By Dakota Antelman — Dakota@concordbridge.org
The Concord-Carlisle METCO Parent Teacher Group is shutting down, with its leaders saying their frustration with school administrators about communication and student achievement reached the breaking point.
The METCO program, which has brought students from Boston into Concord schools since 1967 to build educational opportunity and diversity, will continue.
But in a letter obtained Wednesday night by The Concord Bridge, the PTG said it was disbanding because leaders’ “pressing concerns as parents are not being prioritized.”
The move quickly set off a disagreement over the future of METCO parent representation at the schools.
The four PTG leaders’ letter said that they have faced “significant challenges in fostering a collaborative relationship” with superintendent Laurie Hunter and director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging Andrew Nyamekye.
Their decision to shut down came “despite our repeated attempts to engage and build a partnership,” they wrote.
The Bridge reached out to Nyamekye for comment on Wednesday, but did not immediately receive a response.
Hunter said she was “not able to respond more tonight” when asked Wednesday afternoon about the PTG’s letter and whether two non-voting METCO representatives would continue to serve on the School Committee. But, she said, “There are no changes to the structure.”
The Bridge sought additional comment from Hunter on Thursday but did not immediately hear back.
Julie Viola and Carrie Rankin, the chairs of Concord’s public and regional School Committees, said in response to a Wednesday Bridge inquiry that “our commitment to METCO students and their families is unwavering, and our work is never complete, as we are always striving to improve.”
They continued, “We will continue to create a supportive, inclusive environment where all families feel heard, valued, and empowered to succeed.”
On Thursday afternoon, Viola said the PTG leaders’ decision to step back “does not preclude anyone else from stepping up.” Parents can also join PTGs at their children’s individual schools, she said.
‘More on the families’
Domingos DaRosa, who co-chaired the now-defunct METCO PTG, said Wednesday that he planned to resign his post as one of two METCO representatives on the School Committee.
While he backs the PTG dissolution, he said it means parents will have less support in advocating for their METCO students. “It’s going to be more on the families now,” he said. “Families are not going to have that network.”
On Thursday, DaRosa said he had not sent a letter of resignation as of around 2:30 p.m. But he shared screenshots of conversation between himself and Viola. “I’ll be sending my resignation email soon,” he said in one text. “Without the PTG, there’s no position.”
DaRosa contended the district cannot simply replace him, saying parents need to vote someone in.
Viola said district policy allots METCO two representatives on the School Committee.
“Ayesha Lawton remains in place as the METCO representative for K-8 and will be a part of the election of a replacement for the METCO representative for CCRSD,” she said, referencing DaRosa’s position.
Said Viola, “The METCO community has asked for representation, we love having the reps around the table at meetings and in subcommittee work, and we want to backfill the position as soon as possible so we keep the level of representation at the same level throughout the year as much as we possibly can do so.”
Lawton, who was not part of the PTG, said she has no plans to resign from the School Committee. The former METCO student and 10-year METCO parent said she was disappointed by the PTG’s decision.
“I wish they could have stayed together and made it work,” Lawton told The Bridge Wednesday. “The METCO kids need a voice.”
‘With great regret’
The METCO PTG detailed its decision in a letter dated November 18. The group sent Hunter the letter Wednesday morning, according to a forwarded email from PTG chair Akia Obas, who was not immediately available for further comment.
Obias, DaRosa, PTG secretary Tyisha Edwards and treasurer Tanika Williams wrote that they decided to disband “after considerable deliberation and with great regret.” Their decision was effective immediately and “has not been made lightly,” the group said.
Among complaints, the PTG said Hunter and Nyamekye have been unwilling “to align with us on actionable steps to address the specific needs of METCO students and families.”
DaRosa said some issues manifest in disproportionately low rates of participation among Boston students in Concord’s AP courses, while the PTG highlighted MCAS data for METCO students. The group’s letter said that “despite mounting data that reflects declining outcomes for our children, there appears to be no clear path forward to reverse this downward trajectory.”
“Our children are failing and many have not been performing at a satisfactory level at every grade level,” parents said.
The PTG also said administrators lack a “cohesive strategy or a genuine commitment” to address disparities. As a result, parents said they are left “with little hope that our involvement will bring about any meaningful change.”
Shutting down the PTG “ultimately leaves our children without a safety net and further perpetuates the narrative that we are secondary,” parents said.
The PTG said it hopes district leaders will now “reflect on the importance of engaging with all parent groups” and “future efforts will be made to ensure that the voices of underrepresented families are included in the decisions that directly affect their children’s education.”
Survey shows satisfaction
Viola and Rankin initially said a recent survey of METCO families showed 78 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with their experience in the Concord Public Schools and at CCHS.
The Bridge asked for the survey results that Viola and Rankin referenced.
In an email on November 23, Rankin said she “inadvertently misstated the METCO survey” in her initial statement. The survey results provided that day showed that 75.5 percent of families said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the statement “Concord METCO families are welcomed, valued and encouraged to take part in school related activities at varying times of the school year.”
METCO-Survey-Responses-May-2024-1The chairs said the survey feedback “helps guide ongoing improvements while showing that the concerns raised by the four METCO PTG members do not reflect the full picture,” the chairs said.
DaRosa pushed back on the survey data, noting that METCO enrollment figures show 144 students at CCHS and in Concord K-8 schools. The survey Rankin referenced had 49 respondents. “74 families didn’t even bother to do it,” he said. “Families don’t bother to interact with them.”
Lawton said she hasn’t experienced the kind of issues with district administrators that the PTG described. “I’ve had discrimination from other parents and teachers at the school, but not from the administration,” she said.
As The Bridge reported in June, Lawton was at a School Committee discussion of the naming of what is now the Ellen Garrison Building at Concord Middle School this spring when she said, per a police report, that an audience member targeted her with a racial slur.
DaRosa, for his part, said he’s “not usually a guy to walk away from a fight.”
But he said he’d “rather concentrate on my own city than worry about a town that doesn’t want to accept the fact that to be progressive, it takes more than just having Black Lives Matter signs. You have to take the conversation seriously.”
November 21, 3:30 p.m.: This breaking story from Wednesday has been updated.
November 23, 10:41 a.m. This story has been updated to reflect new information on the METCO survey.
