Redefining Educational Equity: Reallocating Resources from METCO to Urban Schools in Massachusetts

Nadia Mason

Instructor’s Introduction

Nadia Mason wrote her insightful multisource essay for WR 120: Education and Work, a course in which students study the relationship between current and historical educational theory and practice and the constantly evolving world of work. Her paper argues that Massachusetts’s METCO program, a sixty-year-old, lottery-based initiative that provides students from Boston and Springfield the opportunity to attend schools in more well-resourced districts, is outdated and problematic. She argues that the significant funding invested in METCO ought instead to be reinvested in the school districts of Boston and Springfield as a way to improve the educational experience and outcomes for more students. In her paper, Nadia acknowledges that hers is a controversial argument, because METCO was a significant force for school integration during the Civil Rights movement, and it is popular among its target communities; however, Nadia’s sharp interrogation of whether or not METCO’s stated mission is actually being carried out lends itself to a persuasive argument that its funds would be better used in the home districts themselves. I’m so proud of Nadia for her thoughtful work on this paper, and I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Samantha Myers

From the Writer

As a product of the School Choice program, I experienced first hand the disparities in educational opportunities between urban and suburban schools in Massachusetts. This project was motivated by my desire to explore and challenge the ways in which funding is allocated in Massachusetts’s education system, specifically through the METCO program. While METCO was founded with the intention of promoting educational equity, I wanted to examine whether it truly achieves that goal today—or if reinvesting those resources directly into urban schools could be a more effective solution?

One of the biggest challenges I faced while writing this paper was balancing the historical significance of METCO with a critical analysis of its current impact. METCO is a Massachusetts staple and beloved by many, the optics of ending METCO could potentially lead to backlash from the public, and this was something Professor Myers and I discussed in great detail. I wanted to acknowledge its importance without dismissing the valid concerns surrounding its structure.

Redefining Educational Equity: Reallocating Resources from METCO to Urban Schools in Massachusetts

For residents in the Springfield and Boston areas, many of their urban public schools tend to lack educational opportunities that exist in their surrounding districts. Founded in 1966, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, Inc. (METCO) was a program created by a group of Black mothers from Roxbury and White suburban residents in reaction to Boston refusing to integrate their public schools. In an effort to remedy the educational economic and social disparities, the METCO program created an opportunity for segregated students to promote diversity and fairness in education (Arden and Hatch 5). Today, segregation laws no longer exist, but the lasting and continued effects of systemic racism continue to impact low income communities. In the state of Massachusetts, towns such as Lawrence, Holyoke, and Southbridge are each home to higher than state average crime rates, low family income levels, high hispanic/latino population, and chronically underperforming public schools (United States Census Bureau). Many of the issues within these districts include high teacher turnover rate, lack of advanced placement courses, families not properly informed of the resources available for their kids, and many others (Craver-Thomas and Darling Hammond 5). In areas such as these, families tend to consider options such as the METCO program to redefine their child’s educational path and hopefully increase their chances to succeed in the future. However, METCO grants are distributed to school districts that already have adequate funds, essentially supplying these affluent schools with more resources while disadvantaged urban public schools struggle to stay afloat. Many students in this program also report feelings of inadequacy, racial isolation, and racial and economic discrimination, making it difficult for them to thrive in these sometimes hostile educational environments (Arden and Hatch 8-13). In an effort to remedy these issues, the state of Massachusetts should consider the possibility of reinvesting the money and resources that go into METCO back into the local communities affected by the lasting impacts of segregation. Instead of continuing to push these bright minds to assimilate to school districts in predominantly white spaces, the curriculum implemented within better performing districts should be adopted and utilized in their own neighborhoods. If the overall goal is to help students gain access to better educational experiences, why not invest within the communities that need it most? By adopting these new standards, not only will all students’ K-12 quality of education increase, but these communities will experience a positive shift in their culture overall, further leading to an increase of students achieving higher education, lower crime rates, and a respect for the possibilities education can provide for one’s future.

Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and across the nation, METCO is the leader in voluntary school integration. The program focuses on promoting diversity within schools, closing the achievement gap, and overcoming racial barriers (METCO). The program’s mission is to provide students with a solid academic background, rich in culture, education, socioeconomic, and racial diversity. Participants within the program are expected to respect different individuals within the community, welcoming a collaborative and creative environment. The program is highly sought after by families in low performing school districts who understand the importance of education and the opportunities it will expose their child to. It also offers families the convenience of picking up their child from their home to transport them back and forth to school every day, eliminating the hassle of putting that burden on themselves. METCO claims the expectations they hold for students to be exceptional in all that they accomplish encourages them to excel as they journey into higher education and the workforce.

