Intake for new students in the Adult Education program at the Holmes Community College Attala Center is being be held currently. The purpose of this program is to equip students with the education and skills they need to pass exams in the categories of reading, math, science, and social studies to obtain their High School Equivalency Diploma. The class meets for three hours each day from Monday through Thursday each week. Students have the option to choose morning or afternoon classes until one class fills up. Morning classes are from 8:30-11:30 and afternoon classes are from 12:30-3.

The program is intended for anyone who has not earned a high school diploma. Prospective students will be required to complete an interview to determine if they are good candidates for the program. Good candidates for the program include anyone who dropped out of high school, homeschoolers who wish to earn a High School Equivalency Diploma rather than creating a transcript, and any students who did not thrive in a typical classroom setting. “I do a mixture of group work, one-on-one, computer work, and also tutoring,” said class instructor Sabrina Moore. “I try to do a mixture where I cater to everybody’s learning style.” Moore is passionate about providing her students with the resources they need for a successful future. “Not only am I trying to set people up to pass the exam to earn their High School Equivalency Diploma, but we do Smart Start here too, which is career readiness. Its preparing them to take the National Career Readiness Certificate exam. Local employers such as Hunter Engineering, Anel Corporation, and Taylor require you to take that exam upon being hired by them, and depending on your score, it shows which jobs you are qualified for,” said Moore. “More places are adopting that in Mississippi, and the more people take it, when businesses are looking at where they want to start a company in an area, they look to see how many people in that area have taken the National Career Readiness Certificate exam and what their scores were on average, and that factors into the business decision.”

But preparing students to take the National Career Readiness Certificate exam is not the only benefit they will receive in addition to earning their High School Equivalency Diploma. Moore also teaches her students how to search for jobs, how to create a resume, job interview skills, and how to create an online job search profile, so that when they graduate with their High School Equivalency Diploma they will also have the skills they need to find and keep a job and do the job well. “I try to teach them workplace discipline, how to work with teams, what to say and what not to say, and how to dress. It’s basic career readiness. We don’t want you to just get a diploma, we want you to be able to do something with it and leave the program either going to college or going to work. We want a plan. We want to help you find your plan, and if you don’t know what you want to do beyond getting your HSE, that’s fine, we’re going to try to help you figure out what you’re good at so that you have some options of what might be a good fit for you when you get done here,” said Moore. Students have gone on to pursue a wide variety of paths upon completing the program, including welding, lineman, nursing, veterinarian school, law school, business school, commercial driving, and more.

Most students take a year to complete the program, but they can go at their own pace. Some students have earned their High School Equivalency Diploma after less than a month in the program and some have taken over two years. Moore’s goal is to have students complete it in a year or less, but that is not always the case for every student, especially if they have been out of school for several years. “If you’re a decent reader, that’s going to help you. You don’t have to be an excellent reader, but if you’re struggling with reading, we may have to work on that,” said Moore. But don’t let that be a deterrent. “Lots of people say that they’re bad at reading, but are usually not as bad as they think they are. They come in and do way better than they expected.” Moore explained that students who have recently been in school can typically graduate from the program in one to two semesters. “But if you have been out of school for several years and you have children and a job you should expect to take a little longer. Because you’ve been out of school, you haven’t looked at the material for a while, and you have the stress that a seventeen-year-old probably doesn’t have. Even though you’re just as smart, you have to work, and worry about things like kids’ doctor’s appointments,” said Moore. Being able to meet students where they are at academically is one of the reasons why Moore is proud of her non-traditional classroom structure. “Some people in here may be on a low reading level, and some that are on a college reading level, and nobody knows what level everybody is on except for me. Each person has a personalized plan of individualized instruction. It is catered to their needs, and they can pick it up and learn quickly,” said Moore. “And it depends on the person. You have to put in the work. You can’t just come to class and be present and pass the exam. You have to come in and put in the time and pay attention.” Upon earning their High School Equivalency Diploma, students will have the option to walk in a graduation ceremony.

“The time is going to pass anyway,” said Moore. “I always tell my students this, and I tell it to myself, too, and that’s why I’m in a master’s degree program. 2026 is going to go by, so you can either still be in the same spot that you are, or, you could be putting in the work this year to be in a better spot when 2027 rolls around. The time is going to pass anyway.”

Anyone interested in the program can contact Sabrina Moore at (662) 427-9448 to learn more.

Image curtesy of Sabrina Moore.