The choice bus rolls through Jackson - MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS

The choice bus rolls through Jackson

By Jewell Hillery – bio | email

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - Dropout prevention specialist are rolling in a new tool to encourage students to remain on the road to a good education. The Choice Bus has officially rolled into Jackson. It's a school bus used to encourage students to stay in school.

Three-fourths of the inside of the bus are covered in inspirational messages about education. But once you reach the back of the bus, you enter the replica of a prison cell. The eight by eight cell has an inmate, prison bars and the sink and toilet you'd find in a jail cell.

Phil Christian, the Executive Director of the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation says, "it's a very powerful presentation and it has a huge impact on young people, in fact we've had a number of young people step off the bus after the presentation and say you know I was thinking about dropping out of school, but after seeing this I'm not going to make that choice anymore."

Wendy Polk, the Communication Director for the Mississippi Department of Transportation says, "right now we know that about 5,000 students each year drop out of school in our state and we're all working together to reduce that rate."

The bus will start touring schools across Jackson later on this week.

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