History
Our Building
In the 1960s, Liggett and Myers constructed a large Jeffersonian-style building on North Roxboro Street to serve as its Operations Center, which opened in 1967. In 1979, the Liggett Group relocated its National Headquarters to Montvale, New Jersey. The building was subsequently acquired by GTE, which doubled its size to 159,570 square feet by seamlessly adding a four-story addition at the back. They may have also added the columned portico to the front of the building.
The building changed hands again and underwent renovations, including asbestos abatement, by its new owner, Beaches West Development Ltd., which renamed it Signature Commons. In 2008, part of the first floor was leased as temporary quarters for the DPS magnet school, City of Medicine Academy. Within three years, their permanent facility was completed on the grounds of Durham Regional Hospital, and they vacated Signature Commons. The space was then leased to Carter Community School, which later built its own facility off West Cornwallis Road and moved also.
Excelsior Classical Academy received approval from the Charter School Advisory Board and the State Board of Education in 2014 to open in August 2015. In our first year, we leased the original classroom space in Signature Commons for 252 students in grades K-4. That year, we began renovating additional first-floor space to accommodate our expansion for the following year. Each year, we needed to add more space, and in June 2018, we purchased the building for $7.47 million—a much lower cost than buying land and constructing a new facility. We added a playground and continued to enhance the building to support our growth into a K-12 school. In the summer of 2023, we completed our final addition: a gym.
Our Beginnings
Cynthia Gadol, a teacher of math, statistics, logic, and art at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, was invited to become a Principal Fellow to train as a charter school leader. While continuing her work at TJCA, she earned a master’s degree in School Administration, wrote the charter for Excelsior Classical Academy, and frequently traveled from Rutherford County in western North Carolina to Durham to seek board members and a building. She submitted the application on December 6, 2013.
In May 2014, Excelsior’s Founding Board—composed of Joan Lange, Dr. Tammy White Rodman, Dr. Tom Nechyba, Kathy Rennie, Mark Anthony Middleton, Natalie Dekle, and Blaire Benson—was interviewed by the Charter School Advisory Board regarding the application. Only board members could participate in the interview, so Ms. Gadol watched proudly as they successfully addressed questions about the charter. The application was approved, allowing Excelsior to open in August 2015 after the required training year for the founding director and board.
Excelsior opened on August 5, 2015, with 252 students in grades K-4. We have added one grade each year, and after introducing ninth grade during the remote learning period of the pandemic, we officially became a K-12 school in the 2023-2024 academic year. Our first graduating class, consisting of 37 students, graduated June 1, 2024.
