.....The class in Anderson taught by Ms. Hamlin — or Ms. Elysse as she is known by her students — is at a Goodwill Excel Center tuition-free adult high school. There are 15 such schools in Indiana and one each in Austin, Tex.; Memphis; Washington; and Little Rock, Ark. They are all under the umbrella of the nonprofit Goodwill Industries International and are for anyone over 16 or 18 years old, depending on the state, who dropped out of high school before receiving a diploma.

Five more, four in Missouri and one in Muncie, Ind., are scheduled to open by 2019.

Although there are many other programs around the country to help adults get their high school diplomas, the Goodwill Excel school model stands out because it accepts students of any age — most other schools cap their enrollment at age 25 or younger — is growing nationally and offers intensive support to overcome the obstacles facing most people trying to go back to school.

Each school provides life coaches, who serve as a combination guidance counselor and social worker, drop-in child care, transportation assistance and other benefits. Students work toward a regular diploma and dual college credit or industry-recognized vocational certification in any number of fields, such as pharmacy technician, information technology or welding. And any Excel Center in any state is required to incorporate all those elements.

Rigorous research has shown that that kind of wraparound support “has the potential to have the most impact,” said Elizabeth Zachry Rutschow, a senior research associate with MDRC, a nonprofit research organization. “This comprehensive support model is very unusual. Adult education programs are often really strapped for funding”.....

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