Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity

by Laura Meckler

Ohioana Book Award Finalist

Can a group of well-intentioned people fulfill the promise of racial integration in America?

In this searing and intimate examination of the ideals and realities of racial integration, award-winning Washington Post journalist Laura Meckler tells the story of a decades-long pursuit in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and uncovers the roadblocks that have threatened progress time and again—in housing, in education, and in the promise of shared community.

In the late 1950s, Shaker Heights began groundbreaking work that would make it a national model for housing integration. And beginning in the seventies, it was known as a crown jewel in the national move to racially integrate schools. The school district built a reputation for academic excellence and diversity, serving as a model for how white and Black Americans can thrive together. Meckler—herself a product of Shaker Heights—takes a deeper look into the place that shaped her, investigating its complicated history and its ongoing challenges in order to untangle myth from truth. She confronts an enduring, and troubling, question—if Shaker Heights has worked so hard at racial equity, why does a racial academic achievement gap persist?

In telling the stories of the Shakerites who have built and lived in this community, Meckler asks: What will it take to fulfill the promise of racial integration in America? What compromises are people of all races willing to make? What does success look like, and has Shaker achieved it? The result is a complex and masterfully reported portrait of a place that, while never perfect, has achieved more than most and a road map for communities that seek to do the same.

Includes black-and-white images.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Race, Education, Sociology, Audiobook, Adult

400 pages, Hardcover

First published August 22, 2023

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one took me a while. Glad I read it, but I would say that it is very uneven. Once I got to the chapter about the recent conflict between the AP teacher and the young woman of color, I fully understood that this was a really great article that was stretched into a full length book. That chapter is completely gripping, and the rest of the book is only ok. While I was initially intrigued by the history and the early integrators of Shaker, it got a little tedious. And then there seemed to be a whole swath of time around the 70's/80's that was sort of skipped over. The change in economic demographics was referenced but not really explored.

All of that said, I was truly amazed about how much Shaker mirrors my own community. Nearly every issue was one we have tackled and every solution is one we have tried or discussed--deleveling, racial gap, intentional integration and how it relates to bussing, universal pre-k, MAC scholars, inspiring and disappointing superintendents and/or Board of Ed leaders, privileged white people, long-suffering teachers. It all felt VERY familiar and gave some comfort as well as the occasional pearl of wisdom. I wish it was 25% shorter.

[Liam O'Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot about my home town. It was humbling and disappointing to realize just how out of touch with the local conversations and inner workings I was growing up. It was fun to see so many familiar names and places, but important to learn their stories. This is a book I wish I could talk with my grandparents about.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot and found it both interesting and informative, particularly because it sheds some light and background on another book set in Shaker Heights, Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. However, despite being informative, it can feel dense often and as some other reviews have mentioned, it felt like the heart of the book was ultimately the same as what was in Meckler’s original Washington Post article, leading one to wonder how much added information is really necessarily (though interesting!)

Despite knowing Shaker Heights generally as an area of America known for voluntary integration during the upheaval of the civil rights movement, I didn’t know much about the town other than it being a planned community. Meckler’s further research into the historic roots of the town and its marketed appeal to the upper class (and its ties to the development of the greater Cleveland area) is really fascinating, especially as part of that upper class appeal was explicitly keeping out any Black residents. Going into the history of how Black residents were able to eventually buy and bargain their way into home ownership (specifically in Shaker Heights but also more broadly in America) really helps lay out how systemic racism can affect the place you live and start to establish (or lack thereof) of generational wealth, and how to even start in the suburbs, Blacks had to be overly exceptional. Despite later being a willing integrated town, Meckler lays out some intriguing ties to how segregation might still persist in the academic achievement gap, academic tracking and specialty programs, and in school policies and closures. Something I was glad that the book allowed the space for was giving more backstory to each of the “characters” Meckler mentions in her article, because it helps to illustrate the enduring ties and influence of Shaker throughout the lives of its residents.

However, I wish that Meckler was able to expound more on current solutions that Shaker is attempting to undertake, like detracking and universally free preschool. I also found it frustrating that while she talked to parents, educators, and board members for potential solutions, I’m not sure that she (or the parents/educators/board members) ever ask students directly for their input on applicable solutions, despite interviewing and interacting with many students directly. Off topic, but I found this was also my experience in talking about equity and representation at the college level - despite raising concerns that students weren’t being directly involved in discussions or implementation of solutions, I was personally told that it’s the job of the student to learn and of adults to make hard decisions like these. To be clear, I think that’s divesting students from issues that directly effect them. I also was frustrated that while Meckler refers to growing economic disparities within the community and how that might be a larger issue than just diversity of race, it was only referred to in passing and not fully discussed, despite going into some detail of some family backgrounds and struggles. Lastly, and this is largely because I’m an Asian American reader, I found it frustrating that when Asians were mentioned in the book, it was always grouped with White academic achievement. It’s no secret that Asians enjoy more privilege than Black people because of their “model minority” status, but I believe it’s disingenuous to group them with a white majority (indeed, in Shaker overall, Asians are only 3.5% of the population, compared to 55% white and 36% Black). I understand that this book primarily focuses on the impacts of segregation and integration, therefore focusing on Blackness, but I still felt it frustrating that other diversity (not just Asian!) wasn’t at least discussed in passing.

