By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — METCO students are continuing to perform well inside and outside of the classroom, Director Curtis Blyden said during the School Committee’s May 6 meeting.
Blyden said 41 METCO students from Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Roslindale, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, the South End and East Boston are attending Lynnfield Public Schools this academic year.
“We have 41 students and we have six graduating,” said Blyden. “That is our usual average number of students.”
Blyden said there are 19 METCO students enrolled at Lynnfield High School, 13 at Lynnfield Middle School, five at Huckleberry Hill School and four at Summer Street School.
“The middle school and the high school have our largest placements right now,” said Blyden. “We are slowly starting to rebuild at the elementary schools. We have one kindergarten student coming in. Over the last few years, I have been trying to focus on enrolling students in first grade. The kindergartner coming in is a sibling of a current student.”
Blyden said he has worked to “collaborate with teachers and parents” as well as “monitor students’ academic progress.”
“Those are things I have been doing year-in and year-out,” said Blyden. “The big thing we have been focusing on this year is connecting students with academic support and connecting students with college and scholarship support.”
Blyden said the 41 METCO students are in a “solid academic shape.”
“Thirteen out of our 19 high school students have made the credits’ list and above,” said Blyden. “That is 68 percent of our students who have earned academic recognition so far this year.”
Blyden said he has been focusing on “creating new opportunities” for METCO students.
“That is both academic enrichment and developing professional skills,” said Blyden. “Part of that is we have been working with Livius Prep through a grant that we have received with METCO. We have been working with them on not only providing individual subject tutoring for our middle school and high school kids, but they have also been helping high school juniors and seniors identify scholarships for college. Several of our middle school kids and a few of our high school kids have scheduled once a week one-on-one remote tutoring, where they will meet with their tutor online to get help after-school with whatever subject they have a particular need in. It has been working out really well. We have definitely seen some positive academic data from it.”
Blyden said elementary school students have enrolled in METCO’s Summer School program.
“Some of our middle school kids also enrolled in Summer School at either Boston Latin School or through a program at Northeastern University,” added Blyden.
Blyden said METCO seniors have been accepted to Boston College, Bridgewater State University, Boston University, Buffalo State University, Lasell University, UMass-Amherst, UMass-Boston, Salem State University and Worcester State University this year.
“Every year, our kids are getting into more and more schools,” said Blyden. “It’s awesome. Our students have applied for over 50 scholarships this year. That is actually a high because in the past, we have had students apply for one or two scholarships.”
Blyden noted that a LHS junior has received the Christian A. Herter Memorial Scholarship from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.
“That is a very competitive scholarship,” said Blyden. “They only select 25 students statewide for four-year college funding. One of our juniors was selected for that award.”
In response to a question from School Committee Vice Chair Jim Dillon, Blyden said the Christian A. Herter Memorial Scholarship is for Massachusetts residents.
“It can be applied to any school in the country,” said Blyden. “As long as they are in college, 50 percent of their tuition is covered. It’s a highly competitive scholarship, and they only select 25 students out of several thousand statewide. It is really impressive that he was selected for it.”
School Committee member Jamie Hayman recalled that the panel has met at METCO Headquarters in Roxbury the last several years, but that did not occur this year.
“We typically try to do this meeting at METCO Headquarters, but due to some leadership changes this year, we weren’t able to,” said Hayman. “I also think having televised this is nice because people get to see the work that is happening. One of the biggest wins I have seen since I have been on the committee is just the work that you have done rebuilding the METCO program and the presence you have in the schools. That is not just for students who are part of the METCO program, but for all of our students. I think that is really admirable.”
Hayman commended the work METCO students have done inside and outside of the classroom. He noted that METCO students have to get up earlier than their Lynnfield peers in order to get to school.
“It’s really important to remember what these students are overcoming,” said Hayman. “They are getting up at 5 a.m., and they are taking a bus for an hour or more each way. They are putting in the work and they are participating in extracurricular activities. That is something that should be celebrated and recognized. The support that the METCO team has been giving has been really, really impressive. I applaud those outcomes.”
Hayman recalled that LMS seventh-grader Joseph Dixon and his mom, Wendy, spoke during participation at a School Committee meeting in February where they advocated for “better representation and celebration of racial and cultural diversity in the Lynnfield schools.”
“I know that a majority of METCO participants come from diverse backgrounds,” said Hayman. “From where you sit and knowing your students, how do you think our students feel about the representation in the schools and having been through the METCO program yourself in a similar demographic town, are there things that we can do better as a district to help support this?”
Blyden said METCO students have informed him “they are having a really awesome experience.” He noted that students are involved in athletics and extracurricular activities, including the Student Councils at LHS and the elementary schools.
“Our students are fully engaged in the school community,” said Blyden. “I think our kids feel supported and feel welcome in the community. That is at least my presumption but that is also because I am seeing the kids every day.”
Dillon asked Blyden if families are satisfied with the METCO program.
“We have high family satisfaction,” said Blyden. “I think a big part of that is the level of communication, not only the communication they are having with teachers about their child’s academic progress, but my families and I talk all the time. I have known a lot of the kids in this program since they were in second or third grade. I have a couple of kids in right now who I have known since they were infants. There is a level of comfort that the families have in our relationship. I have always been very transparent with them and I am also very accessible. They have also really been comfortable with school administration as well as teachers because there is a lot of dialogue that goes back-and-forth. I think our families don’t have to wait very long for questions to be answered about how their kids are doing. I think that high level of contact is something our families have really appreciated over the years.”
School Committee member Kate DePrizio commended Blyden for his “presence in our schools inside and outside of the school day.” She also commended Blyden for making a “unique bond with each family” and for “really prioritizing their children.”
“You give them the support that they need, as Jamie said, in these extraordinary school days that are so much longer than the average school day,” said DePrizio.
DePrizio asked Blyden if he is still prioritizing enrolling current METCO students’ siblings.
Blyden said yes.
“Last year was 95 percent sibling-based,” said Blyden. “We still have a majority of siblings. That is something that is always going to be an emphasis of mine. It’s great to get two kids rather than one student.”
Blyden said he is looking to enroll more elementary school students into the METCO program.
“For several years, we were taking high school and middle school kids,” said Blyden. “I really want to get back to rebuilding the foundations, which is our elementary grades. That is going to be what we focus on. That sibling trend, our legacy program as I call it, is strong and will continue. We have kids who have graduated who have siblings who will be coming through in the next few years. The families like the continuity and the families come in knowing the relationships their kids are going to have. I think that is really helpful.”
School Committee member Kim Baker Donahue thanked Blyden for the work he has done serving METCO students.
“Having grown up here, this program has been around for a very long time,” said Baker Donahue. “I think it is amazing that you have been able to rebuild it and continue to have it thrive. It is just awesome for everyone, including our own kids.”
School Committee Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy agreed.
“The work you are doing to support the kids is obviously showing,” said Elworthy. “We are seeing that trend of success. I appreciate you coming in to share that with us. Thank you for all of the work that you do.”
Blyden thanked the School Committee for the compliments and giving him the opportunity to highlight METCO students’ accomplishments.