The Excel Institute (“Excel”) is a Washington, D.C. based 501(c)(3), licensed post secondary educational institution founded in 1997 by former Washington Redskin George Starke, and John Lyon, CEO of Parking Management Inc. Excel established an Automotive Workforce Development Training Program (AWDTP) to generate opportunities for the community by providing scholarships for vocational training in the field of automotive technology for at-risk youth and adults. The institute’s mission has always been to provide a center of excellence for the development of job skills, career and technical education to those who seek a better life.

Excel’s AWDTP, which includes basic literacy education, life skills development, career counseling and job placement services, addresses the following needs: (1) training the unproductive and unemployed for jobs in automotive technology, (2) accepting at-risk youth and adults who do not qualify for entry into other educational programs, and (3) addressing the low literacy rate of school dropouts by providing basic literacy skills and High School Equivalency (GED) instruction.

Located at 2851 V Street, N.E., Washington, DC, Excel welcomes a diverse student body that includes: multiple age groups, various ethnicities, men and women, individuals with a history of crime or substance abuse, school dropouts, the unemployed, low-income earners, and disabled individuals. Excel accepts students, above the age of sixteen, from the Washington D.C. metropolitan area that want to build a better life.

Excel’s AWDTP curriculum includes six automotive specialty courses; however, students begin with introductory courses, “Phase One,” that specifically target GED instruction, basic literacy skills (applied language, math, and science) and life skills/employability training. Excel’s Applied Language Arts class helps students to organize and express applied technical information more effectively in written and oral formats; topics include: language arts, nonverbal listening, and interpersonal communication competency through cooperative problem solving applications. The AWDTP’s Applied Math and Science courses are studies of mathematics and science skills that are utilized in the automotive service field.

Additionally, the Employment Skills course is designed to provide a structured environment to explore ways to become more successful in job searches and job retention. Excel’s students work with individual counselors to develop effective strategies that most appropriately meet the student’s needs. Furthermore, students participate in a Life Skills class that covers life management tools and techniques; topics include: budgeting, conflict resolution, family/work life balance, and time management.

Excel’s automotive curriculum is a competency-based learning process that provides students greater flexibility in developing the skills and knowledge required to become automotive service technicians. The curriculum, which is geared toward the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation’s (NATEF) guidelines, identifies and prioritizes the competencies required for automotive service technicians. This includes six automotive specialties: brakes, electrical/electronic systems, engine performance, suspension and steering, engine repair, and heating and air conditioning.

The competency-based training model takes the students’ knowledge and attitudes into account, but also requires actual performance as the primary evidence of assessment and achievement. In addition, the revised training model allows the students a more individualized, self-paced method of progressing through the training program. Training for the automotive curriculum is conducted through hands-on training as well as textbook and computer instruction.

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