METCO

LONGMEADOW HIGH SCHOOL   |   95 GRASSY GUTTER ROAD   |   LONGMEADOW, MA   01106   |   P 413-565-4220    |   F413-565- 4233

"Without meaningful social contact, talk of tolerance and cooperation is nothing but an abstraction." --US Federal District Court Judge Nancy Gertner regarding school intergration efforts

The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program is a grant-funded initiative supported by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is a voluntary program designed to expand educational opportunities, increase diversity, and reduce racial isolation by allowing students from certain urban areas to attend public schools in participating suburban communities. In the Springfield METCO program, the participating host communities are East Longmeadow, Hampden/Wilbraham, Longmeadow, and Southwick/Tolland.

What is the METCO program and how did it start?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptIEI5rXHI4&t=

The METCO program was established in 1966, initially funded by a grant from the Carnegie Foundation and the U.S. Office of Education. That year, the first METCO legislation was introduced, METCO Inc. was formed, and seven school districts welcomed the first 200 METCO students. Today, approximately 3,300 students participate across 33 school districts in the Boston metropolitan area and four districts outside Springfield.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education covers both tuition and transportation costs. Once a student is accepted into a host community, they are treated as a resident student with the same expectations and opportunities through to graduation. Many METCO students have graduated with diplomas from host communities and gone on to pursue higher education.

The host communities and Springfield Public Schools collaborate closely; this partnership is evident through many shared programs and initiatives. 

Each spring, students are selected for the METCO program by lottery to fill openings identified by the host communities, most commonly in grade one. All Springfield residents are welcome to apply.

If you would like to apply to join the METCO program, please go to the Springfield Public Schools website at: https://www.springfieldpublicschools.com/departments/student_assignment_services/m_e_t_c_o 

What is the legislative enabling language for METCO? 

Chapter 76, Section 12A of Massachusetts General Laws states that "the school committee of any city or town or any regional school district may adopt a plan for attendance at its schools by any child who resides in another city, town, or regional school district in which racial imbalance exists." This plan "shall tend to eliminate racial imbalance in the sending district" and, as the law states, "to help alleviate racial isolation in the receiving district." The definitions of 'racial imbalance' and `racial isolation' are found in Chapter 71, Section 37D (also referred to as Chapter 636, section 37D). In summary, 'racial imbalance' is the condition of a public school in which more than fifty percent of the pupils attending such school are non-white. 'Racial isolation' is the condition of a public school in which not more than thirty percent of the pupils attending such school are non-white.