Goodwill Excel Center: Indianapolis, IN
Published on: February 10, 2026
MORE ABOUT THE STRATEGY USED IN THIS CASE STUDY Alternative pathways to high school graduation
Overview
Summary
In Indiana, young adults with a high school diploma earn significantly more than peers without one, and this gap grows throughout adulthood. GEDs are not of equivalent value to a traditional high school degree. After operating a charter school for traditional high school age students for years, Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana (GCSI) realized there was a major gap in the state’s public educational offerings: Adults had no option for earning a diploma. These residents would have very limited employment and earning opportunities for the rest of their lives.
To provide adults with the opportunity to earn a diploma and remove obstacles to graduation, GCSI designed a new kind of public charter high school. The Excel Center, opened in Indianapolis in 2010, offers adult students classroom-based instruction, wraparound supports targeting specific needs such as childcare and transportation, and individualized academic plans developed through one-on-one coaching. All students can also earn industry-recognized credentials and dual college credits.
From the school’s inception, GCSI leaders were committed to data-driven decision-making to evolve the Excel Center’s model and improve outcomes. The organization also understood that continued public funding for the new high school model would be bolstered by clear evidence showing positive outcomes. Its partnerships with academic institutions to facilitate rigorous, independent evaluations resulted in evidence demonstrating that Excel Center graduates earn higher wages on average and that financial support for the program more than pays for itself, in terms of economic benefits.
The Excel Center model has been successfully replicated across the country. Today there are 50 Excel Center campuses operated by regional Goodwill organizations, including in states that previously prohibited state funding for adults seeking to earn a high school diploma. Persuaded in part by evaluation data showing Excel Centers’ positive impact, 12 states changed their laws to remove age barriers for those seeking a high school diploma, clearing the way for Excel Centers to be opened.
Results and Accomplishments
40%
The increase in earnings among graduates of the flagship Excel Center campus in Indianapolis five years after applying to the program.
$80,000
The increase in lifetime earnings experienced by Excel Center graduates compared to students who do not graduate or students who apply but do not enroll.
20-to-1 ROI
$20 in benefits are generated by every $1 in government funding for Excel Center students, when increased earnings and tax revenues are taken into account, according to the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities.
Proving a new education model based on clear causal evidence: The significant successes of the first Excel Center high school in Indianapolis, detailed by the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities, has led to nationwide replication. As of December 2025, there are 50 Excel Centers operating in 24 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Transforming life trajectories: More than 16,000 adults have earned high school diplomas at Excel Centers across the country since 2011. These graduates collectively earned over 11,000 industry-recognized certifications. Positive impacts go beyond graduates’ career trajectories and earning power, however. Evaluations of The Excel Center have found that graduates see sustained drops in contact with the criminal justice system, including a 49% reduction in criminal charges. Earning a diploma helps many Excel Center graduates achieve housing stability. It can also spark intergenerational benefits–many Excel Center graduates, for example, say their children’s academic performance improves after Excel Center enrollment.
Leading cross-country change: Persuaded in part by evaluation data showing Excel Centers’ positive impact, 12 states changed their laws to remove age barriers for those seeking a high school diploma. (When the first Excel Center opened in 2010 in Indianapolis, more than half of U.S. states had laws restricting the use of education funds for students 21 or older.) Aware of the schools’ benefits, legislators in multiple states have increased public funding for Excel Centers.
Solution
What was the challenge?
Limited prospects without a high school diploma: In Indiana, nearly 500,000 working-age adults lack a high school diploma, representing 11% of the population between 18-64. Young adults with a high school diploma earn 77% more than peers without one, a gap that increases throughout adulthood.
No high school education options for adult learners. Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana began operating the Indianapolis Metropolitan High School (a public charter school) for high-need students of traditional high school age in 2004. The organization found that a significant portion of young parents in the city had not earned their high school diploma, and it knew the research showed a GED wasn’t of equivalent value. But individuals older than 18 had no high school option. Without the possibility of earning a diploma, these residents would have very limited employment and earning opportunities for the rest of their lives.
What was the approach?
A new school for adult learners: In 2010, Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana launched the Excel Center, a new kind of high school for adults lacking a high school diploma. A majority of students have children under the age of 18, household incomes below 185% of the federal poverty level, and receive public assistance. The tuition-free public charter school, which meets Indiana state standards, operates and accepts applications year-round.
Low barriers to entry: The school offers enrolled students five eight-week terms per year. The only requirements for enrollment are Indiana residency, being at least 18 years old, and a copy of an official transcript from a previous high school. Past high school credits can be transferred in. Students take classes in all key high school content areas, and many students graduate within 12 months.
A holistic approach to removing obstacles to success: The Excel Center is designed to address the full context of each student’s life, removing complex and persistent obstacles to success by linking education, childcare, health services, and employment opportunities. The Excel Center offers on-site childcare while students are in class, provides transportation assistance and helps connect students to an array of other targeted supports.
