SAN ANTONIO – The "Choice Bus" is not your average school bus. It's designed to show students the importance of education and the consequences of steering down the wrong path.
The bus made a stop at Wheatley Middle School on Wednesday.
As students boarded the bus, they first found themselves in a classroom for a talk about the importance of education and the consequences of wrong choices.
If that didn't make an impression, the surprise at the back of the bus did.
After the lecture, a replica of a prison cell was unveiled to demonstrate the link between dropping out of school and the likelihood of spending time in prison
"This is very needed in this community," said Wheatley Middle School Principal Mary Olison. "I think these students need to know their options if they don't get an education."
The cell is modeled after an actual prison cell. The walls and ceiling of the bus have the look of concrete. There's a bunk bed, a toilet and a sink that were donated from a prison in Alabama.
For just a minute, each student gets to feel what it's like to be in a prison cell with little comforts and no privacy.
"I couldn't be in that room," said seventh-grade student Angel Solorio.
It's an experience that can help drive kids in the right direction.
"I know now for sure, I don't make the wrong decisions," said Solorio. "Go for what your dream is."
The choice bus makes stops across the nation.
It's traveling to a handful of middle schools in San Antonio throughout the week, thanks to a partnership between State Farm and the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation.