William Floyd educator teaches hair skills and business success

Cara Cliffe teaches her Barbering Academy students at William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach that to succeed in the real world, they need to master social media skills as well as the latest fade and taper haircuts.

“If you’re not using visual posts to promote yourself, you’re not really tapping into potential clients,” Cliffe, 29, tells students who learn the ancient profession in a mock barbershop equipped with stations, chairs and mirrors. Cliffe says she’s the rare teacher who encourages students to bring cellphones to class, to take portfolio and Instagram photos to build their future client base.

Since Cliffe took over the program three years ago, barbering has “taken off” as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, with a waiting list to enroll, she said. Cliffe, who has a side gig as the only female barber at a Yaphank shop, said she is currently reaching out to attract more female students to the program. “I try to be at every school event” to promote the academy, she said.

Robert Felicetta, assistant principal and administrator of the CTE program, called Cliffe “a dynamic instructor and mentor to students” who “plays a pivotal role in creating opportunities and helping to shape their futures.”

Alex Motto, 19, who graduated in 2024 and now runs his own Mastic Beach barbershop, agreed.

“She taught me to never give up and to be dedicated and professional,” he said.

Cliffe, who grew up in Medford, studied barbering at Eastern Suffolk BOCES in Bellport. She took the class so she could cut her father’s hair, but soon realized that barbering was “a great way to make money in college.” She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and public relations and a master of arts in teaching. Cliffe was working as a New York State Assembly legislative coordinator in Hauppauge when she decided teaching would be more fulfilling. She was hired by the William Floyd school district for the 2021-2022 school year.

Students practice on mannequins with a variety of hair textures and lengths and offer free haircuts to district students and staff.

The best barbers-to-be earn an Employee of the Month award and a guest host spot on “Undefined,” a monthly Instagram series featuring Cliffe interviewing a school official while cutting his hair.

Jayden Bosman, 17, who earned both honors and is apprenticing at a barbershop, said Cliffe taught him that barbering “is not just about a haircut, it’s about talking and hanging out and making your client feel welcome.”

To build that sense of community, during the Christmas break, Cliffe hosts an annual pancake breakfast and shows the movie “Barbershop.” The 2002 Ice Cube hit about a struggling inner-city barbershop “gives them [students] insight into a comedic barbershop dynamic that does exist,” she said.

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