METCO 60 Writing Project
“60 years of Excellence, Solidarity and Tradition have created thousands of diamonds”
METCO was established in 1966 to give students from racially segregated Boston the opportunity to attend suburban schools, bringing more racial diversity, increasing the likelihood of natural moments of cultural exchange, and helping everyone understand that racial and cultural segregation hurts everyone.
The Brookline METCO Program was pioneering in this process and was one of the first METCO districts in 1966. Through a generous grant from The Brookline Community Foundation, we aim to gather a wealth of diverse narratives to help explain what the METCO experience was and is. The task is to write a “reflection” of no more than five (5) pages where you describe your particular experience with METCO. We want your voice—full of gratitude, anger, disappointment, or appreciation —and we want to know the details of your METCO experience. We are looking for 100 writers! We want writers as young as students in our K-8 elementary schools, as well as students who took the first bus to school and the adult organizers who led the first bus ride in 1966. For your work, each writer will receive a $100 honorarium. The project will begin after this school year ends, and the project will be completed by October 1, 2026
You are writing for yourselves, as current and past METCO students and families, Faculty and Staff, or Community Members, for posterity in honor of the 60th Anniversary. You may be asked to share your paper publicly on November 17. Your paper will become part of a compilation of stories to be kept in the Brookline METCO Archives and may be published. Therefore, you will need to share a picture and a short biography for the compilation.