As the recent COVID-19 Virus Pandemic affects all people and businesses in some way or another, Excel English Institute is certainly not exempt from its consequences and restrictions mandated by government officials. After it became apparent that most businesses and all schools would have to close in the DFW area in Mid-March, Excel Directors decided to put a plan in place to protect its staff, faculty and students from infection. We made the decision to transition our language school to offer online English classes.

Excel administration decided to restrict office hours to by appointment only and keep students and staff at home under the Shelter in Place order.

Before the closures went into effect, Excel faculty and staff rushed to get everyone trained on conducting online classes. For some of our teachers and students, it was more challenging than for others, but with the help of some of our knowledgeable staff, an effective system was put in place and launched within hours to make sure our classes and Excel’s instruction would continue without interruption.

Although there was a short learning curve and kinks to iron out, we are proud to say that all of our wonderful hard-working teachers and staff have continued to provide stellar service and education to all our students. Equipment was purchased for online teaching, accounts were secured and teachers received all the support they needed with additional office staff to make sure students could continue their lessons at home via a computer or even their smart phones. Tests, and quizzes were administered as usual and final exams prepared and distributed electronically to ensure students were assessed accurately for the work they did in the March session.

As for the April session, the order to Shelter in Place is still in effect, which means that Excel will continue online Intensive English classes. With the two past weeks of learning and working out glitches under our belts, the April session is turning out to be even better and more effective. In fact, the new session, which began April 6th, has hosted even more new students who for the first time in Excel history were processed online, minimizing face to face exposure. New students take the placement test online, are interviewed, and placed in the appropriate classes virtually!

Finally, as an effort to ease the difficulties this COVID-19 Panademic has caused our students, Excel Directors have decided to offer a price break for online English classes for the month of April and May.

Although this difficult and uncertain time has made work and learning inconvenient and a hardship, I am so proud of our students who log in to the online class platform everyday and participate in their classes through delivering oral presentations in English online, writing essays and papers, and doing classwork and homework. I am also grateful for and proud of our instructors who pushed passed their comfort zones to learn how to teach online effectively and continue to explore ways to make online learning fun and engaging.

So for the time being, Excel Directors are grateful for their amazing dedicated faculty members and most of all, the students who make teaching English one of the most rewarding professions there is. Check our website or social media for updates on our classes. Together, we will move past this time of strife and be more resilient and united as a school.