LYNNFIELD — The district’s METCO program is thriving, thanks in large part to the efforts of Lynnfield Director Curtis Blyden.
METCO, or the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, is a voluntary school integration program that enrolls Bostonian students in nearby suburban districts, including Lynnfield.
Once a year, the School Committee holds a meeting at METCO headquarters in Boston, giving the parents of METCO students the opportunity to attend. At the meeting, Blyden said that not only has the number of METCO students at Lynnfield increased, but the number of them participating in extracurricular activities and achieving academic success is also up dramatically.
“I am really excited about where we are as a program compared to how I started six years ago,” Blyden said. “And I am super excited about the future of this program as we continue to grow.”
“I think it’s really exciting to see how the program is growing, particularly in how the students are getting involved in the extracurricular stuff and how the whole family stuff has worked itself organically,” School Committee member Phil McQueen said. “You’re doing an amazing job and the kids are doing an amazing job.”
Blyden gave an overview of the program at the meeting, saying “it’s always a pleasure to update the committee and parents.”
He said that there were only 32 METCO students when he first arrived in Lynnfield, but this year there are 49.
“Part of that number increase was we accepted 10 new students last year,” Blyden said.
Blyden said the number of students making the honor roll increased from two to seven in the last year. The number of students taking SAT prep courses also increased, going from none in 2019-2020 to four in 2022-2023. He attributed the increase to a decision to make prep courses mandatory for juniors.
“That really makes the educational experience equitable for METCO students to have college access like Lynnfield students,” said Blyden. “One of the big things I saw was that students didn’t have access to the prep course, which I think is really instrumental in showing students’ access to competitive colleges.”
Blyden said “another big leap” was in extracurricular participation with 8 percent participation rate in performing arts, work-study and A Healthy Lynnfield; 12 percent participation rate in LED extended day enrollment; and 64 percent participation rate in sports.
“I’ve always said that I feel that it’s always good to have experiences outside the classroom,” Blyden said. “We really try to create opportunities to broaden that approach.”
Regarding athletics, Blyden said it’s especially important to make sure that girls are a part of the community. In 2019-20, only one girl participated in after-school sports; this year, there are 10, which he said is at “100 percent.”
“We’ve really been pushing for more girls to get involved (in all extracurricular activities),” he said, adding that some girls are trying a sport for the first time. “They love it.”
Blyden said it is great to see many of the students “investing in the community by doing things outside the classroom,” adding that a key component is involvement of host families.
“What we’ve seen with extracurricular activities is that those friendships develop outside the classroom,” he said. “Now it’s not uncommon for several of our kids to be staying in Lynnfield over the weekend.”
Blyden said a key factor in the overall success of the program is that 83 percent of students also have siblings in Lynnfield.
“What’s great about these numbers is they reflect new students, not new families,” Blyden said. “I’ve tried to turn this into a legacy program, which has a lot of benefits like long-term parent buy-in. Kids come in and they know what to expect. I don’t have to re-introduce the culture; it’s already been set by their older siblings.”
Committee member Kate DePrizio thanked Blyden, saying he is part of “the bridge that helps it keep going, that helps them feel included.”
“We couldn’t do it without you,” DePrizio said.
Parents at the meeting, some of whom where former METCO students themselves, said they were very happy their children are in the Lynnfield district. One said it was “the best decision we ever made.”
Acting Chair Stacy Dahlstedt commended Blyden and applauded the METCO families for “putting your children on the bus so early and entrusting them in our school district for 12 hours or more a day.”
