Milly's Monday METCO Message

May 25, 2020

The traditional award ceremonies and banquets may have been canceled or postponed, but that doesn't stop us from cheering for the class of 2020 and all they have accomplished. Across the 30 METCO high schools, communities are coming together to find creative ways to applaud their seniors on the verge of graduating.

WELLESLEY

Swim team captain Keleyia Rochelle of Mattapan was named an all-star by the MetroWest Daily News (read about it here) after triumphing at the fall state championship and finishing the regular season undefeated for the third time! Keleyia will swim at the University of Rhode Island when it is safe to do so, and major in psychology and biological sciences.

BROOKLINE

High school parents hand-delivered yard signs to all of their graduating seniors, including those who live throughout Boston. Here is Jordan Milton in front of his Hyde Park home, posing with his sign. He'll be pursuing a degree in Athletic Training at Bridgewater State.

WESTWOOD

Teachers and staff from Westwood High School spent a Friday afternoon celebrating all 237 graduating students, including a caravan of 20 cars driving up to Boston neighborhoods to surprise the classmates in the METCO program. Read about it in the Westwood Tab!

METCO HQ

Twenty moms representing ten different METCO districts joined METCO CEO Milly Arbaje-Thomas and the Communications & Engagement Team on a series of webinars to get involved in the planning of the virtual Class of 2020 Celebration streaming on Saturday, June 27. One of the attendees was Tinea Rochelle ( second row, second from right), who provided the original suggestion for the event (along with being the mother of Keleyia in the first story above)! The family support, along with the overwhelming enthusiasm from the METCO Directors and Coordinators, is making this event come together quickly. As of today, 158 of the 261 graduating seniors have signed up to personalize their processional. Mark your calendar!

In a normal year, the Massachusetts Senate would be completing their debate on the FY21 budget this week, and it would be heading to conference committee to align with the House's proposed budget. Instead, the House has drafted a process to negotiate the budget remotely, although there is still no timeline. Working with Charles Glick of Charles Group Consulting ( bottom right ) along with Kate Saville Worall , Milly has been checking in with our METCO champions, including Boston's Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz ( top left ), who chairs the Senate's Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities, and the Senator for Melrose, Reading, and Wakefield, Jason Lewis ( top right), Chair of the Senate's Joint Committee on Education. Meanwhile, our formal request is in to them, along with the House METCO Champions: Representatives Alice Peisch of Wayland, Wellesley, and Weston (who is House Chair of the Joint Committee on Education) and David Linksy of Natick (who is Chair of the House Committee on Post-Audit and Oversight). Thanks to all the districts for completing the survey regarding summer funding needs. We have requested to the legislators that we carry some funds over into the summer months. Read the letter here . All the champions listed above will be sharing congratulatory remarks at the METCO Class of 2020 Celebration on June 27!

Schools around the country are grappling with the new challenges imposed by the need to protect each other from the coronavirus. As METCO districts, you have a lot to contribute to the national conversation, and a lot to learn from it. What have you been doing since March to keep your school focused on race and equity? What are you doing now, and what do you plan to do as the school year wraps up? The scholars and practitioners at the Harvard Graduate School of Education's RIDES Institute will lead a discussion among school leaders about what can be replicated locally, and how students can be partners.

Sharing ways of keeping race and equity

on the table during the pandemic

Moderated by Dr. Darnisa Amante-Jackson (Tri-Chair), Dr. Mary Anton (Coach and Principal of Learning), and Dr. Lee Teitel (Founding Director & Tri-Chair)

Session 1: TUESDAY, MAY 26, 4-6:30PM

What have you been doing since March, are you doing now, and/or do you plan to do before the end of the school

year, to keep your school or school system’s focus on race and equity?

Session 2: TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 4-6:30PM

What opportunities do you see in your planning for reopening schools next year to keep race and equity at the center? What do you want to make sure to return to, or to make sure you don’t return to? What innovations and adaptations are taking place during the pandemic that you would like to hold onto because they are actually reducing inequities?