Excel Academy credit-recovery program reports jump in course completions and graduates

Andy Johnson, principal of the Excel Academy, told the Bedford City Board of Education on June 5 that the district’s alternative-credit program has grown from under 20 students in the 2016–17 Compass pilot to nearly 200 students this year and has produced a jump in course completions and graduates.

Johnson said Excel became “its own school” with a separate IRN and full-time staff and that changes including a new learning platform and added social-emotional supports helped produce the results. "We brought to the board a different platform we thought would would be beneficial," he said. Johnson identified the new platform as Edmentum and said staff and relationships were central: "they don't care how much you know unless until they know how much you care," he told the board.

Excel’s recorded enrollment and outcomes in Johnson’s presentation: the program served fewer than 20 students in 2016–17 under the Compass name; by the 2022–23 school year it served 123 students; 147 in 2023–24; and almost 200 this year. Course completions tracked on the program’s platform rose from 276 in Excel’s first year to 353, then to 437; Johnson reported the final total was closer to 512 after grades were finalized. Graduates rose from 6 in 2023 to 7 in 2024 and 21 this year, with six more expected by the end of summer school, bringing the anticipated total to 27.

Board members asked how virtual instruction and in-person attendance are managed. Johnson described a mixed model: a small elementary cohort (about six students) works virtually; between middle and high school there were "about 60 to about 70 students in person" with the remainder working virtually but scheduled for periodic in-person contact. Teachers are assigned caseloads to monitor progress; Johnson said each teacher tracked a roster and that staff increased parent communication and created visual incentives (caps on a wall) to mark progress.

Johnson said the district switched this year from the older platform to Edmentum and that the change required substantial staff work but yielded better engagement. He also said Excel’s staff expanded to a team of about 10 teachers and included a guidance counselor and SEL support. Board members and community speakers praised the program’s results and staff, and several recounted individual student successes.

The presentation was informational; no board action was requested or taken on the Excel item during the meeting. Board members said they will continue to monitor platform access for parents and consider additional supports for SEL and staffing.

Johnson closed by noting extracurricular activities—field trips and graduation ceremonies—are becoming part of the program’s school identity as enrollment and outcomes increase.