The METCO Parent Teacher Group for Concord-Carlisle is shutting down, with parents citing long-boiling frustration with school administrators.
In a Nov. 18 letter obtained by GBH News and sent to school leaders, the group said it would be dissolving immediately because it faced “significant challenges in fostering a relationship” with Superintendent Laurie Hunter and Andrew Nyamekye, director of diversity, equity, inclusion for the district.
“This decision was not made lightly,” the letter said. “Despite our repeated attempts to engage and build a partnership, it has become clear that our pressing concerns as parents are not being prioritized.”
METCO is a decades-old state-funded program that buses students of color from Boston to suburban school districts as a way expand racial diversity and educational opportunities across Greater Boston. About 123 Boston students attend the program in the Concord-Carlisle school district.
Domingos DaRosa, the co-chair of the now-dissolved parents’ group and one of two METCO representatives on the school committee, said the parents’ concerns about their children’s unsatisfactory performance and low standardized test scores have been “neglected and dismissed” by administrators for many years.
“Our biggest issue was the achievement gap that pertains to the Boston students,” he said. “This is an ongoing issue for decades. And they don’t really have a true plan on putting students on track to meet or exceed those expectations.”
DaRosa said school administrators have not reached out to him since the letter was sent. Requests for comment from Hunter and Nyamekye were not immediately returned.
Julie Viola, chair of the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District school committee, said concerns raised in the letter do not paint “the full picture” of how the district supports students.
“Our commitment to METCO students and their families is unwavering, and our work is never complete, as we are always striving to improve,” she said in a statement. “We will continue to create a supportive, inclusive environment where all families feel heard, valued, and empowered to succeed.”
More than 30 suburban school district’s participate in METCO, according to its website. Viola cited a recent survey showing that 78% of METCO families are satisfied or very satisfied with their experience in Concord schools.
METCO was conceived by activists who were concerned that Black children in the city were not receiving the same quality of education as their white peers.
In their letter, the parents said that shutting the group down “ultimately leaves our children without a safety net and further perpetuates the narrative that we are secondary.”
The letter cites MCAS data, showing only around 33% to 48% of METCO students in the district are meeting standards in math and ELA.
“It’s a double edged sword,” DaRosa said “Do we pull our kids out of Concord and stick them in Boston, where the academics are not the same? Or do we stick it out and let our children continue to be the collateral damage to policies and procedures that the school failed to address? So a lot of parents are on the fence.”
DaRosa said his son graduated last year, and his daughter is a sophomore.
“She’s always been very enthusiastic about learning. But then I noticed, when it gets to certain teachers who don’t have the background with working with inner-city kids, her grades will drop,” he said.
The group’s dissolution comes following a debate over re-naming the town’s middle school after abolitionist Ellen Garrison, which would have made it the first building in the majority white town named for a Black person.
Parents like DaRosa say that the treatment of METCO students is indicative of racism in the town “and decades of mistreatment.”