The success of the METCO program is embedded in the belief that such resources cannot be found within one’s own community. School districts participating in the program receive a portion of METCO funding to support professional staff salaries in that district (Public Schools of Brookline). Though, in a METCO Funding Research case study, researchers noted “[b]ecause METCO students count towards enrollment in the districts they attend, suburban districts generally receive additional state aid, Springfield receives less state aid, and Boston is unaffected.” (Arden & Hatch). One suburban district the program has worked with since 1968 is the Longmeadow school district based in Longmeadow, MA. About 90% of the town’s population identify as white, with a median family income of about $138,213 (United States Census Bureau). Based on the statistics, these families are substantially well off, yet these suburban communities are receiving additional funding compared to their urban, substantially lower income district neighbors. This inequality accelerates the economic disparities in regards to educational resources directly through the METCO program. By increasing funds to districts that already have access to quality educational resources, increasing that budget further neglects the possibility of students receiving those resources in their own communities (Arden and Hatch 10-15). Many passionate, and good teachers tend to leave urban school districts for higher paid positions in suburban schools which leave students from lower ranked schools with substitute teachers who lack specific knowledge or passion for the subject being taught (Craver-Thomas and Darling Hammond 5). This is just one example of the many domino effects METCO funds have on low performing districts that tend to consistently be urban schools in low income communities.

Another pressing issue within the METCO program is the program’s inability to effectively reduce racial isolation and discrimination for students participating in their program. On the program’s website it states, “[a]s Massachusetts is becoming more diverse, students of color are becoming more racially isolated in urban schools…[m]ajor change, especially outside the Commonwealth’s largest cities, will only come through bold state support and continued public advocacy” (METCO). Though in theory this sounds like a great idea, the METCO program has an extremely limited number of students able to attend these schools. With less than 10% of students being enrolled into those district schools, METCO participants make up a very low amount of diversity within those institutions (Sentren). In an effort to solve racial isolation on a district level, METCO has increased racial isolation on an individual level. A research study conducted at Trinity College states, “over 50 percent of students reported an experience of discrimination by teachers (Harvard, 1997)…although METCO students can be sent to the receiving public school from the early age of pre-kindergarten, they still have an extremely lower average test scores than their peers in school” (Cubeta, 2014), further confirming the existence of biases that students within the program are exposed to. In an effort to reduce these experiences, many institutions have already implemented anti-racist training programs, but these issues are still prominent.

It seems the only way to make this program effective in reducing racial bias and lack of educational opportunity is by integrating these towns with quality standards of education. The METCO program receives $29.4 million a year, which is about $7,200 per student, which doesn’t account for the extra state funding generated for the suburban school districts (Arden and Hatch, 4). By dismantling the METCO program, the state of Massachusetts can reinvest these funds into local public schools. Particularly, focusing on increasing teacher salaries as quality instructors tie directly into the success of students. Better paid teachers are able to teach higher level courses, create opportunities outside of the classroom, and advocate for a better curriculum. As of 2021, the Springfield, MA average teacher salary is $74,014, compared to their wealthier neighbor Longmeadow, MA where the average teacher salary is about $78,586 (School and District Profiles). This four thousand dollar difference may not seem significant, but the government needs to take the needs of students within lower performing districts into account. In a neoToday article, a Florida science teacher by the name Seth Knolhoff states, “[t]eachers aren’t paid nearly enough, and they feel less appreciated, more stressed, and less supported than they have in the past…[i]f the state is serious about helping its students, it would make sure its teachers are taken care of.” Teachers in lower-performing districts have high-need students, which draws down teachers’ energy faster and is more demanding of their skills and time, which doesn’t exactly correlate with pay, but needs to be taken into account. A higher teacher salary directly correlates to low turnover rate and even a 3 to 4% reduction rate in high school dropouts (The Journalist Resource). METCO funding can supplement the salary gap. Newfound exposure to a quality education would eliminate the search to ensure that students are comfortable within their own schools.

Making this change would be a big step toward creating opportunities for students in lower-performing schools. In August of 2023, Governor Maura Healy signed a $29.4 million budget for the program, yet program officials were disappointed considering there was no budget increase from the previous year (Lannan). As in any school program, costs increase yearly and for the Massachusetts state government to not increase the program’s budget signals that the state is not seeing any significant reason to keep aiding it. METCO is beloved by families, school districts, and even the state government in the educational community view as a strong proponent of racial diversity and equity in education. The optics surrounding the ending of METCO may at first seem very controversial, because its Massachusetts’s only desegregation program that advocates for educational equity, but it’s out of date. A quality education should no longer be exclusive to those who have the prestige and money to access it or happen to be among the few students who are able to participate in the METCO program. It should be guaranteed in any district no matter a student’s socioeconomic background and that is what the new plan will ensure.

