The CHOICE BUS

Last April, during the Monroe County Board of Education 8^th Grade Transition Day, the students watched a documentary, INSIDE OUT developed by the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation out of Birmingham.  It dealt with the inmates in the Alabama Penal System and how the inmates ended up in places such as Holman and Tutwiller.  It all went back to lack of education.

As the Monroe County Education Foundation continues to work with the Transition Day and High School Dropout Prevention, we have the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation CHOICE BUS coming to Monroe County.  The Choice Bus is a tool created by the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation for the purpose of extending the learning experience of the InsideOut documentary outside the classroom and keeping students on the road to a good education.  This experience-based learning tool contains a “real” jail cell connected to an interactive learning environment.

We had over 650 9th & 10th grade students tour the bus on December 2 & 3.  On Wednesday, December 2, students from JF Shields and MCHS and on Thursday, December 3, students from JU Blacksher and Excel High. 

The students were asked to sign a Pledge card after exiting the bus:

PLEDGE

I solemnly promise for myself and my future to study hard and to remain in school.

I promise to graduate and fulfill my potential.

I will not cut classes.

I will not be lured away by gangs on the corner.

I will not turn to a life of street crime.

I refuse to sacrifice my life by going to prison.

I will follow my dreams and be all I can be.

I DO HEREBY PLEDGE TO NOT DROP OUT OF SCHOOL. (signature/date)

http://www.mattiecstewart.org/newsandevents.html

This link takes you to the video the students see a few minutes after entering the bus.