Original Research by School Decision on Excel Academy
Excel Academy is an alternative high school serving grades nine through twelve in Denver, part of Denver Public Schools. It is a small school, and its student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is not a charter school, and it operates as a public alternative school within the district.
Because Excel Academy is an alternative school, several standard academic metrics are not available. State testing proficiency data is absent, and there is no reported four-year graduation rate. The comparison set that places schools relative to districts in Denver County could not include Excel Academy on these measures because the values are missing. The absence of such data is common for alternative schools, which often serve students who may be on a different academic trajectory or who have had disruptions in their education. A parent considering Excel Academy may want to ask the school directly about its academic outcomes, graduation pathways, and how it measures student progress.
The school is located in Denver, a large consolidated city-county that is the state capital and a major economic hub for the Rocky Mountain region. Denver’s economy spans telecommunications, aerospace, software, financial services, health care, and tourism, and the city hosts the headquarters of several large firms. The district itself has seen recent changes that could affect families. In 2024, Denver voters approved a large bond measure for facility improvements, safety upgrades, and technology. The district has also shifted to a literacy curriculum aligned with the science of reading and introduced a unified enrollment system that changes how families apply to schools across the district. A mill levy override approved in 2022 increased teacher pay and mental health support.
Excel Academy’s enrollment is small, and the grade-by-grade counts show a modest drop from ninth to twelfth grade, a pattern that may reflect the nature of an alternative setting where students sometimes enter or exit at different points. The overwhelming majority of students are Hispanic, and the school draws from a low-income population. Information on special populations, such as students with disabilities or English learners, was not reported in the data available.
The school’s designation as an alternative school means it is designed for students who may not thrive in a traditional high school environment. Families considering Excel Academy should understand that it likely offers a different structure, smaller class sizes, or a targeted approach to credit recovery or personalized learning, but specific program offerings were not provided in the data. Without state test results or a graduation rate, a parent cannot rely on those typical measures to judge outcomes. Instead, the decision rests on whether the school’s mission and approach match what a student needs.
Denver itself provides a dense urban context with a wide range of civic amenities, extensive parks, a performing arts complex, and professional sports teams. The housing market in the area has seen prices decline modestly in recent months, and rents have also dipped slightly, though affordability remains a consideration relative to national benchmarks. For a family evaluating Excel Academy, the broader school district’s recent investments in facilities and literacy instruction may also factor into their sense of the system’s direction, even if those changes do not directly alter the alternative school’s day-to-day operation.
See more original research from School Decision →