METCO Program Success Facts


The METCO Program is a voluntary integration program funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the Racial Imbalance Act. It is designed to help isolated suburban children experience an integrated learning environment as well as to provide a quality public school education for children from a racially imbalanced urban school district.



  • In the forty year history of the program, over 5,000 METCO students have graduated from suburban Boston METCO districts,

  • METCO Alumni represent all professions and levels of management, as well as private business owners. More than 86% of 1995 METCO graduates have gone on to post-secondary education. This compares to a state average of of 71.2%, and a Boston Public Schools average of 65%.

  • The majority of METCO students are placed in Kindergarten, first or second grade. It is the policy of the METCO Program to place students at the earliest possible time in order to provide a stable educational experience.

  • Significant demographic changes in Boston have influenced the placement of METCO students. In fact, nearly 30% of METCO placements are hispanic and asian children.

  • The 3,130 participating students in the Boston METCO Program represent more than 2,500 families.

  • Until recently, the METCO Program had been level funded since 1988. It has not been able to expand to new communities or in existing communities since 1978. This explains why there are more than 12,500 students on the METCO waiting list.

  • On average, a suburban METCO district receives less than $3,300 per student to educate, transport, and provide special services. Unfortunately, an average METCO district spends in excess of $6,000 per student to educate, transport, and provide special services.

  • The METCO Program encourages staff diversity and actively works for the employment of professionals of color in its 32 participating school districts. More than 100 people of color are employed by METCO districts through the METCO funding.

  • The METCO Program is the largest and oldest not-for-profit integration/desegregation program in America.



    Last updated: September 28, 2006


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