Inside Out Day

On Monday, Gov. Bob Riley and Joe Morton, the state's superintendent, announced that Friday would be "Inside Out Day" in Alabama schools.

Schools across the state will view the documentary "Inside Out," filmed in two Alabama maximum-security prisons. In it, prisoners discuss how a lack of education affected their lives. A creation of the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation, the movie aims to be a tool for teachers around the state to reduce the dropout rate. About 60 percent of Alabama inmates never graduated from high school.

Filmmaker Shelly Stewart's father killed his mother when he was 5. He was homeless for several years but persevered through school. His brother died in a California prison.

According to the AP today, the film is drawing poster-worthy reviews from state officials, including "stunning," "powerful," and "the best I've ever seen." The emotional, unscripted 34-minute documentary contains no profanity.