Overall, interesting for those interested in Shaker Heights, planned neighborhoods, or examples of equitable education reforms, but I’m not sure I’d wholeheartedly recommend the book to a friend.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any Shaker grad
The audiobook is great
I almost tripped when my father was quoted
Many familiar teachers and neighbors mentioned in this thoughtful history of a complex issue in my hometown

[CatReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Dream Town, journalist and Shaker Heights, Ohio native Laura Meckler writes about the history and sociology of her hometown, located just East of the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio.

Shaker Heights has been considered, both within the Cleveland suburbs and more broadly, a pioneering community for racial equity and social justice on many fronts (educational, housing, community engagement), but this has never been an smooth road.
In the years preceding this full-length book, Meckler reported on various racial equity issues and incidents in Shaker Heights, including this 2019 Washington Post article about a 2018 incident between a Black female high school student and a white female teacher that led to years of community repercussions. This incident also has its own chapter in Dream Town, which was the highlight of the book for me, and I think Meckler did a very nice job of portraying this incident, its players, and its fallout with nuance and respect.

In other aspects, I tend to agree with other reviewers who've mentioned that this book can be repetitive and overly focused on details that most readers outside of the Cleveland area are unlikely to care about, such as the tenure of various Shaker High School administrators, school curricula, the school's response during COVID, etc. This is a long book (400 pages in print/15 hour audiobook) and likely could have been trimmed substantially without being defanged.

As someone familiar with this area, I would be remiss in not pointing out the common perception that Shaker Heights' municipal and property taxes are well above other nearby communities (those who work in Shaker must pay 2.25% of their gross income to Shaker, and those who live in Shaker and work and pay municipal taxes elsewhere still have to pay 1.75% of their gross income to Shaker; in addition, Shaker homeowners owe a hefty 3.86% in property tax, well over the Ohio statewide median property tax of of 1.8% -- this is the end result of all the tax levies Meckler mentions in the book, and likely is a contributing factor for why many upwardly-mobile people move out of or avoid Shaker). And Shaker public schools don't even rank in recent rankings of school districts I've seen for Northeast Ohio, though of course these are all subject to bias. As with many social issues, we vote with our dollars when we choose where to live, what to buy, and what to value.

Further reading:
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell -- for discussion of another community that strove for racially-balanced housing
The Meth Lunches: Food and Longing in an American City by Kim Foster -- for further discussion of community responses to racial inequities | my review
Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America by Michael Ruhlman - another book at the intersection of social and economic factors in Northeast Ohio

My statistics:
Book 9 for 2025
Book 1935 cumulatively

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shaker Heights is a town in Ohio, a suburb of and adjacent to the city of Cleveland, known for stately homes, wealthy residents, progressive values, and good schools. I live in Ohio, in a somewhat similar suburb of Columbus, though we're not a fancy planned community and our average homes aren't quite as grandiose so our median household income skews lower, but as far as size, proximity to a city, and the structure (and rating) of our schools, we're in the same neighborhood. What I didn't know prior to reading this book was the history of Shaker Heights and its commitment to equity and it turns out this is a very interesting town indeed.

Shaker Heights quest for equity began back in the 1950s when a neighborhood association was formed specifically to integrate the neighborhood. Their intentions were to both combat white flight and welcome non-white residents to the area, their efforts gained national recognition and consideration as a model city for racial progress.

Today, Shaker Heights remains much more integrated than other parts of the state (a state that's 80% white), especially when considered against other suburbs. And Shaker Heights doesn't rest on demographics alone, they take equity seriously and as something central to their identity, and yet if you zoom in on their diverse schools (39% of students are white) there are notable racial achievement gaps across metrics. After providing a detailed history of the town, the schools are what Laura Meckler dives into in Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity.

As she follows the schools, teachers, administrators, students, and parents across decades, Meckler ultimately finds that despite Shaker Heights intentions they still have work to do. This is not a story of a progressive town that failed or succeeded, rather one that is still a work in progress which will ultimately prevail as long as they continue working together with a clear aim of equity and inclusion. I think this town and its schools are, in fact, a model to look to especially as we confront who we are as a society, who belongs in our schools, what is taught, and which voices should be heard on on these topics. Shaker Heights has been working toward the goal of equity for much longer than most and while the challenge of racial disparity has proven to be complex, their history also shows that it's worth doing the work because progress is possible and the outcomes are worth it.

[Elizabeth Stolar · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/7 I have to initially disclose that I know the author and received a copy of the book from the publisher. I was very excited to receive a copy for free, but I had already pre-ordered it because I was that eager to read it. This author is a skilled reporter for The Washington Post, and partially because I know her, I read many of her stories that focus on education, which has long been an interest of mine. When she had written one story about her hometown of Shaker Heights, I thought, "She really should expand this into a book," and when I found out she was indeed, writing this book I couldn't wait to read it.

I've been a privileged white woman for many years. I adopted one of my children, who is not white, and due to that stumbled into some communities that focus on transracial parenting/adoption, and by extension, racial and social justice issues. I've ended up in multiple conversations with people I probably wouldn't have otherwise encountered and read numerous books on race and social equality that likely would not have been on my radar had I not been in these groups. I did wonder how the author, who has a similar background to my own, would treat and interpret some of these complex issues and was very pleased that she does show a high-level understanding of racial issues and is aware of her own privilege and background.

