ROANOKE, Va. – Virginia marked a milestone Monday with the opening of the Commonwealth’s first adult high school, giving residents a second chance to earn their diplomas.
The Excel Center, located at Melrose Plaza in Roanoke, welcomed its inaugural class of more than 50 students. Unlike a GED program, the school offers adults a chance to earn an actual high school diploma in just 18 weeks, with the option to add industry certifications tailored to specific career paths.
“To see this happening here is just an exciting representation of the fact that we’re all life-long learners,” Governor Glenn Youngkin told 10 News. “Some just might need that first big step. A high school diploma, their first credential, a certificate that opens up a new avenue for them. And I’m excited to see it embodied right here in Roanoke.”
The program is free and childcare, transportation support, life coaching, and job placement services are included.
“For me, it is something serious that I have been trying to do and that I really want to finish,” said student Porsche Calloway who enrolled in the program with her older sister, Rosa Calloway-Hudson.
“There was five of us. I put them in school while I had to stay home and take care of stuff, so I didn’t really go to school,” Calloway-Hudson said. “Then I got on the wrong side, but I’ve been free for seven years. So now I’m taking this opportunity to do something for me.”
The Excel Center is backed by Goodwill Industries of the Valleys and is part of a national network of schools that have already helped thousands of adults across the country.
“We have over 500,000 individuals in the Commonwealth with no high school diploma or GED,” said Richmond Vincent Jr., president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Valleys. “14,000 of which reside right here in the Roanoke Valley. That’s why we embraced the Excel Center concept. This is a way for us to disrupt poverty at its core, education.”
Research shows graduates of the program earn nearly 40% more within five years. Calloway told 10 News the kind of future she hopes for after she graduates.
“Bright, with lots and lots of cash in it,” she said.
Enrollment is year-round and demand for the program is already strong. More than 200 people applied to be part of the first class, with space for up to 300 students at a time. Governor Youngkin says the hope is to expand the model across Virginia.
“I’m a huge believer that we start with a facility that can be successful, and I think this will be wildly successful,” Youngkin said. “And then we can spread it across the Commonwealth.”