April 30, 2009 12:25PM # Private Schools Save Children Rejected by the System By [Adam B. Schaeffer](https://www.cato.org/people/adam-b-schaeffer) --- SHARE There were many compelling speakers in South Carolina [last week](https://www.cato.org/2009/04/24/school-choice-movement-in-south-carolina/) making the case for school choice. This man, Colonel Nathaniel Green, was one of the best. In about two 1/2 minutes, he explains better than I ever could why a top-down system doesn’t work for many children. I liked it so much, I’ve also transcribed most of it below. > “Failing schools” are not failing *schools*, they’re failing *students*. Failing *students* is failing America. > > > I started out working in the system. The system is broken. I was frustrated. I started a program … The young men that are standing behind me, they represent kids that the system kicked out who are now achieving. > > > The gentleman in the black shirt, he came from Brentwood Middle School. His parents couldn’t afford \[our school\]. Contrary to popular opinion \[of those who keep saying that private schools are only for the rich\], he came for free for six years because we were concerned about him. We sacrificed for him. Get that straight. > > > When he came to our school, he tested below the fourth and fifth grade level in the sixth grade. When he graduated from Eagle \[Military Academy\] six years later, he had a 1300 on the SAT, it’s documented. He got a Life Scholarship through the state of South Carolina, and he carriers a 3.4 average in college right now at Trident University. > > > I can repeat this story over and over again \[for other students\]. By the way, I went to the public schools to show them my program. They weren’t interested. I went to Dr. Rex \[, South Carolina’s state Superintendent of Education\]. He wouldn’t call me. > > > I went to the people to try to get them to work with me to help our young men because we’re losing our young men in our state. And I think it’s time to put aside our partisan politics, it’s time to stop playing games, and it’s time to start helping our young people in this state. Vote for this \[school choice bill\]. ##### Related Tags [Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).