The real strength of this book is how it shows just how difficult it is to grapple with issues of race and class. One incident in the book was described in an earlier Washington Post story that I remember reading -- something that should have been akin to a candle flicker instead exploded like a nuclear bomb. A minor issue involving a Black honors English student and her teacher was handled poorly by the school at every turn and everyone made mistakes. I felt and still feel badly for all involved - especially the student, her mother and the teacher. This incident should be a good lesson for everyone across the country about what not to do and serve as the basis for an exercise in how to prevent things from escalating beyond all control and hurt everyone involved. Despite Shaker Heights' commitment to integration and racial equality, this event still happened. So if it could happen there, it could happen anywhere -- for over 70 years, different members of the Shaker community, both Black and white, have worked to try to keep an integrated community, and various actions have met with mixed levels of success. Systemic racism is extremely difficult to dismantle and counteract. When some people complain that suddenly "everything is about race," the real issue is that racism is finally beginning to be addressed and this book does an excellent job in showing the history of a town that has been trying to do the right thing for a long time.

I've seen a lot of reviews that indicate this book is a great read for anyone who grew up in Shaker Heights or is from the Cleveland area or perhaps, more broadly, Ohio. But I think it's an essential read for anyone in the U.S. who has any interest in education or racial issues. I didn't expect how directly some of the issues discussed in this book are issues that I am personally grappling with in my own community and our schools. The town where I live now and where my children attend (and one graduated) is similar in many ways to Shaker and is dealing with some of the same issues. One issue in particular that is raising the ire of many is de-leveling, and the responses and arguments I see on our community media pages are exactly the same as those Shaker parents have been making. Although I'm occasionally accused of being some far left-wing borderline extremist, I've been upset by the deleveling I've seen in our schools, and how it is in particular, affecting my younger son. This book made me understand just how leveling had been used simply to resegregate desegregated schools, and I understand the underlying philosophy much better.

Overall, I found the history of just how Shaker Heights very intentionally kept itself as an integrated community fascinating -- I hadn't realized that Shaker had done this, and in some ways, it's amazing that it succeeded as much as it did (especially having read The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, which I highly recommend in conjunction with this book). Having long observed discussions among parents about the value of all Black spaces and the importance of having Black role models, I kept wondering if the all-encompassing importance based purely on the integration of the schools was misplaced, and what would have happened had Shaker put equal resources into schools that happened to be primarily Black? I've seen parents talk about whether, for example, if a school has 5 4th grade classrooms, and 5 4th grade students who are Black, is it better to have one Black child in each classroom? Or is it better to have all 5 Black children in one classroom? I've read so many anecdotes about Black people who went to HBCU's and for the first time felt an incredible form of acceptance, not being "the other," and the focus would be on them as individuals, rather than them as a Black person -- perhaps being counted on to represent the Black community as a whole, and inevitably suffering through countless microaggressions. I wish I could remember which book I had read a couple years back (it might have been Ibrahm X Kendi's book) which discussed issues of integration and it really struck me when it pointed out that segregated schools themselves were not the problem -- many Black people would be fine with or even prefer being in Black schools, but for the fact that the Black schools were underfunded. If majority Black schools were given the same resources and had the same money spent on them as the majority white schools, much of the gap would be eliminated. That is, after all, a big reason why students at HBCU's (and similarly, at all-women's colleges) attend those schools. The biases -- including unacknowledged biases aren't as much of an issue. If all of the students are Black, the leveling wouldn't be a means of segregation. So, I wonder -- whether the issue of all the white students being pulled out for "enrichment" and the Black students left behind (leading one of the Black students to simply comment that the white students were being "enriched,") would have arisen at all or how it would have played out. (And Shaker's focus on integration led them to close a majority Black elementary school and bus those students to another student, resulting in them spending significantly more time on the bus, and being less connected to the school since it was not right in their neighborhood.). Perhaps "enrichment" shouldn't be happening at the elementary level at all, and all students should, as argued, be "enriched." But at higher grades, there are differences in skill levels and motivation -- among Black students and white students. But the big issue is teachers discouraging Black students from pursuing the "enrichment" or higher level classes and of being treated unequally (even if unconsciously) in the classroom.

I loved reading this book and it is a selection for my book club in a couple of months. I am very much looking forward to that meeting, because I think it will make for a really great discussion. I highly recommend this for book clubs!

[L'Wanda Greenlaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated the thoughtful research and interviews that were conducted to write this piece about the Shaker School district. Anyone interested in the constant challenge of education and equity might find this work interesting.

[Thomas Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough and well researched account of the challenge of racial integration in the Cleveland inner ring of Shaker Heights, which happens to be my hometown. It is far too easy to forget the details of the commitment of many black as well as white families to force into being this environment, and this book spares no detail. As the salient issues evolve from the safe acquisition of property for black families and counteracting white terrorism in the 1950s/60s to battling the persistent achievement gap and inequality in the 80s, 90s and beyond, Shaker emerges as a remarkable and far too isolated counterweight in our country where by choice or perceived necessity, the wealthy cloister away their children in private schools or big cities create separate magnate schools for the high performing.

The challenge is nevertheless incessant in the face of economic difficulties in the region and for many of the inhabitants, which is highlighted in the very timely and more ambiguous final chapters that dig deep into the latest set of decisions by principals/superintendents that have deprioritized excellence for equity in resource allocation in the face of persistent achievement gaps. Although this clearly inevitable tradeoff is not avowed fully by decision makers as it may simply be politically unpalatable, this decision making is respectable even if I do not agree with it. Communication and leadership gaps are less excusable.