In order to determine which districts can best benefit from the reclaimed METCO funding there is a need for a system to accurately identify and aid these economically disadvantaged students. Formerly, the state of Massachusetts utilized the Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program (FRPL) as a direct indicator to identify the district’s “low income” students. About two years ago, the state introduced the Community Eligibility Program (CEP), where districts with a high concentration of low income students are given free lunch which eliminates the burden of collecting lunch fees. This program was formerly used as an income metric to identify the population of low income students within the district. Now, with the CEP program, this new metric can no longer accurately identify the district’s low income students; instead they are being identified as “economically disadvantaged”. With this generalized metric, districts’ low income students are no longer accurately accounted for since the data from FRPL was the primary metric used to properly allocate grants and budget funding for these disadvantaged schools. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education also mentions that it is important for researchers who utilize the CEP data to understand enrollment percentages and achievement data for economically disadvantaged students must not be directly compared to “low income” data in prior years as it is no longer an accurate representation. Low income students are no longer being accurately represented, and so a new system should be implemented where families of the child report their earnings, similar to how it was done with the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Through this process the state will get accurate information on where their “low income” students are and schools can begin to receive proper funding to aid their students who are in need of extra resources. By drawing the state’s attention back to the students who are most at risk we can begin to make the necessary changes within the urban schools in Massachusetts to where they can operate at a similar flow as their suburban neighborhoods.

In dismantling the METCO program and reallocating the funds to underserved public schools serves as a solution to systematic educational inequities within Massachusetts. As future scholars contemplate avenues for further research, exploring the effectiveness of alternative metrics for identifying disadvantaged students and studying the long-term impacts of reallocating resources from programs like METCO could provide valuable insights. It is imperative that as a society, we confront the negligence faced by underserved communities, as failure to do so only perpetuates disparities and denies students the opportunity to thrive. By prioritizing equitable access to quality education, we can work towards creating a more just and inclusive society where every student, regardless of racial identity and economic status, can have the chance to reach their full potential.

Works Cited

Ardon, Ken, and Roger Hatch. METCO Funding: Understanding Massachusetts’ Voluntary School Desegregation Program. Pioneer Education, June 2022, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED620451.pdf. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024

Callie. “METCO: A Bumpy Road – Educ 300: Education Reform, Past and Present.” Educ 300: Education Reform, Past and Present, 2 May 2014, https://commons.trincoll.edu/edreform/2014/05/metco-a-bumpy-road/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024

Carver-Thomas , Desiree, and Linda Darling-Hammond. Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It. Learning Policy Institute , Aug. 2017, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vDuN8BbIwn8fST0Zb0AsKjCEmtlKVi5nK7wu a9DfFqw/edit. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024

Chronically Underperforming Districts: Frequently Asked Questions. https://www.doe.mass.edu/level5/districts/faq.html. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Lannan, Katie. “METCO Program Worried a Level Budget Effectively Cuts Funds.” GBH, 21 Nov. 2023,

https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2023-11-21/metco-program-worried-a-level-budge t-effectively-cuts-funds. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024

Larkin, Max. How Massachusetts Lost Count Of Its Poor Students. 1 Aug. 2019, https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/08/01/low-income-count.

Massachusetts Department Of Elementary And Secondary Education – Teacher Salaries Statewide Report. https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/statereport/teachersalaries.aspx. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

“METCO – Voluntary School Integration in the Boston Area.” METCO Incorporated, https://metcoinc.org/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

Ordway, Denise-Marie. “Increasing Public School Teacher Pay: What the Research Says.” The Journalist’s Resource, 2 Jan. 2020, https://journalistsresource.org/education/school-teacher-pay-research/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

Quickfacts: Longmeadow CDP, Massachusetts . United States Census Bureau, 2021, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/longmeadowcdpmassachusetts/BZA01022. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024

Nadia Mason is a junior studying Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University. Originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, she attended Northampton High School through the School Choice program. Passionate about mental health advocacy and educational equity, she actively engages in volunteer work throughout the Greater Boston area. She extends her gratitude to her WR120 professor, Samantha Myers, for her guidance, as well as to her family and friends for their love and support. She also thanks the Boston University Writing Program for creating a space to explore and discuss meaningful issues.