Excel Adult High School: New Diploma Program Offered by the Library

Posted on September 26, 2023 at 6:00 am

By Stacey Goddard

New Adult Education Opportunity

We are now past the official start of fall. Students in grades K–12 have been busy with classes for a few weeks now, and students attending our local community colleges started fall quarter last week.

This is also the time of year when I usually reflect on how fortunate I was to make it through high school to graduation, which was the first step in my journey to becoming a librarian.

Not everyone is able to make it through the traditional education system to graduation.

There are countless reasons someone may decide to leave school before earning their high school diploma—perhaps to take care of a sick parent, help support younger siblings, or to work full time to support themselves. For others, the traditional structure of in-person, five-days-a-week classes might be too restrictive or might not be the best environment for their particular learning style.

Whatever the reason, today, there are options available for earning a high school diploma—no matter how old you are or when you last worked on a school assignment.

One of those options is a new program launched this week at the library:

Gale Presents: Excel Adult High School

About Excel Adult High School

Excel Adult High School provides an opportunity for individuals in our service area, who are at least 25 years old, to complete their high school education and earn their diploma from an accredited program.

Participants have 24 months to complete the course work, but many students graduate in 6 to 9 months.

The program takes place entirely online. This includes all lectures, assignments, quizzes, and tests. Participants can complete the course work at the times that work best for them and their busy lives—this is called asynchronous learning. So, there are no set times when a student needs to be online to complete any of the work.

While the program is asynchronous, it also has a robust support system. Enrolled participants are assigned a Success Coach, have help ordering transcripts and transferring credits, get free tutoring support, and more.

Excel Adult High School also offers help for English-language learners and other accessibility tools to help students.

To be successful with this program, applicants will need to be self-motivated, have good time-management skills, and be comfortable with technology.

The program is free to all applicants who are accepted into the program (funding is provided by Spokane County Library District).

Applying to Excel Adult High School

To start the application process, visit the Excel Adult High School website and click on the “Get Started” button in the upper-right corner.

Applicants must meet the initial requirements to apply:

• Reside in Spokane County Library District’s service area: in Spokane County (excluding the incorporated cities of Liberty Lake and Spokane)
• Have successfully completed 8th grade
• Are 25 years of age or older

If these requirements are met, applicants will be invited to complete an online Prerequisite Course. This course gives the applicant an opportunity to see if online learning is a good fit for them. The course must be completed within two weeks, so applicants also have the opportunity to challenge their time-management skills.

Passing the prerequisite course advances applicants to the next step: a one-on-one interview with library staff. Then, based on the outcome of the interview, the applicant may be invited to enroll in Excel Adult High School.

You can learn more about this program at the Excel Adult High School website by exploring the Program Details and FAQS (Frequently Asked Questions) sections. You can also email us with any questions you have about the program at excel@scld.org.

If Excel Adult High School sounds like a good fit for you, I encourage you to click the “Get Started” button on the website to begin the application process!

Stacey Goddard loves being able to work with small business owners and people looking to change careers as part of her job as a Public Services Manager for Spokane County Library District. She’s also a fan of helping folks increase their financial literacy, especially after her own ill-advised spending decisions in her 20s and 30s! Outside of work, Stacey enjoys buying cookbooks to browse and probably never use, binge-watching fashion competition shows, and planning her next vacation to the Oregon Coast.

Tags: adult, Adult Education, adults, diploma, education, Excel Adult High School, graduate, graduation, high school, higher education, learning, online