Placing highly varied levels of students in a single class and expecting advanced peers to take over instruction of less advanced peers is an extremely bold bet, which is the model expected in the newly instituted “detracking“ curriculum. While it seems evident that excellence in a purely test score/performance measurement will decline (anecdotes I have heard do indicate the decline has been precipitous), I do have some excitement at the potential for human and interpersonal development in such a framework. There are also interesting forays happening into vocational and project based learning, which I personally am in favor of expanding massively in the United States.

As a former student forever grateful for the rigor and excellence cultivated inside and outside the classroom by many instructors and with the privilege/support to achieve conventional academic success, I am relieved to be a bystander and not a participant in the latest experiments, but perhaps with pedagogy updates and training it will work out. If innovation felt comfortable, it wouldn’t be innovation.

It is evident that the thinking present among the school leaders remains at the vanguard of the national education conversation with a meaningful social and educational mission, even if I disagree with its latest orientation towards detracking. Nevertheless, I’m a backer of public schools and I hope to be proven wrong with outcomes in the next few years.

A timely and highly educational conversation starter for me.

[Astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not five stars because I didn't get a mention by name for that Shakerite transcript. The transcript is some of my best work to-date, and it reads like an absurd play (link below).

https://shakerite.com/campus-and-city...

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity is a well-researched book about the history of Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland that has a reputation for it's diversity, integration of neighborhoods, and high achieving school system. It is not a surprise that the story of Shaker Heights is more complex than that.

I first heard about Shaker Heights as the setting for a Celeste Ng novel, and the hype around the town stuck with me, so I was intrigued to read further about it. Laura Meckler wrote about Shaker Heights for the Washington Post, and she has expanded from the original story to cover the history of the town, from it's founding, the continued work around neighborhood racial integration, and the complexities around the school system.

The founding of the town and planned community, led by two interesting brothers was discussed. The original laws for the development were continued as rationale for changes moving forward, especially with regards to housing. Much of the first part of the book then pivots to desegregation. As wealthy Black families wanted to move in, there was the expected resistance. Realtors would not sell to them and often diversionary techniques were needed in order for them to be able to buy. Expectedly, white families in the neighbors started selling en masse. Heckler highlights the work of one particular neighborhood that worked to fight this reverse segregation, and the sometimes unfair tactics they had to use in order to keep the ratio of neighbors reflective of the population.

Meckler then spends much of the book focusing on the well-regarded public school system, known for its high test scores and the elite colleges and universities that its graduates attend. It should come as no surprise that the real story is more complex and nuanced. For many years, the schools tracked/leveled students and Black students made up a very small proportion of the advanced classes. Additionally, in the elementary schools, the district bused primarily minority children to schools outside their neighborhoods. Meckler highlights the changing district leadership and priorities, the systemic racism, and the push and pull of wanting to lift up and support Black students while not wanting to alienate wealthy white parents who might pull their children (and tax dollars) from the district if any opportunities are taken away. It is hard not to get disheartened, but I appreciated reading about the continued spirit and want of those in the community to achieve the ideal that the town is noted for. There are many failures, but I was moved that it is still very much a community that is a work in progress, wanting the best for all its residents. This is an in depth look at a town that highlights many issues going on in the country.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Co for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the author did a great job providing a comprehensive overview of many of the racial and socioeconomic inequities impacting the community, the residents of Shaker, and the city’s schools. The book discussed the initiatives/ideas Shaker has explored to attempt to address these issues, while also highlighting just how much more work there is to be done.

[Malia Rulon Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO many thoughts on this book. Very thoroughly researched and beautifully written in a way that was so compelling to read. This book will stay with me for a long time. I’m already flipping back to re-read certain sections! Every parent with a school-age child (especially those in my hometown) needs to read this remarkable book. FULLER REVIEW TO COME.

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this was an expectation thing -- I thought this would be more an sociological overview, and instead this was more journalistic almost oral history focused, with chapters focusing on individual profiles to highlight different perspectives and changes around Shaker Heights and integration. I was most interested in some of the earlier chapters about the founding, and early integration. This had been on my TBR since it came out, so I'm glad I finally read it but it is a little dry.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author did a tremendous amount of work and it was neat learning about the history of the town adjacent to where I grew up. I think it would be a more interesting book for those in the education field and it was well written.

[Brittany Conkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important and fascinating book. Anyone who cares about education, public schools, racial equity, diversity in our communities and schools -- you must read this book. It was so thought provoking. What are we willing to do to create the kind of community we want to live in?

[Jinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Shaker Heights’ origin and its struggle for racial integration/equity in their school system.

Cloud library—audio book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough and well researched and interesting. If you are interested in how a suburb of Cleveland has worked for integration of its neighborhoods and school system, this is a good pick for you.

[joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shaker Heights, Ohio.

This is a very comprehensive look at a unique and wonderful school system.
Thank you so much for highlighting this exceptional town.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book relates the history of Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb, and its admirable effort over a period of more than fifty years to maintain an equitable, integrated school system. The author is a reporter for the Washington Post who grew up in Shaker Heights and attended its public schools. As a reporter writing about education issues, she wrote numerous articles about the school district over the years and followed up with this book. Each chapter focuses on a different individual, a school official, teacher, parent, child, or community leader, and the individual stories are a very effective vehicle for illustrating the larger issues addressed in the book.

