The St. Joseph Public Library is offering patrons a way to complete their high school credits to obtain their diploma at no cost through Excel Adult High School offered by Gale and the Missouri State Library.
Transfer over eligible high school, GED, and HiSET credits, then take online courses, along with assignments and tests in order to graduate. The online learning environment can give people who cannot attend traditional classes a chance to earn their diploma in just a few months depending on the number of transfer credits. Students have up to 24 months to complete the program. Excel Adult High School offers quality teaching staff and tutors.
The library is also offering laptops and wifi hotspots to students that lack the technology to attend online school. This technology is made available from a grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Who is eligible? Any St. Joseph, MO resident, 19 years old or older with a library card in good standing and email account.
Steps to enroll:
1: Go to https://excelhighschool.org/library/sjpl and click on “Get Started.”
2: Once you have created your Excel Adult High School account, the library’s Excel Coordinator will contact you with some follow-up questions. Potential students will be asked about technology needs, time commitments and previous high school experience.
3. Next, the Excel Coordinator will decide whether to approve the applicant for the two-week pre-requisite Life Skills course.
4. If approved, the student has two weeks to complete the Life Skills course with a 70% or higher score.
5. If the student passes the Life Skills course, the Excel Coordinator will decide on approving a scholarship offer to the student.
6. Once the student has been fully accepted into the Excel Adult High School program, they can work with Excel staff to transfer credits into the program and begin taking courses to obtain their high school diploma.
7. The library’s Excel Coordinator and Excel staff will keep track of the student’s progress. Students can be removed from the program for lack of participation and incomplete assignments.
For more information on how to get started go to https://excelhighschool.org/library/sjpl or contact Crystal Stuck at 816-236-2107 or email excel@sjpl.lib.mo.us.
