Being a teacher can be stressful at times especially towards the end of the school year, so it was a special treat when the students from the Nassau BOCES GC Tech program stopped by early Friday morning to give deserving teachers a little pampering before their day began to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week.

One by one, teachers entered into what is ordinarily the teacher’s lounge on a regular day, but quickly turned into a blissful atmosphere filled with soothing music as teachers awaited their turn. On the menu were hand, head, and shoulder massages guided by their instructor, a New York State board-certified esthetician, as a thank you to teachers for their hard work throughout the school year.

“I feel super happy and ready to start my day,” said Ms. Prisco who teaches math at the high school. Ms. Farrant who works in the main office says, “I wish every Friday could be like this!”

Wantagh High School is one of the many schools in the county that take advantage of the career and technical education (CTE) training programs available through Nassau BOCES including the esthetics field. This is the first year the agency is sending its esthetician students, along with their instructors, to visit high schools in Nassau to not only practice their trade, but also provide an extra treat to the teachers, who fulfill a crucial role in Nassau County’s public-school systems. 

“We currently have 12 students enrolled in this new program which started in September 2023,” says Veronica Korologos, instructor for the program. “Next year we plan to have 16 students with about two of them being from Wantagh.” At the end of the two-year program, students will have over the 600 hours needed to sit for the board exam preparing them to be certified estheticians.

“We attend class for a half day, five days a week,” says Liveth, a junior from East Meadow. “You get to learn about the skin and do things with the skin.” Liveth also hopes to work in a spa part-time when she graduates high school.