Nearly 1,000 area students had the chance to see what future decisions in their lives could lead to by boarding the “Choice Bus.”
Students from West Marion High School, East Marion High School, Jefferson Middle School and Columbia High School had sessions in the bus, which is a collaboration between State Farm and the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation.
It’s half-classroom and half-prison cell, and the students learn firsthand what an education can mean to them. Presenters shared facts, such as a student can expect to earn $1 million more over the course of a lifetime with a college or secondary education. They also had the chance to see what the inside of a prison cell looked like and what it would be like to be confined for committing a crime.
“We want them to know that bad choices lead to negative consequences; we’re urging them to be wise,” Chet Pennock, one of the presenters, said.
The bus is one of six tools created by the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation devoted to helping reduce the dropout rate in the United States. Since 2008, the bus has visited more than two million students in 25 states.
“We travel every week, all year,” Pennock said. “I’ve been doing this for nine years, and I’ve been to more than 1,200 schools. I was in South Carolina last week. I’ve been everywhere from Texas to Philadelphia. We were in Mississippi, in McComb, a few weeks ago.”
Through a grant provided by State Farm, the “Choice Bus” visits schools with the Learn2Earn booklet and InsideOut toolkit. Learn2Earn is a financial literacy curriculum designed to help students learn about personal finance from budgeting to taxes, credit cards and loans. The InsideOut portion of the program features a video of inmates in prison talking about life choices and education and what dropping out of school can lead to. Students watched a video on the bus before touring the prison portion of it.
“When students board the ‘Choice Bus,’ they get to experience what life is actually like from two points of view,” Sherri Stewart, executive director of the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation, a nonprofit based in Birmingham dedicated to reducing the dropout rate, said. “It helps students dig deep into thinking about their futures based on the decisions they will make. Connecting education to future lifetime earning potential and career goals is what we strive to encourage.”
Jefferson Middle School Principal Levi Robinson said the experience was valuable to students.
“Our school motto is ‘Make good choices,’” he said. “This fits in with what we’re saying. Every day decisions can make a difference in their lives. A single choice could lead them down the wrong path. The students have responded very well. I’m pleased.”
Pictured Above: Jefferson Middle School students board the Choice Bus last week. The front is yellow and has a classroom inside, while the rear is white and has a prison cell. | Photo by Mark Rogers
