Goodwill Education Initiatives hopes to open a charter school in Columbus in two years, giving high school dropouts a new opportunity to earn their diplomas.
The Indianapolis-based nonprofit organization plans to open the Columbus center by July 2020, said Kent Kramer, president and CEO of Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana.
An application filed with the Indiana Charter School Board to open several Excel Centers across the state, including one in Columbus, was approved last June.
“We know there’s a need in Bartholomew County,” Kramer said, referring to 6,500 county adults without high school diplomas.
Dropouts are able to earn their diplomas and receive free tuition by attending the Excel Center, which has the capacity to serve 300 students. Free childcare and bus passes are also offered to students, who have the option of taking morning, afternoon or evening classes, Kramer said.
Goodwill opened its first charter school in 2010 in Indianapolis, where it currently has five locations, and plans to open another in Decatur Township next month.
Seven other Excel Centers exist in central and southern Indiana. They operate in Anderson, Clarksville, Kokomo, Lafayette, Noblesville, Richmond and Shelbyville.
An Excel Center in Muncie is slated to open in July, and Bloomington will see an Excel Center open next summer, Kramer said.
For more on this story, see today’s Republic.
