A free high school for adults seeking their diploma has been approved to operate in Roanoke by the state Department of Education.
The school, called the Excel Center, will be operated by Goodwill Industries of the Valleys. The nonprofit announced the school in March 2023 as part of its Melrose Plaza project. Goodwill is repurposing part of its regional headquarters at the corner of Melrose Avenue and 24th Street Northwest for the community hub, which will also include a bank branch and health clinic. A grocery store is scheduled to open in the plaza in December.
The school will also offer career coaching, child care and transportation help for students.
“Addressing economic disparities, community health, and quality of life concerns must first begin with education,” Goodwill CEO Richmond Vincent Jr. said in a statement Tuesday. “The Excel Center aims to address this concern for residents in the Roanoke Valley.”
The Excel Center is expected to open within the next two years, Goodwill spokesperson Chelsea Moran said. It’s expected to enroll about 100 students initially.
Local Goodwill organizations operate more than 40 Excel Center locations nationwide — recent additions to the lineup have included sites in Baltimore and Charleston, South Carolina — but Goodwill of the Valleys will open the first in Virginia.
Since the school is the first of its kind in Virginia, developing it required action by state legislators. A law passed during the 2023 General Assembly granted nonprofits the ability to open schools to serve adult learners. Once the law took effect last summer, Goodwill could start working with the state education department to make sure its curriculum would meet state standards.
Goodwill estimates about 13,000 people aged 25 and older in the Roanoke Valley don’t have a high school diploma or GED.
The organization serves 35 counties and 14 cities in Central, Southwest and Southside Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
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Correction 9:50 a.m. Feb. 14: The Excel Center will not offer GED classes. An earlier version of this story included incorrect information about the center’s programming.
