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THE CHOICE BUS VISITS SCHOOLS IN DILLON SOUTH CAROLINA

The Choice BusChallenges Youth in SC to Stay in School

Birmingham, AL –(May 13, 2009)Students in Dillon are in for the ride of their lives. Literally. When The Choice Bus, half-prison cell, half-classroom, the nation’s first mobile experience dedicated to reducing the dropout rate and the latest tool created by The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation comes to town May 18-22.

The Choice Bus is scheduled to visit Dillon High School, located at 1730 Hwy 301 North on Monday, May18at 12:40 to 2:40 p.m. and Tuesday, May 19 at 8:20 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.; Wednesday, May 20at South Elementary School located at 900 Patriot Street starting at 8:20 a.m.; East Elementary School located at 901 East Harrison street starting at 9:20 a.m.; Stewart Heights Elementary located at 1001 West Calhoun at 11:20 a.m.; and JVM Jr. High School located 301 MLK Blvd starting at 1:40 p.m.; Thursday, May 21 at JVM Jr. High School starting at 8:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.; and Friday, May 22 at Gordon Elementary located 926 Terry Avenue from 8:20 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Students will view the InsideOut documentary before boarding The Choice Bus.

The challenges in Dillon and other areas is no stranger to Shelley Stewart. When Stewart, Founder and President of The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation, decided to take on the nation’s escalating dropout rate, he took the unbeaten path.

Stewart knows firsthand the importance of getting an education. He once was a homeless youth in Birmingham, Alabama. However, today, because he believed in the power of education, he is a renowned philanthropist and CEO of o2ideas, Inc., one of the nation’s largest corporate communications firms.

In creating the concept for the groundbreaking InsideOut documentary, he decided to position prison inmates as messengers who encourage youth to get an education. “The goal is not to scare students to stay in school, but to simply let them hear from people who learned the consequences of dropping out of school the hard way,” said Stewart. Many of the prison inmates featured in the newly edited, 26-minute classroom documentary dropped out of school and are now serving life sentences.

InsideOut and its companion Teacher’s Guide has been used in classrooms and community centers in 39 states and Canada.

To make the consequences of dropping out of school more tangible, The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation decided to build a life-sized replica of a prison cell on a school bus to challenge students to make the choice to stay in school.

The front half of The Choice Bus is literally a classroom, a visual representation of learning and self-improvement. But the entire second half of the bus is an exact replica of a jail cell, to vividly show the likely effects of not staying in school, which is often a life of crime and prison. Every student who boards The Choice Bus will have a chance to stand in the jail cell while considering the consequences of dropping out.

City leaders and state legislators will join The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation during The Choice Bus visit to schools in Dillon. “At the beginning and the end of the day, it’s about the students,” said Ray Rogers, Dillon School Superintendent. “All we do must be about them. Despite the economic woes of our area, we must do all we can to ensure every child has the encouragement and motivation to achieve greatness. That’s what we are all about. This is what The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation is all about.”

“Students must believe that they can achieve everything they put their minds to, despite what their current situation may be,” said Stewart.

Stewart’s recent commitment to reducing school dropout rates has captured national acclaim by making a difference in the lives of thousands of youth in 39 states. The Choice Bus, unveiled in September 2008, has already impacted the lives of more than 40,000 students and has been featured on Shepard Smith’s Fox News Report. InsideOut has been selected by Hollywood Black Film Festival Screening Committee to be screened at the 10th Annual Hollywood Black Film Festival in Beverly Hills, California in June.To learn more about The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation, visit

About The Choice Bus

The Choice Busis the newest tool in The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation’s fight against America’s dropout epidemic. Inspired by the Foundation’s own acclaimed documentary InsideOut, the front half of the bus contains a classroom – the back, an exact replica of a prison cell. Students get to experience firsthand the effects of not staying in school, which is often a life wasted away in the confines of a prison cell. To learn more about The Choice Bus and to book it for your event or school, visit The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation’s newly designed Web site at

About The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation

The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation (MCSF) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the dropout rate. MCSF was established in honor of Dr. Shelley Stewart’s late mother, Mattie C. Stewart, in the summer of 2007 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Its corporate parent is o2ideas, Inc., a marketing communications firm also based in Birmingham. The mission of MCSF is to create tools and resources to help educators, community leaders and parents effectively address the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate. MCSF partners with America’s Promise Alliance, the NationalDropoutPreventionCenter and Executive Women International. For more information, visit

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