Wisconsin--and, in particular, urban Milwaukee--has been at the forefront of a half-century of public education experiments, from desegregation and "school choice" to vouchers and charter schools. "Lessons from the Heartland: A Turbulent Half-Century of Public Education in an Iconic American City" by Barbara J. Miner, former managing editor of "Rethinking Schools," is both a narrative portrait of the struggles for equitable education in Milwaukee, and an exploration of the larger issues of race and class. This excerpt is an adaption of chapters 17 and 25 (The New Press, 2013).