MAPC Executive Director Marc Draisen and Grant Administrator Stephanie Everett solicited reactions and suggestions regarding the draft MetroFuture implementation recommendations that are designed to advance equitable opportunity in education and employment in the Metro Boston region.   The small but committed group of approximately 20 people included residents, advocates, non-profit leaders, and local officials. 

While numerous implementation recommendations throughout the plan touch on issues of regional equity, this more focused conversation was structured around equitable access to quality education (from pre-kindergarten through higher education) and to job opportunities for people of color, immigrants, and lower-income populations.  The suite of recommendations discussed included those designed to turn around failing schools; spread access to early childhood education and out-of-school programs; reduce financial and other barriers to attendance in institutions of higher education; and remove barriers to workforce participation, including CORI reform and the better provision of adult basic education.  Click here to download the handout of draft recommendations used during this discussion.

Lively discussion ensued, with many participants pushing for existing recommendations to go further, or for other programs to be considered.  Some themes and sets of concerns arose.

Linking Schools and the Community.  Many participants suggested that schools and their surrounding communities would benefit from more extensive partnerships with a variety of outside entities.  These partnerships could run the gamut from businesses offering work-study programs to local seniors volunteering to provide students with extra support.  The schools could also provide more extensive services to the non-student population that surrounds them, functioning as libraries, gyms, and community centers in their off hours.  Considerable discussion touched on whether failing schools would benefit more from an intensive relationship with a single institution, or numerous connections with several institutions.  Most people seemed to prefer the latter.  Another topic of discussion was the role which loan forgiveness could play in assisting low-income and minority college students graduating from either private or public institutions and whether it would apply to immigrant children.  

Bridging Transitions.  Another area where participants suggested more robust recommendations was in providing support for people, young and old, as they make transitions in their lives.  This could be extra assistance for a young person coming into the region’s schools as a recent immigrant, citizens classes for immigrants, support for a high school graduate or GED recipient who isn’t quite ready for college, or help to ensure that ex-offenders have the education and training they need to re-enter the workforce productively. 

The advocates who participated in the session agreed that this session was only one step in a larger conversation that MAPC and all of the region’s institutions, advocacy organizations, and governments must continue.  The strategies discussed were not exclusively related to equity, but would help to close the gap in access to resources and opportunities around the region.

Click here to download more complete notes of the discussion.