New METCO director looks to strengthen families’ ties

Next year Arturo Forrest will be heading up Weston’s Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) services after serving as the high school liaison for the program.

METCO has worked to integrate schools in Massachusetts since the 1960s by bringing Boston students into suburban schools to share educational opportunities and reduce racial isolation.

Forrest said he is looking forward to helping the larger community of METCO families as they learn about the Weston school system and navigate different grade levels.

“I’m excited to be able to help the new person in the room,” he said.

He will come to the role after spending two years as Weston High School’s METCO liaison, supporting students in the program and ensuring families have a platform to discuss how their students are doing.

Forrest can relate to the long days of his students, who take the bus in from Boston every morning. When he moved to Massachusetts, he completed an internship at Epiphany School in Dorchester where he worked 14-hour days. That experience has shaped how Forrest has approached his work as high school liaison.

“I’m used to long days,” he said. “Our days started at maybe 6:30. We used to have to cook breakfast for the kids … to maybe 8:30 p.m., after the last students left, so I’m used to my days being like that and it was easy for me to empathize with them.”

In Forrest’s current position, he tries to fill any potential gaps in his students’ days. His classroom provides a space for students to rest and to study. He often eats breakfast with students and celebrates their accomplishments. Forrest said it is easy to match the students’ energy and drive, something that has impressed him since his first interview with the school.

“I was struck by just how poised the kids were,” he said. “The questions they asked, they had a lot of insight about the experience. It left me wanting to know more about what they were experiencing.”

Many of his students have a clear idea of what they want and are eager to use the school’s resources. As the K-12 director, Forrest looks forward to helping families and students take advantage of those opportunities early in their time in the school system.

He had planned to stay at the high school until his first class of ninth graders graduated, but decided to apply for the director position because of his wide range of school experience and his connection to Boston families.

“It seemed like there was a need for someone that has direct connections with parents and families,” he said. “I was thinking about my connection to Dorchester and Roxbury. I’d be able to speak for folks that have been in many different experiences … I have a good relationship with teachers and I know what it’s like to be an administrator. It’s rare to have someone that has done those things all fairly recently.”

Forrest hopes to hold events that further strengthen the METCO community, including potential trivia nights. He is inspired by the family support he has seen and wants to celebrate it, especially the involvement from Black fathers.

“That’s something that’s a blessing to see, how many dads show up at these events,” he said. “That’s a stereotype in the community, that we don’t have present fathers involved, so when I came here and saw so many immersed in the experience … I see that as something to celebrate.”

He is also working to bring back a summer STEM program for rising ninth graders to get a preview of the high school curriculum.

For the most part, Forrest’s focus is still on his high school students until the year ends. Once he is through the graduation celebrations, he looks forward to serving the larger METCO community in Weston.

“I’ve been impressed with the student achievement and their perseverance,” Forrest said. “The families sacrifice so much, and are very active in making a strong community. I’m honored to be a part of it.”