Credit recovery courses allow high school students to earn credits for coursework they need in order to graduate. So how can you take advantage of this opportunity?

By Jailyn Taylor

Credit recovery: A class you’ve probably heard of but don’t know much about. The name may be self-explanatory, but let’s be honest: you probably don’t know much about the process or the class itself. So what’s credit recovery all about?

What is credit recovery? Credit recovery is a class that gives you an opportunity to make up a credit you are missing or don’t have. Many of the students taking credit recovery have transferred to Central, are failing a class, or are missing a credit they forgot to take. Heather Harmon and Neal Cruce are the teachers who run credit recovery. Their goal is to help students regain this missing credit so they can graduate from high school with the necessary credits they need. Some of the most common credits earned in the class are from classes like world geography and science classes.

How does credit recovery work? Credit recovery is powered through Edgenuity. Edgenuity is the same program used for distance learners and it has specific classes you can register for and complete online. However, there are certain classes that you can retake but do not use Edgenuity for. It really depends on the class that you need the credit for. “We also have RTI, which is a way to help the progress and to help with the struggle students can face during credit recovery, with an intervention strategy,” said Ms. Harmon.

What is Edgenuity? Edgenuity is a program where you have assignments given to you daily. There are different types of assignments like warmups, practice tests, and official tests. On the dashboard you are given a bar which tracks your progress and alerts you if you are behind in your schoolwork.

How do I succeed in credit recovery? The success of credit recovery relies solely on the student. Should the student follow the rules, do their work, listen to their teacher, and advocate for themselves when they need help. However, should the student skip class, be tardy, not do their work, sleep, or stay off task, the student will not earn the credit and will be forced to retake the class. So in reality, the easiest way to success is to treat credit recovery like any other class and get your work done. “I’ve had students who follow the rules to a T, and they have made their way out of credit recovery and secured that credit. Some students don’t take it seriously and it comes back to hurt them in the long run,” Ms. Harmon said when asked about the road to success in credit recovery.

Like any other classroom, credit recovery is ran with rules, standards, and expectations. These rules and expectations never change and are to be followed in order to secure a previously missing credit. Credit recovery is often shown in a bad light, but it is there to help students succeed and give them the necessary tools they need in order to graduate.