METCO

The METCO Program is a grant program funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is a voluntary program intended to expand educational opportunities, increase diversity, and reduce racial isolation, by permitting students in certain cities to attend public schools in other communities that have agreed to participate.

If you are a parent interested in the program, please contact the service provider, METCO Inc., at (617) 427-1545.

METCO has been in existence since 1966 and was originally funded through a grant by the Carnegie Foundation and United States Office of Education. In that year the first METCO legislation was filed, METCO Inc. was established, and seven school districts began accepting the first two hundred METCO students. Currently, there are about 3,300 students participating in 38 school districts in metropolitan Boston and at four school districts outside Springfield.

Detailed information about the history of the program, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's role, legislation related to the program, and other pertinent information, may be found via the links to the left.