The number of adult learners is growing within the United States.
This fall, 7.4 million individuals aged 25 and older are enrolled in college, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
However, pursuing an education for many adults, whether it is their high school diploma or high school degree, still remains a daunting task.
The nonprofit thrift store, Goodwill, wanted to change that.
In 2010, after discovering that half a million working-aged people living in Indiana lacked a high school diploma, the Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana created the Excel Center.
The tuition-free adult charter school helps individuals earn their high school diplomas.
“It’s an opportunity for any adult who either dropped out or had previously been unable to complete their high school diploma to come back or in some cases, come for the first time, to receive not only an education and not only the actual diploma but kind of a chance and a new set of opportunities,” said Katie Bustamante, school development director at the Excel Center’s national office.