One of the clear messages of the book is that Shaker Heights is exceptional and indeed it is. While many communities across the US resisted school integration, particularly when it involved busing, Shaker Heights embraced integration and has attempted, through busing, redrawing district lines and other measures, to keep its schools integrated. It has also tried to maintain integrated neighborhoods though it seems that effort has been less successful. The wealthy neighborhoods are largely white and one poor neighborhood, Moreland, is more than 90 percent black. Still, integration is widely accepted, with the public approving the various efforts undertaken by the school district to keep its schools integrated.

There are limits to public acceptance of integration, however, and the author is unsparing in her criticism of the persistent efforts of whites (the parents, more than the students) to maintain their privileged status. Whites' acceptance of blacks in their schools is often very conditional. They are ok with scattering a few black children among many whites but don't ask a white parent to send his or her child to a school, or even a classroom, where most of the students are black. If busing is required to keep a school integrated, they want the black children to endure long bus rides to schools in white neighborhoods but won't volunteer their own children to do the same. Often it seems that white parents expect blacks to make sacrifices in exchange for the privilege of attending school with whites but would never consider making similar sacrifices themselves in order to assist schools in maintaining a racial balance. They'll allow members of a racial minority to live in their neighborhood but only if they are the "right" kind of minority, usually someone in their own economic class. This view is not one exclusive to whites, however. Many well off black residents had similar outlooks and many fled to other, "better" neighborhoods, with their places in Shaker Heights taken by poorer people.

One of the big issues discussed in the book is the achievement gap (assuming that test scores is an accurate method of measuring achievement) between white and black students, which has persisted over time despite the many efforts made to provide equal educational opportunities to all students. I think that the author made a pretty good case that much of this is due to economics. Over time, the economic gap between rich and poor grew, not surprising in a country where income inequality has consistently grown since the 1980s (thanks, Republican tax and anti-union policies!). Poorer children lack the resources of the wealthy, are more likely to have unstable home situations and are more likely to live in single parent households where the breadwinner may be forced to work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. It is not surprising that their parents would be less involved with their schooling.

There is a lot of emphasis in the book on biases that people have, even if they don't consider themselves to be racists, and the author offers numerous examples to illustrate her points. White teachers often have lower expectations for blacks and that message is picked up by the students. Places in honors and AP classes were largely allocated to whites, with blacks concentrated in lower classes due to a tracking system that the district maintained for nearly all of the years covered in the book. It was often unclear as to how those assignments were made and whether there was any justification other than racial stereotypes.

One of the big themes of the book is the need to make students believe that they belong in a certain class or certain school. A black child who is one of only two or three members of his or her race in an honors class is being told that this is a class mostly reserved for whites and blacks don't belong there. There are many who have overcome these obstacles to go on to successful college experiences and careers. Shaker's approach has created many success stories and we learn about some of them in the book. Still, it was telling that one black student profiled in the book choose to follow up on her integrated high school experience by attending a historically black college. She could relax there because she would be judged as an individual rather than as a representative of all black students.

Various missteps by the school administration are analyzed in the book, including one particularly ugly episode where the district basically bullied a dedicated teacher of twenty years' experience out of teaching while supposedly enforcing its anti-bullying policy. The teacher had certainly been insensitive in her encounter with a black student, but one wonders, as the author does, whether things would have been handled much better if the student, her mother, and the teacher had all sat down together to resolve things rather than the encounter leading to an investigation by the school district. The action of the student is one of the really admirable acts set forth in the book, as she basically "outed" herself during a large public meeting as the student who had made the complaint against the popular teacher.

The thought that kept going through my mind as I read the book was that we sure ask a lot of our schools. We live in a country where white supremacy is still a persistent problem, where blacks were enslaved for hundreds of years and then subject to racial discrimination by individuals and by their own government for another hundred years. Even after the passage of civil rights laws, anyone can see that equality among the races has yet to be achieved. With all of that weighty history, and continuing bias and outright hatred on the part of some and the income gap and wealth gap and educational gap that are part of the legacy of slavery and its aftermath, we want the schools to make up for all of that and provide equal outcomes for all, no batter what baggage the individual students bring into the classroom. It's a lot to ask. Great credit should go to the many people involved in the Shaker Heights schools, whether or not they are profiled in this book, who haven't given up on that dream. We should all strive to be like them.

This is a little point, but I noticed that the story is very black and white. Sometimes I wondered if all of the emphasis on race at the schools was in a way counterproductive. So much attention was paid to the race of individuals that it had the effect of emphasizing the differences. The first thing we learn about just about every person mentioned in the book is whether they are black or white - as if that is the most important thing about them. Meanwhile we lament the fact that students were seen as race representatives rather than individuals. I get why it was done. It's unfortunate, but one's race and background has a great effect on one's point of view.

And, by the way, we live in a multi-racial society. I kept wondering where all the Asians were, the immigrants, the Latinos. None of them are mentioned in this book and those stories might have added something to the story. I did look up some statistics and found that Shaker Height's population was almost entirely white or black, with few Asians or other groups. Still, I think some mention of their perspectives would have been beneficial in understanding the story of the Shaker Heights schools.

