At Watchung Hills Regional High School (WHRHS), ensuring all students have pathways to academic success is more than an aspiration—it’s a guiding principle. The Empower Program, now in its fifth year, embodies this commitment. As a “Tier 3” academic intervention initiative aligned with the New Jersey Tiered System of Supports (NJTSS), Empower provides intensive, individualized instruction and support to students facing barriers to academic success.

Watchung Hills Regional High School is well known for its exceptional educational programs. However, like all schools, we have students who, for a variety of reasons, fall behind academically. During the planning phase for our 2020 Strategic Plan - just months before the onset of the pandemic — we identified a significant district need: some students were falling behind, not because of a lack of potential, but because they needed more individualized academic support to close learning gaps, recover credits, and rebuild academic confidence.

While the planning for Empower was already taking shape, the COVID-19 pandemic deepened these needs and catalyzed action. Using ESSER funding available at the time, WHRHS accelerated the launch of the program to provide students with more structured and responsive support. Inspired by the district’s motto—Encourage, Empower, Explore, Excel—the name “Empower” was intentionally chosen to reflect the program’s mission: not only to support students academically but to instill the confidence and further develop skills necessary to succeed beyond high school, whether through college, the workforce, the trades, or military service.

Empower serves a broad range of students, including those who have lost academic credit, struggle with chronic absenteeism or school avoidance, or are returning from out-of-district placements or alternative education settings, including those dealing with anxiety, mental health challenges, medical conditions, or learning differences. The program supports general education students and those with individualized educational plans, Section 504 plans, and I&RS plans. Additionally, Empower assists academically strong students who transfer into the district and are behind on credits due to their previous schools' differing schedules (e.g., block schedules, out of state, etc.). Empower provides targeted instruction on missed aspects of the course curriculum and the opportunity to earn the credit in the same school year, preventing the need to “take over” the full course the following year. Empower provides a flexible structure that encompasses credit recovery, core skill development in literacy and mathematics, social-emotional wellness, and post-secondary planning.

But Empower is more than a place to catch up—it’s a place where students learn and implement strategies on how to academically succeed. Instruction is delivered by a professional, dedicated, and compassionate team of educators. Our Empower teacher, a certified English teacher, leads full-time instruction in English, Social Studies, and Science, wh[1] ile helping students set academic goals and close learning gaps. He also collaborates with students who are receiving support through I&RS, Section 504, or the Child Study Team. He helps to “test out” individualized accommodations and modifications and provides feedback on their effectiveness to the students, parents, and teams, where he is also a standing member. Members of our math department are assigned sections of Empower Math, providing instructional support and credit recovery. This year, we are also offering a specialized section of Empower Math for multilingual learners (MLLs), providing instruction that integrates content mastery with students working on English language development.

The program also benefits from the consistent support of Student Assistance Counselors who partner with the teachers to deliver lessons during class time focused on time management, organizational skills, stress management, and goal setting. School counselors and case managers meet regularly with Empower students and collaborate with teachers and families to provide wraparound academic and emotional support. Complementing these efforts is WHRHS’s partnership with school-based counseling, provided by Rutgers LIGHT Program. This partnership provides Tier 3 mental health and behavioral health services through on-site clinicians who often work in tandem, when needed, with school counselors, case managers, student assistance counselors, and Empower staff to holistically support students both in and beyond the classroom.

Empower instruction takes place primarily in “Room 109”, a space intentionally designed for flexibility and differentiation. With varied seating arrangements, quiet corners, and areas for collaboration, students can learn in ways that meet their individual needs. Students may attend Empower for one or multiple periods per day, depending on the level of support required. While curriculum software (Edgenuity) is used by students for credit recovery, Empower educators supplement it with curriculum-aligned instruction, collaborating with department supervisors, to ensure academic rigor and relevance.

Each day in Empower begins with students setting a personal learning goal and ends with reflection on their progress. In between, students engage in one-on-one conferences, independent work, group instruction, and skill-building strategies that extend beyond content—focusing on executive functioning, self-regulation, and persistence.

The Empower program has yielded significant and transformative results, and we have the data to back it up. We’ve seen a substantial number of students successfully recover credits, earn original credits, or receive crucial academic support, enabling them to get back on track for graduation. Beyond the overall numbers, the program fosters meaningful personal victories, empowering students who once doubted their ability to graduate to now speak confidently about their future aspirations. As one parent shared, "For the first time, he told me his goal is to get nothing below a ‘B’ this semester. I’ve never heard that from him before."

As Empower has grown, its focus has evolved from solely credit recovery to also serving a larger percentage of students with proactive academic support and interventions. Each year, particularly during the second semester, students who are at risk of failure are enrolled based on data indicators such as chronic absenteeism or performance in core classes. This tailored approach reflects the program’s long-term vision: not just to help students catch up, but to help them move forward.

Empower is not just a class—it’s a comprehensive response to some of the most pressing challenges facing today’s schools. As we look ahead to the 2025–2026 school year, the program will continue to evolve to meet student needs. Two new sections of Empower Proficiency Pathways will support students in the Class of 2026 who have not yet met state assessment graduation requirements in either mathematics or ELA.

All students deserve programs that not only respond to their challenges but recognize their potential and chart a path toward success. Empower is that program.

To learn more about Empower or access materials from our recent conference presentation, visit tinyurl.com/yvf7jsp2.