The American Association of Career Schools (AACS) has awarded its top honors for 2025 to two Paul Mitchell The School campuses, and to Penrose Academy in Scottsdale, AZ, who each earned three prestigious 2025 Golden School Awards.
Paul Mitchell’s Esani campus in Roswell, GA, was named 2025 School of the Year — a distinction it had previously earned in 2023. That campus was also honored in the category of Advocacy, plus the franchise’s Las Vegas campus won for Community Involvement.
“What makes a “School of the Year” is not a ‘tricked out’ building with beautiful furnishings and modern technology — which we are proud to have — but instead the people inside it who pour their hearts and souls into uplifting each other and our community,” says Esani founder and CEO Arlene Lyons.
Paul Mitchell The School Esani offers cosmetology and esthetics licensure training, instructor training, and advanced education including Hydrafacial certification, CIDESCO skincare training, and study-abroad experiences.
Its community and outreach programs support families, veterans, cancer patients, nursing home residents, and local charitable organizations through fundraising, volunteer events, and complimentary haircuts and other self-care services.
The other notable 2025 school to win multiple honors is Penrose Academy, which earned awards for Facilities, Legacy Alumni, and Student Salon & Spa. The academy provides hybrid classroom and hands-on courses in Cosmetology and Hair, as well as Esthetics and Laser licensure programs.
Penrose offers study abroad, editorial events and shows, and career-building opportunities as well.
Other Golden School Awards for 2025 went to:
- Aveda Institute, Columbus OH — Marketing Innovation
- Alexander Paul Institute of Hair Design, Greenville NC — Placement
- Pivot Point Academy, Bloomingdale IL — School Culture
AACS, formerly known as American Association of Cosmetology Schools, is a national nonprofit that represents private schools offering career training in beauty, barbering, and wellness education. It provides advocacy, professional development, and resources to its member schools, which include cosmetology, skin, nail, and massage schools.
The organization has been in operation since 1924 and recently changed its name from the American Association of Cosmetology Schools to better reflect the diverse fields it represents.