A year later, METCO reps say new PTG may be on the way
They have been speaking with parents who believe it’s time to re-create the PTG — even if not as structured as before.
A year after its dissolution, fresh talks about reconstituting the METCO Parent Teacher Group are underway.
Current School Committee METCO representatives Ayesha Lawton and Michelle MacDougall say they have been speaking with parents who believe it’s time to re-create the PTG — even if it’s not as structured as it used to be.
“I don’t know that it will be a formal PTG. I guess that’s up to the parents to decide when they all get together,” MacDougall told The Acton Bridge in a phone interview. “I just hope that parents have the appropriate platform to express any concerns or needs that they have, whether it’s informal or formal.”
Now, Lawton and MacDougall are working with parents to set up a meeting to discuss what’s next.
The METCO program brings students from Boston to suburban schools to increase diversity and offer more educational opportunities. Acton has METCO students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Last November, the then-METCO PTG leadership team wrote a letter detailing why the group disbanded.
In part, they wrote, they faced “significant challenges in fostering a collaborative relationship” with schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter and Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Andrew Nyamekye.
Hunter did not respond to Bridge questions about METCO or a new PTG, and didn’t personally address them at the December 17 School Committee meeting. At that meeting, MacDougall and Lawton discussed the growing interest in a new METCO parent group.
Lost communication
Both MacDougall and Lawton, who represent METCO families in non-voting School Committee roles, say that parents have deeply missed the PTG.
Lawton wants to see the group reestablished. “I think that it’s just a good resource for parents to get together and share information and just support each other,” she said.
MacDougall, who has a first grader in the program, says that the absence of a parent group has made it harder for her to advocate for METCO families on the School Committee.
“I don’t have a platform to hear that feedback,” she said.
For example, “One of the biggest topics this year is the new reading program — the EL program that they implemented,” she said. “I’d love to hear if other people are having successful experiences as well, because I think that was a positive change that was made by the district in response to some of these data trends.”
Growth and changes
Lawton, who was herself a METCO student and now has a child at the high school, said that the district has demonstrated a desire to collaborate with METCO families, and she wants to further that connection while getting more parents and students in the mix.
“I want to increase the level of involvement, engagement, with the METCO parents,” she said, “and see the METCO students way more involved in things in Acton.”
MacDougall said she hasn’t witnessed anything in her year in the district that would suggest school leadership doesn’t want to collaborate. But she did say that having an organized group of parents makes it easier to raise concerns when needed.
“When people speak up, and concerns are raised from a group of people, it does hold a little bit more weight than just one individual person calling for something,” she said.
Ultimately, Lawton said she wants to see parents and students in Acton, Carlisle, and the METCO program find more opportunities to connect.
“We’re three different communities,” she said, “but we all fall into the same school community. I would just like to bring those three communities together a little bit more.”