This is an important story, well told. It should be widely read and the issues raised discussed everywhere.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great audio book that takes you on the journey of racial equity in Shaker Heights and surrounding areas. Being familiar with the area and hearing about the strides that the people of Shaker took to bring diversity and academic excellence to a suburb just outside of Cleveland. I learned through the stories shared and I felt a sense of pride that Shaker Heights was one of the towns nationally known for their model in housing integration and racially integrated schools before anyone else was ready to try this. I highly recommend this book especially if you are familiar with the area!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I was expecting a book with more of a conclusion, or a roadmap for other areas of the country. It is a well-researched history of Shaker Heights, but I was expecting more. I especially was hoping for a more clear view of why the racial gap exists in education in Shaker Heights.

Can a group of well-intentioned people fulfill the promise of racial integration in America?

In this searing and intimate examination of the ideals and realities of racial integration, award-winning Washington Post journalist Laura Meckler tells the story of a decades-long pursuit in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and uncovers the roadblocks that have threatened progress time and again―in housing, in education, and in the promise of shared community.

In the late 1950s, Shaker Heights began groundbreaking work that would make it a national model for housing integration. And beginning in the seventies, it was known as a crown jewel in the national move to racially integrate schools. The school district built a reputation for academic excellence and diversity, serving as a model for how white and Black Americans can thrive together. Meckler―herself a product of Shaker Heights―takes a deeper look into the place that shaped her, investigating its complicated history and its ongoing challenges in order to untangle myth from truth. She confronts an enduring, and troubling, question―if Shaker Heights has worked so hard at racial equity, why does a racial academic achievement gap persist?

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dream Town is a thoughtful, deep dive into the community of Shaker Heights, a community initially known for its exclusionary tactics, to one nationally known for its efforts to integrate and stem racism. One of the most important lessons this book conveys to me is the importance in recognizing that there is a problem in the first place, and recognizing the value in fixing it. The lesson that comes from that is that fixing the problem is really hard. One of the themes that the reader can pick up on through the decades covered in this book is that there are champions that recognize racism and a lack of equity that decide to create solutions to bring attention to the problem, and the whack-a-mole environment where a new opportunity to create segregation and inequity pops up just as extensive efforts have been taken to mitigate a previous issue. A reoccurring theme is that even with thoughtfulness and careful consideration, it can be difficult to come up with solutions that don't require one-sided efforts, particularly from Black families and students. The book also delves into several sticky issues, the ones I found the most interesting were the argument that Black parents weren't engaged enough with their child's education, the stigma associated with a Black student being perceived as Oreos by Black classmates for spending time around white students or striving for academic excellence, the challenge of balancing treating students equally and in a respectful manner against a teacher's concerns about being punished for how they handle situations, and balancing the different levels of rigor and challenge being offered to students in the tracking system offered. How do you find a way around penalizing a student or their parents when the reason the parents don't have time to be engaged is because their time is devoted to working to keep a roof over the family's head and bills paid? That in some regards leads into the next issue of encouraging minority students that show passion and aptitude to pursue a more challenging form of learning - and receiving the support of their peers in doing so. Shaker Heights clearly screwed up the situation between the teacher and student, which created traumatizing and devastating situations on both sides, and produced no meaningful way to move forward to minimize or eliminate the possibility of similar situation happening again. In regards to tracking, I still feel like there has to be a way to ensure that students face learning situations that challenge them - and I fully acknowledge that I don't know the best way to do this. I took mostly AP classes myself in high school, but opted to take one of my classes as a 'regular' track class because of the reputation that the AP teacher for that class had. I found myself bored, unchallenged and the grading ridiculous because I was used to being held to a higher standard. Being in that class did me no favors personally, though I had classmates that found it beneficial for me to be there, when it came to the questions I asked in class and the heavy hand I had in proofing essays they had to write. Much like Meckler, I think it's important to draw attention to these issues, because you can't fix them if you don't acknowledge that they exist, and also realizing that champions are great, but it takes a dedicated effort that's institutionalized to help ensure efforts to change are sustained in the long run. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 but not quite 4
“My Shaker wasn’t utopia, nothing was, certainly not in America and certainly not when it comes to race. The mantra in Shaker, for decades, was that if any place in America can close the achievement gap or bring together the races or deliver on Dr. King’s version of the American dream, it was Shaker Heights. Maybe no place can. But Shaker was still trying in its imperfect, inadequate way.”

I was vaguely aware of the community and what it was striving to do, and so this book piqued my interest. It was not an easy book to read. The writing, while thoroughly researched, often read like a school term paper; it was not a quick read. That said, however, the content was very interesting and eye-opening. There were so many neighborhoods and people in the book that it was challenging to keep them straight and to remember how they fit into the puzzle after I progressed to the next chapter. I did like how each chapter would focus on a particular individual and how they were part of the story. One of the chapters that stuck with me the most was the one about the conflict between student Olivia McDowell and teacher Jody Podl. It was heartbreaking to read how this conflict escalated to such harmful levels. (I did not realize that it was originally a WaPo article.) It was another example of how, despite the ideals this community was striving for, it did have many conflicts and flaws.

Because Meckler grew up in Shaker and is a product of the educational system there, she shares a personal perspective on the situation while at the same time, understanding that she looked at her upbringing through white privilege and rose-colored glasses. My white privilege was very visible to me as well. “No one wants to “experiment” on their kids, but so many of us rely on superficial assessments of educational options without thinking more deeply about our own place in the larger mess of our system.” When our family moved to a new city/state 22 years ago, we researched schools for our 10 and 14-year-old daughters to help determine which neighborhood we would buy in. When we saw the dismal scores of one neighborhood school, we immediately dismissed it as a home for our family, later discovering it had a large immigrant population. Certainly, the city we moved to is no Shaker Heights, but reading this was an aha moment for me when remembering this time.

