Northwest's Career-Technical Educators Complete Inaugural Class of AccelerateMS Instruction Program "FACET"
Senatobia, MS (02/12/2026) — Eleven Northwest Mississippi Community College's Workforce and Career-Technical Education (CTE) instructors participated in AccelerateMS's inaugural cohort of Facilitation for Certified Excellence in Training (FACET) and on Friday, January 9, 2026, received their Certified Professional Workforce Facilitator credential.
"The FACET training is something a lot of us in Career Tech need," said Rachel McGonagill, CTE Welding Instructor. "Teaching adults with current technology can be difficult and some of us instructors did not come from an education background. This training gives us those extra tricks to teach someone who thinks differently than we do and the tools to make some of our paperwork and lesson plans easier to accomplish."
The FACET curriculum is comprised of 30 hours of training, blending adult learning principles, classroom management strategies, and coaching techniques. AccelerateMS alongside The Career Brand, LLC, developed this program as they strived to create a practical, hands-on experience to help instructors and educators level up their workforce performance.
This cohort included: Diesel Technology instructor Randy Wright of Drummonds, Tenn., Computer Networking Technology instructor Benjamin Hawks of Olive Branch, Coding Technology Base Camp Coding instructor Brittany Cohen of Clarksdale, Welding and Cutting Technology instructor Rachel McGonagill of Batesville, Industrial Automation and Controls Engineering Technology instructor Albert Beard of Courtland, Industrial Electronics Engineering Technology instructor Alex Hogue of Horn Lake, workforce trainer Brandon "Jake" Austin of Olive Branch, workforce trainer James "Greg" King of Senatobia, Workforce Solutions Cordinator Stacy Scott of Senatobia, and Workforce Solutions Coordinator Daniel Hollowell of Oxford.
Northwest's President Dr. Michael J. Heindl praised the participants for taking this voluntary step to become better educators saying that this was an act above the necessary call of duty and it doesn't go unnoticed. Their choice to go above their responsibilities is respected and showcases the college's legacy of excellence, and feeds into the college's greatest mission, vision and values.
"Outstanding class that is structured which leads to better communication, understanding, and continuous improvement," said Scott, Workforce Solutions Coordinator.
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Northwest Mississippi Community College faculty and administration with AccelerateMS and the Career Brand (L-R) Rachel McGonagill, Katie Broadway, Jake Austin, Greg King, Alex Hogue, Albert Beard, Leah Wallace, The Career Brand, Anthony Dandridge, Amplify Cell Technologies, Dr. Michael Heindl, Latrice Collins, The Career Brand, Ty McCearley, AccelerateMS, Stacy Scott, Brittany Cohen, Daniel Hollowell Melissa McCoy, AccelerateMS, Ben Hawks, Randy Wright, Dr. Matthew Domas, Dwayne Casey, Beth Morgan, and Angel Elliott. Photo by Sarah Ashley Smith-Hutchinson
Northwest Mississippi Community College
Andrew Dale, Associate Vice President of Community Relations, adale@northwestms.eduShare this Story
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