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Principal Ritchie tells Curriculum and Instruction Committee Excel students raised district graduation rates, officials say
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Summary
Principal Ritchie told the Curriculum and Instruction Committee that Excel Flexible Learning Academy averaged a 98.7% graduation rate over five years and contributed roughly 5–6 percentage points to the district graduation rate; members asked about transportation, enrollment procedures and parent engagement, and praised the program’s mentoring and new drone-certification initiative.
Principal Ritchie presented the Excel Flexible Learning Academy’s program model and outcomes to the Curriculum and Instruction Committee on a January 2026 meeting, saying the alternative program has had strong graduation results and describing new career and student-support initiatives.
Ritchie, the program’s principal, said Excel’s students are scheduled to take one course at a time and receive direct, in‑person instruction. "Over the last 5 years, Excel has had a 98.7% graduation rate average," he told the committee, and he later said Excel students contributed a measurable uplift to district figures: "In 02/2025, we contributed 5.5% positive increase to the district's graduation rate," with a five‑year average contribution of about 6.1 percentage points.
The data, Ritchie said, include course-passage rates of roughly 88% in English II and 87% in Algebra I, and he emphasized that many of the students in those successes were not previously identified as gifted. The program uses a range of schedules—day, a new midday option that leverages existing bus routes, an evening session and an extended‑day model so students can recover or earn credits while remaining connected to their home high school.
Committee members highlighted both the quantitative and qualitative impact. A committee member described meeting a 17‑year‑old student who had been expelled elsewhere and said the student "is 17 and graduating on time," citing it as an example of Excel’s individual impact.
Committee members asked about enrollment rules and whether placement was mandatory; Ritchie said enrollment is optional and staff work with counselors and school APIs to identify candidates and present the program choice to families. "It's totally optional," he said, describing a range of individualized scheduling options from single‑subject evening sessions to more intensive daily immersion when needed.
Ritchie identified persistent challenges with attendance, differences in sending‑school schedules (4x4, A/B days, etc.), and the logistics of transportation. He said the midday option was introduced to reduce parent pickups by routing students on existing buses to the Hayward Career Center line, and noted students also can use the district Comet bus with ID when needed.
The principal also described student supports and enrichment: weekly progress meetings, parent universities to help families navigate the district’s digital coursework platform, built‑in social‑emotional supports, mentoring partnerships (including a program that led 16 students to become published authors), and a student ambassador and service‑learning program tied to a local residential center. He announced a new commercial drone pilot certification program launching this semester, with staff to be trained as certified instructors so students can earn credentials and career/CCR points.
On capacity, Ritchie said Excel’s operating capacity is about 60 students and that the program is currently about half full; he said there are 71 seniors in the cohort currently receiving support. Committee members praised the culture Ritchie described and suggested packaging a condensed version of the update for a forthcoming full board meeting.
The committee did not take formal action at the session; the chair closed the meeting and adjourned the Curriculum and Instruction Committee at 12:22 p.m.