Earning more than a diploma: Excel Center also offers students the chance to earn industry-recognized certifications in fields such as health care and manufacturing, and college credits. Classes related to certifications or college credit are also free.
Scaling change: As The Excel Center model demonstrated effectiveness, Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana began opening additional Excel Center schools across the state. To meet growing demand and scale the model nationally, in 2013 Goodwill Education Initiatives—a not-for-profit created by Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana—opened its Excel Center National Office to support regional Goodwill organizations in opening new Excel Center campuses across the country.
Who was involved?
Adults without a high school diploma: The Excel Center was specifically designed to meet the needs of individuals older than traditional high school student age. The average age of an Excel Center student in Indianapolis is 27. A majority are parents and many have incomes close to the federal poverty line. Students are most often referred to Excel Centers through other students and community partners.
State legislators: As a public charter high school, The Excel Center received public funding on a per-pupil basis. State legislators, who propose and approve Indiana’s annual state budget, are therefore key stakeholders. Goodwill leaders engage legislators to explain the Excel Center’s unique model and impact. Their ability to point to an evidence base showing Excel Center graduates’ successes has helped ensure continued funding.
Indianapolis mayor’s office: The mayor of Indianapolis holds the power to authorize charter schools in Marion County, Indiana, which largely shares the same boundaries as the city. In 2010, Goodwill sought and received authorization for the first Excel Center from then-mayor Greg Ballard. Mayor Joe Hogsett, first elected in 2015, has reauthorized the charter school. Goodwill’s ability to point to The Excel Center’s evidence base has helped ensure reauthorization.
Wraparound service partners: The Excel Center partners with a range of organizations in Indianapolis to provide specific services such as on-campus food and mental health supports.
How was this approach funded?
Government funds: The Excel Center is a public charter high school that receives the bulk of its funding from the State of Indiana on a per-pupil basis. In the early years of the Indianapolis campus, the school received its annual funding from the state like any other charter high school. State legislators in Indiana later decided to create a separate budgetary line item for The Excel Center, funding the school on a two-year basis.
Donations: Goodwill retail stores provide a small portion of The Excel Center’s funding via “round up” donations made by customers.
Philanthropy: Foundation grants comprise a small portion of The Excel Center’s budget.
- Funding approaches vary outside of Indiana: While many Excel Centers in other states are publicly funded charter schools, some are operated under other funding models by regional Goodwill organizations.. For example, in Memphis (TN), the Excel Center operates as an adult high school within the city’s public school district.
Timeline
The not-for-profit opens Indianapolis Metropolitan High School, a public charter school for high-need students of traditional high school age. In the years that follow, the organization realizes this school cannot address a significant gap in the area’s educational offerings: There is no place for adults to earn a high school diploma.
Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana opens The Excel Center, the country’s first free charter high school for adult learners seeking a high school diploma. The organization expects the new school to serve 150 students its first year; 539 adults enroll.
Implementing lessons learned from its inaugural 2010-2011 school year, The Excel Center model shifts to a more structured classroom instruction-focused approach, adds industry-recognized certifications to the model and launches new processes designed to better orient new students and map out pathways to graduation.
Building on the success of the original campus, the Excel Center Shadeland and the Excel Center in Anderson are opened in Indiana. All Excel Centers ramp up their focus on career goals and readiness, and helping students earn industry-recognized certifications and dual college credits.
Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana opens the Excel Center National Office to scale the model by helping Goodwill organizations in other states open new Excel Center campuses. Four additional Excel Center schools open in Indiana, with locations in West Indianapolis, Kokomo, Richmond, and Lafayette.
The Goodwill Central Texas Excel Center opens in Austin, the first campus outside of Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s area.
An evaluation by Indiana University’s Center for Evaluation & Education Policy finds that within six months of graduating from the Excel Center, 70% of graduates are employed and see a wage increase of 50%.
24 Excel Centers are operating across the country, after seven Goodwill organizations opened 15 new campuses between 2015 and 2019 across five states and Washington D.C.
University of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) publishes its positive evaluation of Excel Center impacts, sparking national interest in the model. LEO’s evaluation and testimony by the lab’s researchers spur Arizona’s state legislature to remove existing age barriers for those seeking a high school education and allocate funds to build Excel Centers.
A 2025 experimental study by LEO finds that Excel Center participants are 49% less likely to receive criminal charges within five years of applying compared to a control group. The finding increases the estimated cost effectiveness of the program by 2-5 times.
50 Excel Centers are now operating in 11 states, and Washington D.C. Goodwill hopes to see 85 operating by 2030.
Implementation
What were the key components of the program’s design?
