BROWN RECEIVES AWARD FROM THE METCO PROGRAM
BOSTON, MA - State Senator Scott Brown recently welcomed over 200 students, representing the 31 participating METCO (Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) communities at the State House as part of METCO Day. These young advocates asked legislators to match the $1,500,000 increase recommended for the METCO program by Governor Patrick in the FY 09 state budget.
During the ceremony, the METCO program recognized Senator Brown in the Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with his leadership on behalf of integrated education in Massachusetts. METCO presented Senator Brown with an award for his work in the Senate to further the success of the program.
“It is a great honor to receive this recognition from the METCO program,” said Senator Brown. “I have heard many success stories because it’s a program that benefits both the participating students and the students of the host communities.”
The METCO Program is grant funded by the state. For 41 years, the METCO program has integrated classrooms throughout metropolitan Boston and Springfield. The METCO program brings 3,274 students to the classrooms and hallways of 190 schools located in 37 participating Boston and Springfield area communities. It is a voluntary program where students in urban communities attend public schools in suburban communities that have agreed to participate. Five of the towns in Senator Brown’s district partake in the METCO program.
The intent, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education, is “to expand educational opportunities and reduce racial imbalance.” The METCO program has a high success rate of sending students on to college and other post graduate opportunities.
For more information on the METCO program, visit www.metcoinc.org.Senator Brown is the ranking Republican member of the Education Committee and Higher Education Committee and he is a co-chair of the legislature’s METCO Caucus.
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