Excel Academy Charter High School graduated its Class of 2026 — a group of students who leave not just with diplomas, but with championship titles, college credits, professional certifications, and a clear sense of who they are and where they’re headed.

As a class, their time at Excel was marked by leadership and achievement.

Together they:

• Captained 23 sports teams
• Won 11 athletic championships across flag football, soccer, track, step, and cross country, including the school’s first MIAA state wrestling champion
• Hosted 7 plays and 4 school-wide art shows
• Led affinity groups
• Earned 21 awards across 16 Model United Nations conferences, and
• Completed more than 2,500 hours of community service, 500 more than any class before them.

In the classroom, passed 337 AP exams (with more results to come!), earning college credit along the way. Nineteen students graduated with a 4.0 GPA or above. Their collective work helped earn Excel Academy a Platinum School designation from the College Board — the organization’s highest recognition for an inclusive and successful Advanced Placement program.

Graduates earned more than $3 million in scholarships and will matriculate to 31 four-year colleges and universities — including Dartmouth College, Northwestern University, Pomona College, Tufts University, Wesleyan University, and Boston College — as well as two-year colleges, career development programs, and one branch of the military. Eighty percent are heading to college, most as the first in their families to do so, outpacing national peers and reversing pandemic-era declines in college-going.

“Our stories often go unread because the ‘cover’ we’re given doesn’t look super impressive to the world. But a label never stopped this class…

Our backgrounds, our experiences and who we are are gifts, and taking a chance on us is the best choice they could ever make.

– Class of 2026 Member Safiyyah

Among the class’s most distinctive achievements: they are the first Excel graduating class to include students who completed a certificate in medical interpretation in Spanish. The year-long program qualifies graduates to work as medical interpreters in Massachusetts, and more than 30 members of the class were recognized at the ceremony. It’s a credential that captures something true about this group — bilingual, oriented toward service, and already thinking concretely about how to show up for their communities.

No one embodies that more fully than Leslie, who will attend Northeastern University this fall to study Health Science on a path toward becoming an OB-GYN. For four years, a pediatrician dismissed the severe pain that cost her more than 30 school days, while her mother’s concerns went unheard because she relied on Leslie to translate them into English before a doctor would engage. Those experiences shaped her goals: she wants to become the kind of physician who takes young women’s pain seriously and ensures Spanish-speaking families can advocate for the people they love. Her medical interpretation certificate, earned while still in high school, alongside her work as cheer captain, NHS officer, and student council member is, in that sense, entirely in character.

“The Class of 2026 has shown us, again, what is possible when students are truly seen and supported,” said Owen Stearns, CEO of Excel Academy Charter Schools. “These graduates are heading into the world with the skills, the confidence, and the drive to make a real difference. We couldn’t be more proud.”