Natchez High School students who fail a class now have another way to make up the credit.

The Natchez-Adams School Board voted Thursday to approve a credit recovery program.

The program will allow students to earn needed credit with the use of curriculum software and the guidance of a teacher one day a week after school. &uot;This will give a structured time when a child has to come in and work with a teacher and work with a computer outside the regular day,&uot; said Superintendent Dr. Carl Davis.

This format may benefit some students who need the structure that a correspondence class does not provide, Davis said.

They must also pass tests on the subject all in-line with state requirements.

School board member Don Marion asked if the program would actually work for borderline students.

&uot;This is going to be tougher for the kids to pass than in the regular class,&uot; Marion said. &uot;(They’ve) already failed it once.&uot;

Linda Grafton, the district’s director of technology, said that often students fail for other reasons than not being able to do the work. Knowing they must pass the class to graduate may serve as a motivator.

The tuition for the program is $180 for a full year course and $90 for a one semester course and having tuition in place may make the students work harder, officials said.

&uot;I think the proposal to charge $180 or $90 is very good,&uot; Marion said. &uot;Maybe what you need is commitment.&uot;

School board member Craig Langnes said he wanted to make sure students where prohibited from participating for financial reasons. &uot;How about students who aren’t able to pay who need the credit,&uot; Langnes said. &uot;Can we accommodate them somehow?&uot;

Grafton said the program cost about the same as summer school and in the past the district has always worked with students who had difficulty paying.

According to the Mississippi Department of Education similar credit recovery programs already exist in other districts in the state.