‘Room to grow’: Parents want METCO to build on its positive momentum
Families believe the program has improved its communication and stability, but there is still work to do.
The School Committee’s annual METCO meeting yielded a central message from families: The program has improved its communication and stability, but there is still work to do.
“Like any school, no district is perfect,” said Tiffany Marshall, a Boston parent of two daughters now in Acton schools and a third who graduated four years ago. “But the staff, from Acton to METCO to the entire district, has been good to my family.”
The annual meeting convenes Acton school leaders and METCO staff in Boston to meet with families in the program, which brings urban students to suburban schools to increase diversity and educational opportunity.
Acton currently has 104 METCO students, with 73 students in elementary and middle schools and 31 in high school.
This year’s gathering came as the district continues to confront questions about equity and belonging following a series of bias and hate incidents, including racist graffiti found at Acton-Carlisle High School and a notebook with a racial slur written on it that was thrown into a crowd at last year’s Kicks for Cancer game.
METCO parent Erika Fevriere said she wanted to be there to show support for Acton School Committee METCO representative Michelle MacDougall. Fevriere said the addition of MacDougall to the panel and the administration’s other recent actions “feel like steps in the right direction.”
MacDougall and the committee’s other non-voting METCO rep, Ayesha Lawton, previously told The Acton Bridge that talks are underway about reconstituting Acton’s METCO Parent Teacher Group, which disbanded in late 2024 after citing frustration with school administrators and the addressing of student achievement gaps. Some Acton schools have already added a METCO rep to their PTGs.
‘Fostering collaboration’
Asked what the administration and School Committee should keep in mind when supporting METCO families, Fevriere said, “It’s important to continue fostering collaboration while keeping communication open and ongoing.”
Marshall said communication and coordination have improved in recent years, but even more under the current METCO leadership team. “I think there’s really a solid group now,” she said. “Communication is great. Everyone works together.”
METCO President and CEO Kandice Sumner addressed the School Committee during the meeting and spoke about a recent visit to Acton during which she asked METCO students how things were going.
She said many gave the same answer: “It’s not perfect, but we actually kind of like it.”
There’s “a lot of room to grow, but there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve got that’s great,” she said of Acton’s METCO program.
Schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter said she was happy to see a number of families attend the meeting, but she didn’t “want the joy tonight” to overshadow the work that she said needs to be done.
“We want to keep the numbers up, we want to keep people as engaged as possible, we want kids to feel really welcome and that they’re part of a community that really values them and wants them there,” she said. “We know some days that’s amazing and other days it’s not as great.”
Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Andrew Nyamekye said that two years ago, a school survey revealed a disparity in student life.
“Other groups were not experiencing the same level of belonging as their white and Asian peers,” he said. But Nyamekye said that week, leaders from 14 student groups, including the Black Student Union, the Spectrum LGBTQ club, and Far East Association, met to help address the divide.
Chances to participate
Millie Olivares, a parent of two METCO students, said she wanted to be at the meeting to see one of her sons receive recognition as a METCO student ambassador.
“My experience has been really good, and so has my sons’,” she said. She hopes to see more inclusive measures in the future, like “a late bus for the little ones so they can join sports in Acton.”
Olivares said she has noticed more events and meetings held in Boston in recent years, making it easier for families to attend. She said she hopes the district continues building on those efforts.
“It was nice to actually participate in person,” she said. “Normally, I have to watch these meetings from a computer. It’s nice to feel like a part of it like this.”
