Code,915017
Subject,Barbara Gray
Date,6/28/2012
Interviewer,Gabriela Halligan-Taylor
Abstract,"Barbara Grey, a Shaker Heights resident, served as the president of the Shaker Heights School Board for eight years. She oversaw school closings and integration. All five of Grey's childten went to the Shaker public schools and now she has two grandkids in the schools. She is impressed by the vibrant arts programs at the schools and the active school community.  She says Shaker Heights is a civic minded city and residents are always involved in the commnity whether it be the schools, the library, or finding out more about the city's past. Grey is happy to live in such an active, close knt community."
Special Notes,
minutes:,
0,Barbara Grey was born in a suburb in NY. She moved to Cleveland in 1958 for her husband's job. Her father was in insurance. Grey went to Mount Holyoke College in Mass.
1,The Greys first lived in a two family home in Shaker then in Warrensville Hts for 8 years. then they moved back to Shaker where they have been for 44 yrs. They live right across from the Shaker middle school. All five of their children attended the Shaker public schools.
2,The current events of the 1950s and 60s didn't really effect they Greys; too busy raising kids. Barbara Grey was the president of the Shaker Hts School Board from 1980 to 1988. She had gotten involved in the schools while her children were there.
3,She remembers when children began to stay at school for lunch. this coincided with the increase in working mothers.
4,"She was approached by the Shaker Heights Citizens Committee to run for the School Board. She decided it was her turn to ""do her civic duty"""
5,She served for 2 terms. School Boards are non-partisan in OH and that is upheld in Shaker. Financing the schools has always been a very big issue.
6,Shaker is largely residential so the tax burden is on the residents. Racial integration became an issue.
7,"By the time Grey had finished her 2 terms, all of her children were out of school."
8,"The schools tried to maintain their high standards of education while easing the integration process. they also wanted to get parents involved in that process. They let parents chose special programs in certain schools (French, history). They also let parents move their kids to a different school to improve the racial balance of the schools. The library used to be a school at one time: Moreland School."
9,Moreland was a heavily black area so it was difficult to integrate that school.  Shaker was known for its neighborhood schools.
10,It was difficult when some schools needed to close. They made the high school all 4 years. they combined the middle school into one buidling. that left 9 elementary schools.
11,"4 elementary schools were closed. the redrawing of the boundary lines were designed to integrate the schools more. Woodberry became an upper elementary school, 5th and 6th grade."
12,Shaker still has strong neighborhood ties even without the schools. the community was very supportive of integration efforts.
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14,Moreland School became the library a few years after it closed. The library had outgrown its space and was looking for a new building anyway.
15,the library has come to function as a community center. a lot of middle school students became to congregate at the library.
16,The teen section was opened to accomadate the groups of boisterious kids that began to use the library as a hang out. There are also tutoring programs. Computer labs have been added. Grey's children enjoyed their time at the Shaker Schools. They were well prepared for college.
17,Grey has 2 grandchildren in the Shaker Schools. Her kids valued the unique experience of growing up in a community that accepted integration as a norm. The Greys often went to the Bertram Woods Library which was down the street. They used Thorton Park a lot.
18,"Grey was on several committees that combined members of the school borad and the city. for example, the rec center programs were run jointly. now, the rec center has its own board. She also served on the Shaker Schools Foundation as a board member and served 1 term after she finsihed as a school board member."
19,She always wanted to know what was going on the comunity.
20,"There are not many restaurants in Shaker so the Greys had to leave the city for a lot of entertainment. The Greys did not often venture to the West Side. She says the old joke is ""do you have your passport?"" They visited friends on the West Side. She used to go to the West Side Market."
21,"before 480, it was more difficult to get to the West Side. They would take the Detroit Superior Bridge. However, Cleveland is an easy city to get around in compared to others."
22,"Even though the Cuyahoga divedes the city into West and East Side, people often go to one side or the other. Grey thinks the media plays it up. Grey is still interested in the schools and goes to various programs."
23,One granddaughter is in the middle school and Grey is impressed by the music program there. The marching band prcatices across the street form the Greys.
24,The high school has good music and theater program.
25,"Grey thinks arts education in schools is very important. ""music stays with you your whole life."" ""the arts are becoming a bigger part of our culture"""
26,Grey's kids were involved in dance.
27,"Grey is in the Shaker Historical Society. She used to do the book purchasing for their gift shop. There are a lot of books on the community and the Shakers, which for a time, generated a lot of interest."
28,A book of photos of homes of Shaker is very popular.
29,Shaker has a lot of intersting architecture. there are now lots of trees. the city is trying to replant trees to replace the dying elms and increase biodiversity.
30,Shaker was resitant to the building of contemporary homes but some have been built.
31,Parts of Shaker are designated historic districts.
32,there are variety of styles of homes in Shaker including the distictive Shaker homes. There are very few attached garages in Shaker. The grey's home was built in 1933.
33,Norcross (?) was the architect of the Grey's home. He built a lot of homes in Shaker. the grey's home is a traditional shaker house.
34,"The 8 years Grey was enjoyable but very stressful. they had to select a new superindendent, closing schools, integration"
35,Grey enjoyed campaigning.
36,People who run for the school board are civic minded.
37,Grey was involved in the 75th anivsersay of Shaker Heights. The 100th celebration is coming up. it is very focused in environmentalism
38,grey feels priveledged to live in Shaker and serve the community.
39,Shaker is an active community.
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41,Navigating in Shaker can be tricky.
42,"There are no interstates for the most part. The Grey's can go to the symphony and be home in 15 min or to the theater downtown, a 30 min trip."
43,Shaker is a good place to raise a family.
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