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Central Mississippi Correctional Facility
Central Mississippi Correctional Facility offers Microsoft Office Specialist exams to inmates
BACKGROUND
The Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl, Mississippi, is a medium-security
prison that houses the majority of the female inmates in the Mississippi correctional
system. The facility houses male inmates with disabilities or long-term illnesses
and receives inmates into the prison system before assigning and routing them
to prisons of varying security levels throughout the state.
The Vocational School
of the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility resulted as a cooperative
effort between the Mississippi Department of Corrections and
the Mississippi Department of Education to provide rehabilitative training to
female inmates. The Department of Education funded the school’s facilities,
equipment, and most of its instructors. The Department of Corrections provided
supplies and the special population that enrolls in the school. Of the more than
1,400 female inmates in the facility, 103 are currently enrolled in vocational
programs and 239 are enrolled in adult basic education and reading assistance
programs.
The Vocational School’s Business Technology program is one of
six vocational
programs available to qualifying inmates. Its self-paced, junior-college-level
courses follow the Mississippi Post-secondary Business and Computer Technology
Standardized Curriculum. To participate, inmates must have a high-school diploma
or a high-school equivalency diploma. Beverly Mabry, the Business Technology
instructor, personally teaches 15 students per year. Her 1,200-hour course provides
intensive, hands-on training to students who voluntarily enroll. The computer-oriented
courses in the curriculum are Operating Systems, which teaches the basics of
computers and operating systems; Keyboarding Concepts, which offers instruction
on typing and business document creation; and Word Processing, which focuses
on Microsoft® Word. Professional Development, Mechanics of Communication,
Applied Business Math, and Records Management courses are also available.
“I kept asking myself what I could do to give my students an additional
tool to be successful in finding a job in the ‘free world,’” Mabry
said. “The skills developed through my program would be their primary
tool, but they would need an extra tool to overcome their criminal record.”
PROCESS
Mabry first identified that “extra tool” at the Computer and Technology
Show in Jackson, Mississippi. A local Certiport Center attending the show provided
her information about the Microsoft Office Specialist program. After a few
students passed Office Specialist exams using the local testing center, Mabry
began working directly with Certiport to establish the school as its own testing
center. A classroom was prepared for administering the testing program, a new
computer was purchased, communication wires and Internet access were installed,
Certiport Approved Courseware was selected, and funds for purchasing the exams
were provided using the Inmate Welfare Fund that results from monies collected
at the inmate canteen facility. The Vocational School was ready to begin testing.
To
ensure competency in the areas she teaches, Mabry created task sheets, which
document the information students need to learn to complete the course. The
Word Processing task sheet includes 26 tasks. When a student completes half
of the tasks, she takes a practice test for the Specialist exam. When the remaining
tasks are complete, she is given a practice test for the Expert exam. When
she passes the practice tests with a score of 100 percent, she may take the
Microsoft Word 2000 exam. If she passes that exam, she may take the Microsoft
Word 2000 Expert exam.
“They work toward the goal of taking the test,” Mabry said. But just
in case they don’t pass the first time, Mabry leverages Certiport retake
promotions to help students be successful. “’No Fear Friday’ was
a huge benefit to us. The inmates were able to retake the exams, and they passed.” She
said Certiport’s $10-retake offers are also beneficial.
“Once they get into the program, they realize the benefit of it. They do
well.
I know it will help them when they get out,” Mabry said.
CERTIFICATION
Thirty-five certifications have been awarded at the Vocational School, and
one inmate has earned Master Certification by passing five different Office
Specialist exams. The majority of certified students have earned Microsoft
Word 2000 certification; several students have also passed the Microsoft
Excel 2000 exam.
“If they progress through the Word exams rapidly, they can go beyond
the curriculum
to take Excel exams and even Access exams,” Mabry said.
RESULT
Some inmates have been able to reduce their sentences because of their success
in Mabry’s course. Upon release from prison, Mabry’s students
have been able to effectively contribute to society. Students who pursue
college have been able to receive college credit because of their Office
Specialist certifications. One inmate who earned Microsoft Word 2000 and
Microsoft Excel 2000 certifications currently works in Jackson at a recovery
center for addicts, many of whom are ex-offenders.
“Without education, they don’t have a chance,” Mabry said.
But when they are in the “free world,” they are able to secure
employment because of their education and certification. As they begin paying
income taxes,
they are paying back the system and giving other inmates the opportunity for
reform and success in the “free world.”
“If only one inmate doesn’t come back to prison, we’ve done
a service to society,” Mabry said. “We are so pleased Certiport
has given us this opportunity.”
Christopher Epps, Commissioner of the
Mississippi Department of Corrections, agreed. “This is a valuable program
for the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the State of Mississippi.
It effectively helps inmates build
new skills and contribute to the workplace,” he said.
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—Posted 06/22/04
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