{"id":2242,"date":"2026-06-11T23:07:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2242"},"modified":"2026-06-11T23:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T23:07:48","slug":"wake-principal-goes-from-hair-to-bare-to-reward-students-success-on-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2242","title":{"rendered":"Wake principal goes from hair to bare to reward students\u2019 success on tests"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

For the last 13 years, Principal Ari Cohen has cheered on his students at Leesville Road Elementary from behind a bushy gray beard \u2014 a signature crop of facial hair it took 37 years to grow.<\/p>\n

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And each year, he offered a tantalizing challenge: ace your end-of-year exams, and I\u2019ll shave it off clean. On stage in public. While all of you watch.<\/p>\n

To Cohen\u2019s immense delight, and private terror, the kids at Leesville Road knocked that challenge out of the park this year, scoring even higher than expected.<\/p>\n

So true to his word, Cohen took his beard out for a nice dinner and movie Wednesday night, then read it a final love letter on the gymnasium stage Thursday as a pair of stylists brandished their clippers.<\/p>\n

\u201cShave that beard!\u201d chanted the gym full of 500 students. \u201cShave that beard.!\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, 37 years worth of wispy white tufts floated down to the stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou made it happen,\u201d said Cohen, his face suddenly smooth as a baby\u2019s cheek. \u201cAs horrified as I am about this, I am so proud of you. Students, faculty and staff, this is all for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen will admit that test scores aren\u2019t what motivates him, and he speaks of the pressure and anxiety that comes from the annual examinations \u2014 given to kids of single-digit age.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is figure out ways to emphasize the importance of doing your best,\u201d said Cohen. \u201cI\u2019ve never asked any candidates that I\u2019ve been interviewing for a job, \u2018Tell me how you did on your third through fifth-grade EOGs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He asked that students shoot for 85% proficiency, and he got 92.6% from the kindergartners to second-graders; 86.5% from third to fifth. Break those numbers down further and the fifth-graders hit 93% on their science exams.<\/p>\n

Cohen gave all credit to his teachers and staff, many of them younger than the hair on his face, then dished out all the reward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling nauseous,\u201d he said in a private pre-shave moment. \u201cI have no idea what is under here. I was 19 when I started growing it. I was in great shape. I had a chiseled jawline. I have no idea how many chins are under here. But I\u2019m like a Chia pet. It\u2019s going to come back pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Onstage, he told students that his wife and daughters had never seen him clean-shaven. Then the stylists spun his chair backward and leaned in for the trim.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we done?\u201d he asked the crowd, sideburns gone.<\/p>\n

The screamed and pumped fists. Acing tests is fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we done?\u201d he asked later, shorn down to a goatee.<\/p>\n

More screaming.<\/p>\n

One more time, Cohen spun around to reveal himself beardless, which drew shrieks to shake the walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s done,\u201d he told the kids. \u201cYou did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within minutes, Cohen\u2019s beard started to regrow, making any future shave challenges less compelling.<\/p>\n

Read more California Governor Candidate Teases Job for Spencer Pratt If Elected<\/a><\/p>\n

So next year? Maybe a pie to the face. He\u2019ll think of something.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ari Cohen started growing his beard at 19 and wanted students to aim for academic excellence without anxiety or pressure, so he offered a public shearing as a reward<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWake principal goes from hair to bare to reward students\u2019 success on tests - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2242\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wake principal goes from hair to bare to reward students\u2019 success on tests - 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