Building Hope Supports Launch of Celeste Beauty Academy in North Carolina

For students with a passion for the beauty industry, preparing for college and preparing for a career have traditionally been two separate paths. A new public charter high school in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, is setting out to change that, and Building Hope is helping bring the vision to life.

Building Hope is providing a revolving line of credit to Celeste Beauty Academy, a new tuition-free public charter high school preparing to welcome its founding class in 2027. The financing will help the school access funding from the U.S. Department of Education Charter Schools Program grant as it prepares its facility, builds its program, and moves toward opening.

Celeste Beauty Academy is built on a simple idea: students should not have to choose between college and a career. The school combines college-preparatory academics with professional cosmetology training, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and hands-on experience.

Students will progress from foundational cosmetology and business concepts to advanced training, internships, and business planning. The tuition-free program will also include 1,500 hours of professional cosmetology training, helping prepare students for North Carolina licensure while keeping college and entrepreneurship within reach.

Building Hope's financing plays an important role during this critical period before the school opens. Celeste Beauty Academy was awarded $2 million through the NC GROW Charter Schools Program, which supports new charter schools expanding access to innovative educational opportunities in North Carolina. Because grant-funded expenses are reimbursed after they are incurred, Building Hope's line of credit provides the school with access to capital as those expenses arise, helping bridge the timing between spending and reimbursement. The North Carolina Association of Public Charter Schools announced Celeste Beauty Academy as one of the first recipients of NC GROW funding, highlighting its combination of academics, Career and Technical Education, cosmetology, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and technology.

The school plans to begin with approximately 100 students in grades 9 through 11 and grow deliberately over its first several years, eventually adding grade 12 and expanding its enrollment as the program develops.

For Building Hope, supporting Celeste Beauty Academy is about more than providing capital to a new school. It is about helping an innovative educational model move from an idea to an opportunity students can actually access. By providing flexible financing during the school's startup phase, Building Hope is helping Celeste Beauty Academy establish the foundation it needs to open its doors and begin serving families.

When those doors open, students will enter a school designed to connect what they learn in the classroom with what they can build beyond it. Whether their next step is college, professional licensure, employment, entrepreneurship, or a combination of all four, Celeste Beauty Academy is creating another pathway for students to turn their interests into opportunity.