gay date is a crime/sin.) I came from Denver looking for a great school in the mountains, that would give me the skills I needed to succeed in a diverse career, and all I found was the alternative education center for cosmetology. If you are looking for a bare minimum school when it comes to your cosmetology education than I would suggest going here; but if you are looking for a career and a way to build your business from a strong foundation up- I would strongly suggest going somewhere else. I wish someone other than the receptionist/owners niece would have reviewed this school so I knew better before making the move. No where is there any information on what I was getting myself into. I would have never choose to go to such a poor school. I will end this review the way I started. If everyone who works at this place is a past student or related to the person who owns the school, you are going to have a problem.