MERS Goodwill high school soon to open in Cape Girardeau

MERS Goodwill plans to open a tuition-free high school for adults, an Excel Center, by mid-January at 2106 William St. in Cape Girardeau, next to Slumberland Furniture.

The location previously housed Here Today, a value retail outlet.

MERS Goodwill — MERS stands for Metropolitan Employment Rehabilitation Services — is licensed as a not-for-profit with the Missouri secretary of state and operates four Excel Centers in the state: Poplar Bluff, St. Louis, Columbia and Springfield.

Advertised as "coming soon" are learning centers in Cape Girardeau and Florissant, Missouri.

Eric Knost is superintendent of Missouri Excel Centers of MERS Goodwill. An Excel Center, a not-for-profit high school for adults, will open Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 2106 William St. in Cape Girardeau, next door to Slumberland Furniture.Submitted

Eric Knost is superintendent of Missouri Excel Centers of MERS Goodwill. An Excel Center, a not-for-profit high school for adults, will open Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 2106 William St. in Cape Girardeau, next door to Slumberland Furniture.Submitted

Eric Knost is the St. Louis-based superintendent of Missouri Excel Centers.

"We had hoped to open next week but we got a bit of slow start coming out of the holidays. We are enrolling students at this time," Knost told the Southeast Missourian, adding the school's first day is set for Tuesday, Jan. 17.

According to the organization's website, an Excel Center offers an "actual diploma," not a GED, as well as the opportunity to earn college credit.

The centers, the website continues, are open year-round offering five terms per year, each lasting up to nine weeks in duration, with day and evening classes available.

"Our registrar will help you to access your high school transcripts so that you will only need to take classes that you need to earn your high school diploma. We offer classes in language arts, math, science and social studies which are taught by certified and caring teachers who will help you achieve your goals," according to the website.

MERS Goodwill said it will provide free child care for qualified students with the possibility of transportation assistance.

The first U.S. Excel Center opened in 2010 in Indianapolis, while the first Missouri center opened in 2018.

MERS Goodwill is leasing the 17,670-square-feet of space for its Cape Girardeau Excel Center. Tom Kelsey with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate represents the landlord in the lease, while Jack Ford and Chelsea Eaton with Ritter Real Estate represent MERS Goodwill.

For more information, visit http://excel.mersgoodwill.org.