The History of METCO in Reading
METCO- which stands for the Metropolitan council For Educational Opportunity is a state funded, voluntary educational desegregation program designed to eliminate racial imbalance through the bussing of children from Boston, MA & Springfield to suburban public school districts of the surrounding metropolitan areas.

The METCO family is seeking to provide for their children the same things that we all want for our kids- an exemplary educational experience in a safe environment that promotes learning and achievement.

Host families provide the missing link to the community by providing a “home away from home” for our commuting METCO students.  The degree of involvement is determined between the host family and the METCO student’s family.  It can range from a comfortable couch, a sick call while a student waits for a parent pick up or an overnight stay with a school friend.  Above all, the host family provides a sense of security for these students by giving them a sense of belonging to the community where they spend the majority of their day.In the communities that accept METCO students, it has been proven that students who have been matched with host families perform better academically and assimilate better on a social level than those who don’t.  If your child has mentioned that he or she is in class with one of our Boston-Reading students, please consider opening your homes to become a host family.

Host Family Schedule (tentative)

• When the Host families are matched with a child from Boston, there will be an information session held in Reading at your child’s Middle School.
• There will be an event planned and sponsored by the Reading METCO Parent Association to one of the following places: Children’s Museum, New England Aquarium, or the Boston Bowl!
• There will be opportunities for both families to connect and get to know each other during the day trips.