Baltimore area residents 21 years of age and older will soon be able to earn a free high school diploma in just eight weeks.
The tuition-free public high school — called the Excel Center — will be run by Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, and will open at Goodwill’s former headquarters in downtown Baltimore this September.
The application process will open this summer. Initially, Goodwill will recruit 150 students and later will expand to 350 students per session. Learn more and find out how to apply at the Excel Center’s website: https://excelcentermd.org.
Ideal for Working Adults & Parents
The Excel Center will award an actual State of Maryland diploma, not a GED. It’s a streamlined, highly individualized academic program for working adults and parents, and will include:
- Free drop-in childcare
- Transportation assistance
- Flexible class schedules
- Embedded job training
When students get close to graduating, the Excel Center will provide coaching to help them manage work, life and family as they take their next steps toward new opportunities.
- For students who want to go on to college, Goodwill life coaches will help them through the enrollment process.
- For those who prefer to get a job in a particular industry, coaches will help them get post-secondary skills training to pursue their desired career.
Accelerated Program
The Excel Center will use what’s called an “accelerated competency-based high school curriculum” to condense high school down to its essentials: no sports, no prom, no clubs. Just the vital subjects a high school student needs to learn to earn a diploma.
The actual length of the Excel Center experience varies for each student based on how many high school credits a student had already earned before beginning the program.
- A student starting with no credits, but taking Excel Center classes full-time, could obtain their high school diploma in two years.
- However, data from the other Excel Centers shows that it takes a student, on average, three years to obtain all of the credits needed for their high school diploma.
Why a Diploma Matters
An estimated 80,000 Baltimore area adults don’t have a high school diploma. Not having a diploma severely limits a person’s income potential, job opportunities and the ability to build a better life. The Excel Center is an attempt by Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake to change that.
“A high school diploma is a passport to the education and training you need to secure and retain good employment and build an independent life,” said Lisa Rusyniak, President & CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake.
Proven in Other Cities
Baltimore’s Excel Center is modeled after more than 30 existing Excel Centers around the U.S. Other Goodwill chapters in seven states have opened Excel Centers.
Studies led by the University of Notre Dame show that of the Excel Centers programs’ nearly 10,000 graduates:
- 70% either earned an industry certification or dual college credits
- 40% went on to enroll in college
- 40% saw an increase in employment
- 39% saw an increase in earnings
Learn more about Baltimore’s new Excel Center at https://excelcentermd.org.
