Progress 2021: Welcome Northeast

February 2021 • A special publication of the Southern Sentinel

PROGRESS

Northeast

Welcome

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Progress 2021: Welcome Northeast February 2021 • A special publication of the Southern Sentinel

PROGRESS

is a special publication of the Southern Sentinel.

Welcome

Northeast

Southern Sentinel, 1701 City Ave. N., PO Box 558 Ripley, MS 38663 • 662-837-8111

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�rward – MOVING –

NEMCC RIPLEY CAMPUS

1-800-555-2154 NEMCC.EDU Southern Sentinel • Progress 2021 • 5

Investing in Tippah County’s Future

R

ipley’s Northeast Mississippi Community College campus is up and running, providing much needed academic services to Tippah County students.

“Being a former Tippah Countian, this means a lot to me and to our school too,” said NEMCC President Ricky Ford. “But more importantly, it means a lot to the area.”

The college officially took possession of the building on Dec. 14, 2020, during the college’s winter break from classes. The next few weeks were used to furnish the facility, and the satellite campus opened for operation in January for the Spring 2021 semester.

“This facility has been a long time coming,” said Ben Shappley, Director of NEMCC’s Ripley Campus. “It’s been talked about for years. So we were tickled to death to see it come to fruition.”

Construction began on the facility in October 2019 and was expected to take a year to complete. Storms in early January 2020 knocked down the front and back walls of the building, contributing to delays in the construction.

“We ran into a few problems here and there. A storm blew over a section of the wall that we had to redo. That caused a little bit of delay. And then, of course, the pandemic caused delays in shipping and getting materials in,” said Shappley.

Despite these delays, the college began offering classes via Tiger Cast this semester.

“We initially offered 24 classes via Tiger Cast. Tiger Cast is a delivery method that allows us to link all of our satellite campuses together with the main campus. We will have a teacher at one location teaching and students at all the locations,” said Shappley.

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Ben Shappley, Director of the NEMCC Ripley Campus

Students utilize Zoom for the Tiger Cast courses. The teachers create the classes on their Canvas account and link them to Zoom. Students then log into their Canvas account, go to their class, click on join meeting, and are in the classroom.

“We’ve got students at all locations joining in, or even from home. Anywhere you have internet access, an iPad, or a computer, you can join your class. The teacher sees them, they hear each other, and they see the rest of the class. It’s been wonderful for the pandemic, obviously, or when we have to do anything virtual or online,” continued Shappley.

Ford said that the possibilities for Tiger Cast are great. He would like to expand on Tiger Cast to reach out to satellite prison populations to help inmates gain the education needed to find employment when released.

“We could provide training for those that are incarcerated so when they get out, they have a certificate, they can get a job, and they can go to work,” said Ford.

Besides regular college courses, Northeast at Ripley will offer adult education courses for those seeking their high school equivalency diploma.

Shawn Davis’ GED class and Jaclyn Meeks’ Smart Start class will move to the building permanently once the facility’s internet is running at full capacity. Both of these programs rely heavily on internet access. GED classes currently meet off the square in the old The Peoples Bank building, and Smart Start classes are located at the fairgrounds in the old driver’s license building.

“Probably the biggest obstacle right now is we’re still waiting on a data circuit. We are counting on that because currently, we don’t have our perma-

The 10,000 square foot building has two computer labs/classrooms, two typical classrooms, a science lab, a conference room, and a multipurpose room.

nent phone lines. We have internet access via a hotspot in the data room.

It will only accommodate about 10 devices at one time. Once we get that data circuit, it will more than provide adequate internet access for the whole building,” Shappley continued.

Northeast will offer instructor-led classes at the Ripley location in upcoming semesters. The 10,000 square foot building has two computer labs/ classrooms, two typical classrooms, a science lab, a conference room, and a multipurpose room. The college recently received an ARC grant for $150,000 to equip its state-of-the-art science lab. The community can reserve the conference room and multipurpose room free of charge for meetings and events.

Unique to the Ripley satellite campus is a covered patio area, off the multipurpose room where students can take breaks or relax between classes.

Northeast plans to build a second building to house their career technical education and workforce training classes in the next couple of years.

“What we had envisioned is to be able to offer everything from industrial maintenance, to production technician, to basic electricity, hydraulics, pneumatics, and welding,” said Shappley.

Ford hopes that these industrial class offerings will help bring more industry to the area.

“The Tippah County area, the

Benton County area, and the Marshall County area are lacking in economic development and new industries,” said Ford. “If we can provide the training for industries, this will make it more attractive for prospective manufacturers that might want to move into the area. Then those industries will offer jobs to the folks in Tippah, Benton and Marshall counties.”

Ford said Northeast receives funds from the state for workforce training and the college provides the services free to industries.

