District details Excel Prep Academy program to help students make up credits and accelerate graduation

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Huntsville City Schools administrators presented details April 8 on Excel Prep Academy, a district program that targets high school students who need to recover unearned credits or who want to accelerate toward graduation.

Melissa Lindsey, who led the presentation, described Excel Prep as a blended-learning program located at 2800 Poplar Avenue on the Apollo campus. "Excel Prep Academy's primary objective is to provide high school students with a comprehensive educational experience that not only remediates unearned credits, but also accelerates their learning," Lindsey said.

The program serves students in grades 9–12 and targets students with two or more unearned credits; students who wish to graduate early may also apply. Students attend from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; transportation from the home school is provided to Excel Prep, and parents are responsible for transportation to after-school extracurriculars at the home school. Staffing includes a program administrator (identified in the presentation as Hovette Dixon), four content-area teachers and shared services such as nursing, special education, mental-health therapists, counselors and security.

Excel Prep uses a digital curriculum platform (Accelerate Education) and a blended model where teachers work with small groups. Lindsey said class sizes are planned at about 12–15 students with an enrollment goal of roughly 60 students next year. The district also identified partnerships for career exposure, including Drake State and visits to local employers and institutions. Lindsey said the program began in fall 2024 and that early graduates from the program were celebrated at a December ceremony; she said 8 students graduated through Excel Prep in that December celebration and about 20–24 students were expected to graduate in May.

Recruitment begins April 15 and runs through May 16, with a parent meeting scheduled for May 19 at 3:30 p.m. Applicants will be notified by phone, email and mail between June 1 and June 6. An open house is planned for July, and classes would start in August. Lindsey said teachers and counselors will reach out directly to identified students and families and that the program will set up a recruitment table at summer school registration.

Board members asked whether students using Excel Prep to accelerate would follow the same timeline as students using it to recover credits; Lindsey said yes. A board member asked how the state's alternate diploma pathway (which reduces some math and science requirements beginning with next year’s seniors) affects students; staff said the alternate diploma takes effect for next year’s seniors and may influence individual students' needs but did not provide additional policy details.