The Shaker Heights City School District is a

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

headquartered in

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, a ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, in

Greater Cleveland The Cleveland metropolitan area, or Greater Cleveland as it is more commonly known, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census results, the five-county ...

. The system serves all residents of the city of Shaker Heights and about of the City of Cleveland around

Shaker Square Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cockt ...

. The Cleveland portion has been a part of the school district since the 1920s. The residents of the Cleveland portion may vote in school board elections and use the school facilities and they pay the same school taxes that residents in the Shaker Heights portion pay.

History

Shaker Heights began operating its own school system in 1910. Boulevard Elementary (1914) is the oldest building in the district; Shaker Heights Middle School (1957) (formerly known as Byron Junior High School) is the newest. The schools were designed to complement the natural and architectural beauty of Shaker Heights. Facilities include eight school buildings, mainly of Georgian design; computer labs in all schools; a planetarium; two indoor pools; playgrounds; and athletic fields. The average age of buildings currently in use is 73 years. The system is funded in large part by property tax millage levies approved by residents based upon home valuation. Shaker Heights is considered a progressive school system in its approach to education and social balance. Shaker was among the first school systems in the United States to actively pursue school

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

in the early 1960s by neighbors of Ludlow Elementary School. The success of that initial attempt by residents led to voluntary busing between schools in the system in order to achieve better racial balance. As a result of these efforts, Shaker schools avoided the court ordered busing programs of the 1970s.

Schools

At its peak enrollment in the late 1960s the system operated nine elementary schools, two junior high schools and a high school. Population and demographic shifts, along with the evolution of academic theory, have reduced the number of elementary schools from nine (grades K-6) to five (grades K-4): Fernway, Onaway, Lomond, Boulevard, and Mercer. Woodbury Elementary School (originally Shaker High School and later Woodbury Junior High School) serves as a district-wide collector school for grades 5 and 6. Shaker Middle School serves all students in grades 7 and 8. Shaker Heights High School houses grades 9 through 12. The Shaker Heights High School mascot is a “Raider”. School colors are

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

. The district employs 430 teachers for a student / teacher ratio of 13:1 (average Ohio ratio 16:1). 78% of Shaker teachers hold

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s; 5% of teachers hold a doctorate or a PhD.

Academic program

Shaker Heights is one of eight public school districts in the nation designated as an International Baccalaureate (IB) district. It is the first public school district in Cuyahoga County to adopt the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) program. The high school began offering IB courses in 2010, and the first class of International Baccalaureate Diploma candidates will graduate in 2012. The district estimates that roughly 90% of Shaker graduates attend college.

References

External links

City of Shaker Heights Online: EducationShaker Heights School DistrictNational Public Radio: 'The Reunion:' The Integration of Shaker Heights
{{coord, 41, 28, 35, N, 81, 33, 6, W, region:US-OH_type:edu, display=title School districts in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Shaker Heights, Ohio School districts established in 1910 1910 establishments in Ohio