More than 700 people had already lined up for the 150 spots available in the Baltimore Excel Center before the official application period officially opened on July 25. We have tapped into enormous pent-up demand for our new tuition-free adult high school in Baltimore. Baltimoreans who didn’t complete high school and are looking for a second chance see the Excel Center not only as a way to get their high school diploma, but also as a path toward a better future.
We’ve also tapped into enormous goodwill in Baltimore, where media coverage of the Excel Center has been frequent and positive:
- As WBAL said, “The Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake is looking to spread more goodness in Charm City by way of a free adult education center.”
- The Daily Record reported: “With The Excel Center set to open in Baltimore later this year, Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake President and CEO Lisa Rusyniak is optimistic about the role the new adult high school will play in combating poverty and increasing educational opportunities in the city and across the state.”
- The Baltimore Business Journal wrote that “Goodwill eyes big demand for adult high school.”
- Bright-FM interviewed a prospective applicant named Lorraine, who said she has been waiting to get her high school diploma since she was 19. “I am not turning around, I’m not looking back,” Lorraine said. “The only one in my way would be me, and I’m learning how to get out of my way…how to do successful things for me finally — at 60 years old!”
By offering free drop-in childcare, transportation assistance, flexible class schedules, plus embedded life counseling and job training, the Excel Center makes that path toward a better future more accessible than ever for many.
“We are responding to a critical need in Baltimore,” says Lisa Rusyniak, President & CEO at Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake. “You can get your diploma, the skills you need, to bridge today’s digital divide and earn a better living — a better life.”
Applications are being accepted on a first come, first served basis. Applicants must be 21 or older, and only Maryland residents are eligible to apply. The Excel Center will award an actual Maryland State Department of Education diploma, not a GED. It’s a streamlined, highly individualized academic program. We estimated needing about 1,000 applications to fill the 150 available spots, so we are right on track. We are working fast to hire top administrators and bilingual teachers.
We’re building the Excel Center in our former headquarters building on Redwood Street in downtown Baltimore. Construction is on schedule to have the facility built out and ready to accept the first Excel Center students in late September. In the coming years, we hope to expand the 150 slots to 350 students per session.
Baltimore’s will be the 38th Excel Center in the U.S. Since the first one launched in Indianapolis in 2010, Excel Centers have changed countless lives by making quality education free and accessible.
So far, Excel Centers around the nation have awarded 6,700+ industry-recognized certifications, and 99% of graduates earned college credits or industry-recognized certifications and saw an estimated 280% increase in average wages one year after graduation.
Interested Baltimore adults can apply at: https://excelcentermd.org/apply-now/.
