MVA New Teacher Award Nominee

Junior and Senior Cosmetology teacher, Polly-Ann Ross was nominated

for MVA’s New teacher Award.  

Upon graduating from high school, Polly applied for and was granted a seat at the LeBaron Hairdressing Academy, a well-known cosmetology school, in the Greater New Bedford, seeking to obtain her cosmetology license. She comes to Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech with over 20 years of experience, is a nationally recognized Matrix Trainer and colorist,  a certified cosmetologist in good standing, and is the owner/operator of her own full service salon, Style Makers, in New Bedford, MA.  Her trend setting salon currently has a 4.5 – 4.9 rating out of five stars from area clients. Polly has been a long standing member of Greater New Bedford Regional Voc-Tech’s  Cosmetology Advisory Board that has helped shape and guide our program into remaining one of the top programs of choice at GNB Voc-Tech.  She is well versed on how the program runs and more importantly how it should run, in consultation with colleagues, for the best experience for her students. She has begun to introduce the much needed business aspects and experiences missing in our cosmetology salon program.  In addition, over the years, Polly has hired all but a handful of her own licensed cosmetologists for her salon from GNB Voc-Tech’s cosmetology co-op program. 

One thing that struck a chord when considering Polly for her current position is when she said, “I’ve always considered myself a teacher. I am someone who wants to help individuals acquire the needed knowledge to become competent in the field. That not only benefits me as a business owner, but the individual as they grow their talent and knowledge. I want to always bring the best out in my salon operators and now I would like to do that with budding cosmetologist and no better place than to do that then at GNB Voc-Tech. While I would like to retain the best of the best who come through my salon, I equally know that they could go on to become the next John Frieda, Sally Hershberger, or Christine Dolce and that is when you know you have done your job.”   

Polly’s dedication to her students and the program can be seen by the commitment she has put forth in her first year as the senior and junior teacher and equally as she enters her second year. As a first year teacher, Polly completely revamped two course curriculums guides and created all new lesson plans for each course that more appropriately reflected true industry standards that tie in business elements and much needed soft skills that are missing in many young adults entering the workforce. 

To that end Polly has continued to revamp the program this year by reopening Salon 20, which is now open to the staff and public after being two year hiatus. She has introduced an industry recognized client booking software that now allows clients to book cosmetologist services services online.  She has also introduced students to tracking software that tracks product inventory, financials, client services for cycle end reports, and reviews/discusses trends with students so that they can better understand business principals connected to future planning of services. This year she continues to expand the horizons of her students by developing and eventually publishing their own working webpage of their past and current endeavors they have completed in the program as a means of growing their clientele, whether it is here in school or after they graduate entering the workforce.