“Working on this book, I sometimes vacillated about what my ultimate conclusion would be. Was this a story of the power of white privilege and systemic racism always finding a way to come out on top? Was it a story of economic realities overwhelming good intentions? Or was it something more hopeful, about a community that is still at it, still trying?” Published just two years ago, I have to wonder what would be happening in this neighborhood now that DEI has taken such a beating. Would they be able to sustain the progress they had made? Would they continue to move forward?

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.48 stars if that were possible. Very deep dive into the history of Shaker Heights (just outside Cleveland) and its efforts to promote integration and racial equity, esp. with regard to education.

I'd read her WaPo article about the extreme escalation of an initially minor-seeming incident between a White teacher and Black high school student, and that forms a vivid chapter here standing out from a lot of important but dry material regarding who favored or opposed which draft plan to close or reopen which elementary school and what all the downstream effects might be.

She seems to have tremendous faith in clarity of communication to solve conflicts in a way everyone can support. Probably if I went back and charted the players and projects, it wasn't THAT many, but just reading it straight through it felt as though one principal after another superintendent after another parent group was seen as failing to achieve their goal (harmony, cost savings, better test scores, closed achievement gap.......) because they weren't sufficiently transparent and didn't patiently amass community support via clear communication. Maybe so sometimes, but it also seemed as though there were in many cases real conflicting interests that were quite well understood -- ex. desire for integrated schools is at odds with desire for short commutes to school if the neighborhoods themselves are segregated -- such that people really needed to choose priorities and/or compromise, not just explain better.

If there were a 2.0 book I'd love to see her collaborate with a social scientist. The author excels at describing scenes and interactions and bringing characters to life, and she must be a great interviewer, but it would be good to supplement this expertise with that of someone who could provide a critical review of the relevant research. Example that stands out in my mind is her detailed description of a new administrator pulling an all-nighter googling research and deciding that universal pre-K is the best way to close racial achievement gaps.

vivid scene, but ultimately who cares whether he stayed up all night vs. worked on it during the day or already knew about it before taking the job, or it was someone else altogether who did the search? What research in particular shows this? What was the method? To what extent does it work, and what would it cost to implement? Where has it been done, with what long-term effects? Much more important (IMO) issues that can't really be clarified by interviewing one parent or another teacher. My own quick google suggests that it's viewed as promising, depends on quality of the pre-K program, has effects that fade some over time, hasn't been implemented/funded well enough in many places, etc., but digging into those details would be great.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dream Town by Laura Meckler takes arguably America's most divisive issue, race, and offers both a personal and a societal narrative. Through the specific ongoing story of Shaker Heights, OH the reader learns about what has and has not worked as well as the perspectives of the individuals involved in these events.

I first heard about Shaker Heights when I was a grad student in Ohio, a couple of my students mentioned the town and how it seemed to be positive beacon. I don't recall digging any deeper than looking up a couple articles one of them recommended to me. So this volume is one I was eager to read. And I am very glad I did.

Many books that address the difficulties around integration usually come from one of two perspectives: it can't work or look how good we've done. Yet neither reflects any reality I'm familiar with. Meckler does a wonderful job of presenting the history, the steps both forward and backward, from both what it means for our attempts at an equitable society and what it means for those people who lived it. There can be progress, even if we sometimes get frustrated at the speed.

There is a lot of nuance in the book and I don't want to shortchange any of it, so I am hesitant to try to sum up any conclusions. What I will do is mention what was one of my big takeaways. Legislation and policy is absolutely necessary for any change, they make it more difficult to act on our worst impulses. But change isn't likely to be widespread until more people change how they look at their fellow human beings. The best intentions can be undermined by the simple fact that we still see difference in a hierarchical manner. Even those supporting positive change often harbor such feelings, though they may not always be as aware of it as they think. That is likely (my opinion here, don't judge the book by it) why change is so slow. As generations come and go, hopefully the unwarranted feelings of superiority will dissipate and we can approach being an equitable society. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting we settle for slow, we have to make the changes that will serve as the catalysts for improvement.

Highly recommended for those with an interest in integrating society, focusing here on schools and neighborhoods. This will highlight what did work and what, at least in this place and in this way, didn't work. That information can be used in future policymaking and future activism.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Forrest Barclay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free Advanced Reading Copy of the book from the publisher.

An excellent analysis of housing and education discrimination through the history of one Ohio town.

As readers we are witnesses to the founding and then struggles of a Cleveland suburb as they wrestle with redlining, busing, and eventually racial equality uprisings and a global pandemic. The first two-thirds of the book are a great historical record of the founding of the town of Shaker Heights. There are attempts to maintain the racial makeup of the town through explicit charters and through subtle, underhanded efforts. On the other side of the equation are individuals who the author highlights as leaders of a resistance movement who wanted to create a diverse town where all residents are lifted up together. We get to see how good intentions can have surprising negative consequences and how hard it can be to achieve racial and economic equity within a large geographic and populated area.