“We’re on the cutting edge of technology instruction in the classroom.

We’ve had an augmented virtual reality lab for about a year and a half now, and we’re beginning to use that quite extensively. We’re looking at Southern Sentinel • Progress 2021 • 7

A covered patio where students can take a break between classes is unique to the Ripley satellite campus.

expanding to two or three more augmented virtual reality labs because those things, like robotics, are what manufacturers are using. We met with Ashley last week, and they have robotics on their assembly lines that put the furniture together.”

Ford and Shappley invite people to come to the Ripley facility and see what they have to offer.

The Northeast staff in Ripley can help students sign up for classes and fill out financial aid. Career counseling is also available.

“I think it’s important to know that the Ripley center is staffed

by Tippah Counties. Ben Shappley and all the group up there are local folks. That is very advantageous for the student or the prospective workforce trainee. To be able to come in and say, ‘hey, I know you’ makes it a lot easier,” said Ford.

Northeast has a ribbon-cutting planned for the Ripley campus, but a date has not been finalized.

Ford said he hopes to have the science lab completed beforehand so people can tour all the classrooms.

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Students can work on classwork or take proctored exams in the computer lab at Northeast in Ripley.

Smart Start classes help students learn skills needed to succeed professionally while earning valuable certifications.

“I want to thank The Peoples Bank for being great contributors to this whole thing. They’ve been behind it since day one.

Mr. Bobby Martin has been a true friend and a true supporter of Northeast, especially on this project. And they have been very generous to help us. Also, without the Tippah County Board of Supervisors on the initial front end, investing in the property, we could not have moved forward with the Ripley campus,” concluded Ford.

The NEMCC Ripley Campus is located at 1525 City Avenue North. For more information contact: Ben Shappley bshappley@nemcc.edu Beth Benson Email: elbenson@nemcc.edu Rhonda Cockrell Email: rscockrell@nemcc.edu

The multipurpose room at the Ripley campus is available to reserve free of charge for community meetings and events.

Jill Bennett Email: jgbennett@nemcc.edu

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The late Bobby Martin and The Peoples Bank presented NEMCC a check for $100,000 during the groundbreaking ceremony in October 2019.

Northeast at Ripley: The Beginning

N

ortheast Mississippi Community College held the groundbreaking ceremony for the Northeast at Ripley facility Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019.

Located on a 10.5 acre site on Hwy. 15 (across from Farrow-Ward Ford and between Martin Street and Parkview Drive), the 10,000 square foot building includes six classrooms and additional conference room space.

CIG Construction of Corinth was awarded the bid for construction, which began Sept. 23, 2019.

“Getting to this point has been a long process,” Northeast President Ricky Ford said in 2019, “but we are proud to officially break ground on this project and proud to provide local access to opportunities for higher education and workforce training to the people of Ripley, Tippah County and the surrounding area.”

Pryor-Morrow’s Rud Robison and Charles Watson designed the facility and local companies Cook-Coggin Engineers, Scott Engineering Company, and Fowler Engineering provided structural engineering and civil engineering services.

“We are grateful to the Tippah County Board of Supervisors for its support and thankful to the people of Ripley and Tippah County for their patience. This facility will represent a partnership that will be beneficial to the college and this community.”

- Northeast President Ricky Ford

“We are grateful to the Tippah County Board of Supervisors for its support and thankful to the people of Ripley and Tippah County for their patience. This facility will represent a

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partnership that will be beneficial to the college and this community.”

Despite delays due to storm damage in the early Spring 2020 and the added obstacle of the COVID-19 global pandemic, construction on the Northeast Mississippi Community College facility in Ripley held its course, with the college officially moving in to the building in December 2020.

An approximately $3 million project in Tippah County, the facility represents a “brick and mortar” presence for teaching academic coursework and providing area industry with workforce development.

Northeast will teach high school equivalency (GED) coursework, dual enrollment, core academic courses, and workforce development courses at the Ripley site.

The approximately $3 million project represents a “brick and mortar” presence for teaching academic coursework and providing area industry with workforce development.

Despite storms damaging the facility in January 2020, Northeast at Ripley opened its doors for the Spring 2021 semester.

At right, Northeast President Ricky Ford shared his vision for Northeast at Ripley during the groundbreaking ceremony.

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Ben Shappley

Vice President of Satellite Campuses Director of NEMCC Ripley Campus Director of Workforce Training

Northeast at Ripley Staff Directory

Beth Benson

Counselor/Recruiter/ Title IX Coordinator

Rhonda Cockrell Proctor/Advisor

Jill Bennett

Administrative Assistant/Receptionist

Rhonda Jackson

eLearning Student Support Specialist

Shawn Davis

Adult Education Instructor & Gateway Career Specialist

Jaclyn Meeks

Smart Start Instructor

Beth Ward

Adult Education Academic Assistant

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The Ripley campus of Northeast is staffed by hometown folks dedicated to students and workforce trainees.

