Metco, nearly 60, at crossroads amid search for next leader
There also are growing parent demands for Metco to hold accountable its participating districts, following a number of allegations of
'We need someone that can speak out against the things that are being done that are wrong, and speak out against things that don't promote education,' said Dorchester mom Vanesa Morales, whose two children have participated in the Metco program.
State Representative Christopher Worrell, who graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School through Metco, said he wants to see the nonprofit and its next leader play a larger role in breaking down racial barriers in the state.
'Metco could be, and should be, bigger than just busing inner city kids to the suburbs,' said Worrell, who has two children attending Newton schools through Metco. 'It should be the main focal point of race relations and be a leader on race relations.'
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Metco (officially the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) began in 1966 as a coalition of Boston parents and a handful of suburban school districts who agreed to bus predominantly Black children from the city into wealthier, suburban communities in hopes of obtaining a better academic experience.
Today, the Metco program spans 33 communities around the state and enrolls about 3,000 students. (There is also a separate Springfield program for that sends about 100 students to four Western Massachusetts communities.)
Since its inception, Metco has had two leaders, including Jean McGuire, who helped found Metco and served as CEO until late 2016, when she said she
During Arbaje-Thomas's tenure, the state added about $8 million to the program's annual budget, for a total of nearly $30 million per year in state funding, and changed its enrollment process
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That plan includes several commitments by member districts, including offering inclusive, antiracist school environments, personalized support for academic and postgraduate success, and equal inclusion in extracurricular activities.
A search committee is working with a
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Darnell Billings,
'At this time, no decisions have been finalized regarding the hiring of a new President & CEO. We are continuing to follow a deliberate and thorough process, and additional information will be shared publicly at the appropriate time,' Billings said in a brief email.
By several measures, the Metco program is successful.
Researchers in separate studies have found students enrolled in suburban districts through Metco perform better academically than their peers in Boston Public Schools.
Metco students have had a higher graduation rate than their Boston peers, or the state as a whole, state data show. A greater percentage of Metco students also plan on attending college.
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The program 'brings much-needed diversity to suburban districts and makes friendships, dialogue, and learning across race more possible,' the committee's report said.
Meanwhile, in suburban districts, achievement gaps among Metco students persist, state testing data show.
Domingos DaRosa, a Boston resident whose daughter attends high school in the Concord-Carlisle regional district, resigned last November as the School Committee's Metco parent representative, he said, after administrators and the board failed to listen to Black and Latino students, and didn't address his concerns about achievement gaps.
'The face of Metco Inc. has to be the individual who represents the students' interests,' DaRosa said, referring to the organization by its formal name.
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Daniel Gutekanst, the superintendent in Needham and a member of the Metco Inc. board, said school administrators in member districts are taking reports of racist harassment seriously, and are working to address achievement gaps through the Metco 2.0 effort.
'I acknowledge there are problems, and there are problems in Needham,' said Gutekanst, who declined to speak about the search process. 'I also know there is a commitment among superintendents and Metco directors [in school districts] to really move the ball forward, and really make sure our classrooms are inclusive, that kids feel welcomed, and that they're achieving at high levels.'
Several of
Nita Holder, who sent her then-13-year-old son to Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School through Metco in 2023 and 2024,
The purpose of Metco is 'not only to support the families of Boston,' Holder said, 'it's to educate the suburban towns and cities about what it means to be a young Black boy, a young Black girl, coming from the city of Boston, and trying to navigate a whole other culture.'
John Hilliard can be reached at
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