After months of preparation, Goodwill Industries of the Valleys will celebrate the grand opening of Melrose Plaza later this month.
A grocery store and library branch already are located at the site in Northwest Roanoke – and beginning next month, Melrose Plaza will be home to a new high school for adults to complete their diplomas.
When it opens in August, the Excel Center of Roanoke will become the first adult high school in the state of Virginia. It's targeted at adults who failed to complete their diplomas.
"This is an opportunity for those individuals who weren't successful or didn't have an opportunity to complete their K-12 education," says Bruce Major, the school director of the Excel Center. "They can come back as a second chance."
Major says the facility is focused on helping students overcome the impediments that have prevented them from obtaining a diploma. That includes small class sizes, flexible schedules, childcare, and even foundational courses to help prepare people who haven't been to school for 10, 15 or even 20 years. Major says the goal is to help the center's students to sustain themselves and their families.
"Most of our applicants are looking to advance in their careers, advance in their employability, advance in their capacity to earn more income," he says.
The Excel Center is one of Melrose Plaza's cornerstones. There's also a library branch and Market on Melrose, a grocery store that's already open and operating. The building also will house a cafe, a wellness area with fitness rooms and community health programs, a bank branch and the relocated Harrison Museum of African American Culture.
The grand opening takes place at 10 am on July 31.
