“All in all, it seems sensible to encourage the experiment of voucher schools. In 2002, then U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige issued a statement during the historic Supreme Court case that later accepted vouchers in Cleveland: “Throughout America, far too many children are trapped in failing schools. These children need and deserve access to a quality education, and their parents should be empowered to help them achieve their dreams….As a nation, we must focus squarely on the needs of children and parents, not on perpetuating the status quo, especially in those areas where the system has failed to adequately serve its students. If I have to choose between protecting the system and educating the children, I’ll choose the children every time. We must help those children who need it most, especially in our competitive global economy.”” –Thomas C. Reeves, Historian writing in the History News Network