METCO

METCO stands for the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity. Founded in 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts, the program is the longest continuously running voluntary school desegregation program in the country and a national model for the few other voluntary desegregation busing programs currently in existence. The Massachusetts Racial Imbalance Act (RIA) in 1966, and amended in 1974, is the legal basis for voluntary interdistrict transfers for the purpose of desegregation (such as METCO). In recent years the gap between cost and funding has increased, and the program has been criticized as severely underfunded by advocates and opponents alike.

As defined by the original METCO Grant, the purpose of the program is, “To expand educational opportunities, increase diversity, and reduce racial isolation by permitting students in Boston and Springfield to attend public schools in other communities that have agreed to participate. The program provides students of participating school districts the opportunity to experience the advantages of learning and working in a racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse setting.” METCO was originally created as a short-term program designed as a stop-gap measure as Boston addressed its most under performing schools. However, due in part to the initial success of the program (and the continuing failure of many of Boston’s public schools), the program has been in place consistently since 1966.

The mission of METCO is two-fold, to give students from Boston’s under-performing school districts the opportunity to attend a high-performing school and increase their educational opportunities and to decrease racial isolation and increase diversity in the suburban schools. It has been reported both qualitatively and quantitatively that most families weigh the opportunity for an excellent education as far more important than decreasing racial isolation. While families may acknowledge it as an important side factor, it is generally referred to as secondary to the goal of maximizing educational opportunity. The program focuses heavily on the support network and environment in each of the towns in which it operates. METCO partner families or METCO “buddies” are designed to bring the communities together and provide support for students within the program in the town in which they attend school. A look at any of the community sites is generally filled with advertisements for community events, such as the Wayland/METCO Florence Adler 5k Walk/Run, Weston/METCO Family Friends WHS Pumpkin Festival or the Weston/METCO Family Friends Ice Cream Social.

METCO is a state-funded grant program run by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. While the Department has final authority related to the grant program, the Department works closely with the METCO Advisory Committee on policy, which consists of representatives from the community, directors, superintendents, METCO Inc, and parent representatives. Overall, the program has two levels of administration. The central office in Roxbury organizes placements, transportation, special programs, and policy decisions. METCO directors and counselors in the suburbs work with students in the program, their parents, and the personnel in the school district. The program was originally supported through a grant from the Carnegie Foundation and the United States Office of Education.

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