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BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Working today for a brighter tomorrow and hope for a stronger future!

From left to right: James Lowry, District 3 Supervisor; James Griffin, District 2 Supervisor -Vice President; Ricky Pipkin, District 5 Supervisor - President; Marlene McKenzie, Clerk of the Board/Chancery Clerk; Tommy Fortner, District 4 Supervisor; Chris Shoup, District 1 Supervisor; John S. Farese, Board Attorney

Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. • Phone: 224-6300 | Fax: 224-6303 18 • Southern Sentinel • Progress 2021

V O T E C H

We proudly support Tippah County Progress!

Tippah Career & Technology Center 2560 County Road 501 P.O. Box 533 Ripley, MS 38663 Kevin Williams, Director 662-837-9798 Fax: 662-837-8833

201 Union Street Ripley, MS 38663 662-837-3353

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A Success Story

Adult Education opens doors for college and careers NEMCC Reports

W

hen a student enters the doors at Northeast they are not just enrolled in school. Today’s Adult Education program is much more than just a classroom or school. Adult Education is a door to the pathway that will move them toward college or career. Adult Education is full of opportunities for every student at every learning level.

Our first priority is making students comfortable.

Getting the courage to “come back to school” is a big step. After initial counseling, enrollment, and assessment, we enroll them in the MS Smart Start course, which is the first step to earning the High School Equivalency Diploma. It is a 45-hour course designed by the state to teach essential skills to prepare a student to become college or career ready.

Our first priority is making students comfortable. Getting the courage to “come back to school” is a big step.

Through Smart Start, students may receive a NCRC (National Career Readiness Certificate), a Mississippi Smart Start Credential, and students can also take their first HSE subject test. Students then enter the Adult Education Classroom, where they shift their focus on High School Equivalency courses.

NEMCC offers two choices when it comes to testing for the HSE; the GED exam and the HiSet exam. Both exams are high school equivalencies and are accepted anywhere a high school diploma is accepted. During class, students may apply for the MIBEST (Mississippi Integrated Basic Education Skills Training) program, transition into college courses or a workforce training program, or transition into an entry-level career all while simultaneously studying for the HSE. We have College & Career Navigators on staff to assist every student with each step down their chosen pathway.

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Christina Mercer obtained her HSE. Christina also completed the Career Pathway Computer Applications class in Ripley.

A great example of a student who took advantage of everything Adult Education has to offer is Christina Mercer. On July 30, 2019, she enrolled in the Ripley Smart Start and Adult Education class in order to prepare for obtaining her High School Equivalency (HSE) Diploma. Christina was a 29-year-old single mother of five. She dropped out of high school in the 12th grade just before she delivered her first child.

She stated, “That set me too far back to complete the 12th grade, so I had to drop out of high school when I was 18.”

For years she delayed pursuing her HSE because of working so much to support her children as a single parent.

On Sept. 11, 2019, Christina obtained her HSE. Christina also completed the Career Pathway Computer Applications class in Ripley and began her college education at Northeast Mississippi Community College in the spring of 2020 majoring in Criminal Justice.

Adult Education students, above, work on the classwork at the Northeast campus in Ripley. Adult Education Instructor and Gateway Career Specialist Shawn Davis, right, helps students in their path to a HSE Diploma.

Adult Education Mission: To enable every adult learner in Mississippi to acquire the necessary basic skills (reading, writing, computation, speaking, and listening) to compete successfully in today’s workplace, strengthen family foundations, and exercise full citizenship.

Completing Smart Start and obtaining a High School Equivalency helps individuals to launch careers and creates an opportunity for success.

Day and Night classes are available at no cost to the student.

Adult Education provides the following classes: Adult Education • Helps individuals who do not have a high school diploma earn their High School Equivalency Diploma.

NEMCC prepares students with the skills they need to become college or career ready.

Smart Start • Smart Start is the first step to earning your High School Equivalency Diploma. It is a 45-hour course designed by the state that teaches essential skills to prepare a student to become college or career ready. Smart Start is offered through the Adult Education Department.

For more information, call 662-720-7184.

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Working

together for the benefit of Tippah County

Pictured are, standing left to right: Stacy Spink, Board Secretary & Purchase Clerk; Greg Harrell, District 2; Mike Graves, District 3; Glen Michael, District 4; Jimmy Gunn’ District 1; Chad Newby, District 5. Sitting left to right: Shellie Parker, Administrative Assistant; Sean Akins, Board Attorney; Mike Long, Chancery Clerk; Melinda Crum, County Administrator.

Tippah County Board of

Supervisors

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