Excel’s Approach to Education
A walk through the halls of Excel Academy’s schools when classes are in session is a remarkable experience. In every classroom, teachers present rigorous lessons and students rise to meet the challenges their teachers present. Excel Academy teachers hold students to high academic expectations, and are able to focus on effective instruction because consistent classroom management expectations are enforced by every teacher and followed by every student. Teachers deliver great lessons; students are engaged and on-task throughout the entire class period. Classes run fluidly with clear communication between students and teacher.
Academic success and opportunity are our greatest motivators. Teachers use school-wide systems, individual techniques, strong student-teacher relationships, and strong teacher-family relationships to promote and reinforce behavioral excellence. Students hold each other accountable and support each other in reaching ambitious goals. Students internalize the values taught at school and make good decisions (even when no one is watching). Parents are welcome at the school. Teachers know and feel that they are well supported by administration. Staff, teachers, students, and families work together to create a college-preparatory environment.
The goal is to create a culture of achievement in the school. Together, we place the highest value on student achievement and show students the path to success. We create a community where students would rather learn than distract or disrupt their learning or the learning of others.
Excel’s greatest strengths are our strong school culture, rigorous academic program, quality teaching staff, and professional culture. By establishing a strong behavioral management program that promotes joy in learning and creates a team-based atmosphere, we have built a culture in which students internalize the value of education and the importance of good character. By focusing on the need to simultaneously reinforce basic skills while developing higher-order thinking, our academic program meets the needs of our student population and helps them achieve at the highest levels. Our teachers and staff provide high-quality instruction and support and are talented, committed individuals who are dedicated to their personal and collective advancement. Teachers and staff challenge one another, collaborate, hold one another accountable, provide support and inspiration and assume leadership roles. The result is a highly functional team that strives for constant excellence and self-improvement.
Excel Academy has been able to apply these principles, these values, and these systems across our middle school campuses and now into our high school. We are one network of schools with a clear sense of who we are: highly rigorous public schools committed to ensuring every student has access to the best possible education.
