Capilo Institute

Three Morse seniors, a parent and I attended an information sessions at Capilo Institute. Capilo’s is a cosmetology school located in Augusta. We were fortunate to have Anthony Coco, the founder of the school, speak with us about their programs and Cosmetology in general. He grew up within the industry. His grandfather immigrated from Italy and was a barber. Both of Anthony’s parents were hair stylist and owned salons and schools from Miami to Maine. Anthony began coming to Maine as a child and loved it. Before he founded Capilo’s he owned 15 salons and found he was unable to hire stylists he could count on. Sixteen years ago he decided to open a school.

The location we visited in Augusta is their second school which they moved to a few years ago. It is a renovated furniture store close to the downtown. It offers lots of parking and a clean, professional space. Their auditorium above the salon and classroom space can be set-up to seat 400 people. In addition to using the space for class presentations and graduations, it has also been used to host a fashion show in collaboration with fashion business in the area.

The event offered Capilo students the chance to style 150 models. It is this kind of real life, hands on experience that sets Caplio’s apart. They have 4 phases to their education program for the full cosmetology program. After each phase their students take a pre-test for the state licensing exam. Most schools only offer this test once at the end of the training. Capilo’s approach is value added and let’s students and teachers gauge their progress towards learning. They also have other partnerships with best practice national models to support their student’s learning. Anthony encouraged the Morse students to visit the other schools that offer cosmetology and select the one that best meets their needs.

The Cosmetology program which runs approx $13,000 (financial aid is available and Capilo’s gives out 40 $2,000 scholarships a year) takes approx 13 months to complete for students that attend full-time 9-3pm daily. The Cosmetology program begins a new sessions six times a year. The faculty to student ration is approx 1 to 15 although the national average is 1 to 25. For students interested in a shorter term commitment, Capilo’s also offers programs to be licensed as a Esthetician, Nail-Tec and as a Barber. After our information session and tour, each student selected to receive a salon service.

Capilo’s is open to the public and for affordable prices, you can have a host of services ranging from a haircut ($5) to a pedicure ($15). They are open to the public 9-5pm Mon- Thur and 9-4pm on Friday. 621-9941. Students are performing the services supported by instructors. Our student stylists were personable and professional. They were excellent spokespeople for how and why they had selected Capilo’s and were traveling from as afar away as Rumford to attend this school. They were getting an excellent education, provided with a comprehensive kit to support their learning as well as receiving on-line tutorial supports and in-person mentoring to support their learning.

Lastly, Capilo’s is a family run business and the students said they felt like they were part of the family.