Holistic approach to supporting students: At the center of The Excel Center model is a commitment to removing barriers to education by providing targeted wraparound services to students. These support services, which include free on-site childcare and transportation support (e.g., gas cards, public transit cards, carpooling options) as well as employment guidance, are inseparable from students’ success in the classroom.
- A structured but flexible classroom-based instruction model: After its first year of operation, The Excel Center rebuilt its approach to both instruction and student support services to better support progress toward graduation. There is schedule flexibility: students can choose morning or afternoon classes (some Excel Center campuses offer evening classes). In-person teachers and classroom-based instruction are at the center of the learning experience. All students are supported outside of classrooms in three ways:
The student orientation process: This sets expectations and helps new students successfully settle into the program.
Mapping the path to graduation through a credit tracking form (CTF): The CTF shows each student where they are on their path to graduation and what they must do to receive a diploma. It details specific pathways to the finish line.
“Senior Seminar” class: This capstone classroom experience prepares all students for life after graduation, acting as a bridge to employment.
- One-on-one coaching: Every student is assigned a “life coach” to help them navigate hurdles like transportation needs, tutoring, scheduling, and other unexpected items that could derail their education. Life coaches work one-on-one with students to create a graduation plan that best fits each person’s career goals and needs. In the years after graduation, a “mission coach” is available to support graduates as they navigate new careers, attend college, and pursue employment prospects.
- Opportunities to earn industry-recognized certificates and college credit: The Excel Center offers students the chance to earn specific credentials, such as Pharmacy Technician, HVAC Maintenance, Welding and Dental Assistance—at no extra cost. Students can also earn dual credits (which count toward both a high school diploma and college) at no cost, thanks to Excel Center partnerships with local community colleges. Evaluations have shown that Excel Center graduates who have earned industry-recognized certifications had better employment outcomes.
What factors drove success?
Individualized student plans: Every student works closely with an Excel Center Life Coach to create a plan for success. Working one-on-one, the student and coach set goals and create action plans within specific timelines while addressing the student’s specific challenges and strengths.
Wraparound supports targeting specific needs: The Excel Center model is designed to meet students where they are to minimize or remove any obstacles that impede progress toward earning a diploma. Wraparound services such as free on-site childcare and transportation are crucial to helping students move toward graduation.
Culture of continuous improvement: Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana leaders were committed to data-driven decision-making to improve the Excel Center’s model and outcomes. From the school’s inception, Excel Center staff closely tracked attrition and graduate rates and post-graduation employment outcomes. When data showed that people who graduated with industry-recognized certifications did better in the labor market, the school increased its focus on these credentials.
Continued support from state and local government: The Excel Center was a new, unproven model for adult education. Steady support from both the mayor of Indianapolis (who authorized the school’s first charter) and the Indiana state legislature allowed leaders of The Excel Center to refine its approach and then build an evidence base showing clear positive impact.
Evidence-building: The Excel Center partnered with the University of Notre Dame to facilitate rigorous, independent evaluations. Over time, this built a solid, compelling evidence base that bolstered support for continued funding in Indiana. The evidence base also built support in other states for replicating the model.
What were the major obstacles?
Securing continued state funding: As a first-of-its kind public charter high school in Indiana, The Excel Center faced some initial opposition from state legislators. Some lawmakers were skeptical that adults deserved a second chance to earn a diploma after not graduating from a traditional high school. Goodwill leaders were able to build strong support in part through data illustrating student successes and labor market impacts.
Finding the right balance between structure and flexibility: During The Excel Center’s first academic year, the school saw higher attrition rates and low graduation rates.. At this point, school curricula was delivered through computer-based modules, with licensed instructors facilitating and supporting online learning rather than leading classroom instruction. A fluid approach to enrollment allowed any admitted student to immediately start their individual modules. To support student progress, Goodwill leaders realized that more structure and focus on classroom-based teaching was needed.
How was the approach measured and refined?
A commitment to outcomes tracking, performance analysis, and data-driven decision-making: This has been part of the Excel Center model since its inception. Analysis of first-year graduation and attrition rates, for example, led to significant changes in The Excel Center’s program structure during the school’s second year.
- Partnerships with universities for evaluations: Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana has worked closely with three different institutions.
Ball State University began evaluating Excel Center students and graduates’ earnings in 2013. It found that individuals who graduated from The Excel Center during the school’s first two years experienced gains in average annual wages of $4,572.
Indiana University’s Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) evaluated The Excel Center’s impact in 2017. Analyzing student/graduate data from 2010 to 2017, CEEP found that 70% of graduates were employed within six months of leaving the school, with a 50% wage increase. CEEP also found total annual tax dollar savings (through reduced public assistance) of $1.9 million.
University of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) began evaluations in 2018. LEO has since published multiple research papers (here and here) evaluating The Excel Center’s impact, finding that the return on public funding for The Excel Center was 20-to-1 and that graduates experience more than an $80,000 increase in earnings throughout their lifetimes.