Just after the halfway point in the book, and a bit too late in my opinion, we are introduced to the catalyst of the story. A single event that brought the author back to her hometown to write about the racial struggles that she took for granted when she was growing up in Shaker. After the introduction of this story I flew through the end of the book. Unfortunately, with history books, it is easier to look back on the distant past and offer a settled opinion than it is in the recent memory. This is the case in "Dream Town." The first 2/3s of the book reads as a history wherein we are witnesses to the struggles of Shaker Heights. In the last third of the book everything is written in shades of grey. There are many sides to every argument and we see humans grapple with how to move forward with benevolent intentions while maintaining a delicate balance of a peaceful town.

In the end, I think the title is more complex than originally read. In my mind I was lead to believe that Shaker Heights has achieved the dream of racial equity. There are famous alums of Shaker Heights High School of all races. However, the thesis of this book is more of Langston Hughes' dream deferred. While Shaker Heights has had a group of dedicated individuals striving for an equitable future, it is a story of over a century of well-intentioned mistakes, direct racism, and NIMBY forces that continue to this day. In short, the Dream Town is still a dream, not yet realized. However, there is hope that the fight for equity continues today.

[S Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 73, after having spent my senior year there. I only remember a few things: I ditched school most days, especially in the 2nd semester, I liked my art class and rescued a bird that had flown in the window, I took a class in Criminology in which we had guest speakers, former inmates, who I drooled over, I got suspended for 3 days for smoking a cigarette inside the doorway because it was raining outside. They also dropped my grades in all my classes for that. Basically, I HATED that school. I didn't even want to be in the graduation ceremony, but they wouldn't give me my diploma otherwise.
This book is a bunch of drivel about how some bleeding heart liberals supposedly integrated Shaker. The other thing I recall about the high school is that all the Blacks sat on one side of the cafeteria and all the Whites sat on the other. I saw more integration when I ditched school and hung out at Coventry. The book mentions the early history of Shaker Heights and how it was founded. Like Upper Arlington in Columbus, Ohio, it was restricted to upper-class White Christians only until the 1950's. Unfortunately for them, one side bordered Cleveland proper's ghetto neighborhood. I grew up in an eastern suburb of Cleveland when there used to be a middle class. White Flight is a fact. Cleveland Heights did a better job of integrating, but eventually all the Whites moved farther east, into Solon, Orange, and Chagrin Falls. In another decade or two, they'll probably all be living in Pennsyvania.
The author tries to be objective, but she grew up White in the affluent section of Shaker Heights. She went into the history of the high school, but it pretty much followed the educational trends that were going on nation-wide. As a former special education teacher, tracking was pure racial discrimination, which is why it stopped in the late '70's. I was surprised to learn the there was no pre-school education until fairly recently. It's been known for ages that early intervention is the most important indicator of student success. Remember Head Start? That was implemented under President Johnson in the 70's. Shaker only started it in the 90's. Not so progressive, is it?
The only reason I gave this book 3 stars is that I grew up there and felt a bit nostalgic.
Nuff said.

[Nancy Gilreath · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 4.5. Dream Town is a gripping read. It should probably be read and discussed by everyone with Shaker Heights connections. I was surprised to read about events that occurred during my lifetime, while I was living in Shaker Heights, about which I knew nothing. The history of how five Black children came to be bussed to my all white elementary school in 4th grade was fascinating. I am impressed by the resilience and determination of the residents of Shaker, who firmly believe that everyone benefits from a town that is racially and economically diverse, and are willing to experiment to achieve that goal in such a manner that everyone’s life and education is enriched.

The author’s conclusion is that there is no easy way to address the challenges of assuring equity, of countering implicit bias and overcoming the disadvantages of low income and instability. However, the Shaker Heights attempts are probably the best there are and should serve as role models for other communities. Shaker will continue to strive for the perfect balance, even if the goal is elusive.

The book also questioned the aims of pre-college education, and how it should reflect the current world. Anyone can Google the dates of the Peloponnesian War, but how many of us have needed to do so after passing the test covering that material? Is memorization what should define a good student? Is it better to focus on critical thinking, collaboration and projects? Why is there a timeline for learning, so that those who take longer become labeled as failures early? I sympathize with the struggles of the residents, teachers and administrators who are willing to do more than talk about these issues, and who take risks to find a better system that addresses the needs of all.

[Linus · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Indians who moved to Cleveland heights in '70s, the confluence of neighborhood reorganization, displaced industrial economy, and immigrant diversity was very formative for my father. He could not escape the stories and influence of shaker heights however. From what I've heard and read so far, they laid the groundwork for how other suburbs would choose to configure their civic structure in places like Beachwood. As someone who now lives in Florida, I see for example the busing technique for school equality to be something in common with the south, but it is not in combination with a higher tax base specifically for a small geographic and civic area. Where I am currently, things are done in a county system. This means that the techniques used in a county, especially one that is socioeconomic diverse, will yield much different results than a concentrated, targeted approach that you see with the city-based policies in Cleveland suburbs. There are pros and cons of both and both are a product of the demographic structure, but I really want to see how Shaker heights model works and compare and contrast with the current Florida model. There are high achieving schools here, so I am not looking for an opinion echo chamber in either direction. For whatever read so far, I can see what my family's been talking about.

Right now I'm rating it four stars and will revise the review and rating when I'm done reading. It looks pretty certain that this is going to be a five star book for me, but I just want to keep it at 4 out of respect for having my opinions being flexible and not just blindly giving a five-star review