Published in the November 29, 2018 edition

By MARK SARDELLA

BOSTON — This week’s School Committee meeting was the annual meeting in Boston with METCO families, held Tuesday evening at Bethel AME Church in Jamaica Plain. The 7:30 p.m. regular meeting was preceded by a 6 p.m. dinner hosted by the METCO families.

The meeting included a presentation by METCO Director Joel Villegas, who reminded the School Committee that the local METCO program will be turning 50 next year, as Wakefield began participating in the program in 1969. Villegas said that he, the Wakefield METCO Parent Advisory Council and students have been discussing ideas on how to observe this milestone and have set a date of Oct. 19, 2019 for the celebration.

WMHS staff have also contributed to the discussion. Several smaller events are also being planned for next year leading up to the big event in October, Villegas said.

According to the Wakefield METCO Program web page, METCO provides the opportunity for a quality, integrated, public school education for African American, Latino and other children of color, as well as suburban children in participating towns. The program offers Boston and suburban students opportunities to learn together, to develop an understanding of our pluralistic world, and an appreciation of various cultures. METCO also provides opportunities for closer understanding, cooperation, and sharing between urban and suburban parents, children, and citizens in the Metropolitan Boston area.

Wakefield serves 50 or more Boston resident students annually. There are 28 students at Wakefield Memorial High School, 21 at the Galvin Middle School, 9 at the Greenwood Elementary School, 3 at the Dolbeare Elementary School, and 3 at the Woodville Elementary School. Our students are from all different backgrounds (African-American, Latinos, Caribbeans, and African) representing different Boston neighborhoods (South End, Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, South Boston, Hyde Park, and Roslindale).

The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, was incorporated in 1966 as a voluntary desegregation program under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. METCO promotes the integration of suburban schools while affording the opportunity to Boston resident youth a suburban public education. There are 37-plus communities and towns in Massachusetts that participate in the METCO Program. Currently, there are over 3,300 students enrolled in METCO. The central administrative office is located in Roxbury.

Children are placed in METCO towns after their parents have enrolled them in the program through our METCO Inc. central office. Over the years, there have been over 9,000 students who have gone through different town programs, have graduated, many have earned higher educational degrees and in turn enrolled their children in the METCO Program. Often times, parents place their children on this list at birth, as the value of your child being educated in a suburban community is enormous.

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Also at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting meeting, Science Curriculum Coordinator Jennifer Thomas and Erin Manzi, World Language Curriculum Coordinator provided a updates on new curriculum resources and materials.

The next School Committee meeting will be a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at the Walton School. Following the meeting, a tour of the newly renovated school will take place.