Meet Michelle Crawford-Cranmore, METCO (The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) director for Scituate Public Schools. Although her office is located in the Gates Middle School building, Crawford-Cranmore works closely with high school administrators, parents, teachers, and students as both the METCO director and a member of the Scituate Unity Council.

Crawford-Cranmore’s relationship with METCO began the day she signed her son up for the program. According to Crawford-Cranmore, Boston parents typically register their children’s names on the METCO waiting list on their way home from the hospital. Crawford-Cranmore’s son is currently attending public school in Weston, Massachusetts.

Prior to her position in Scituate, Crawford-Cranmore worked in Brookline, MA, as a METCO program advisor. In Brookline, 300 students are enrolled in the METCO program. In comparison, 60 Boston students are enrolled in Scituate. Crawford-Cranmore said, “I was responsible for more students than I am here. It was really career growth that brought me here.”

In addition to being larger, Brookline’s METCO program is more diverse. Crawford-Cranmore said, “I knew coming in that there wasn’t a lot of diversity in Scituate, but seeing it is kind of shocking coming from a larger district.” She added, “I have 60 students that are part of the program; however, there are a lot of resident students of color that seek me out as well.”

Putting students’ needs first comes naturally to Crawford-Cranmore. She tries to make herself easily accessible to students across the district: “My students have my Google voice phone number, and email is also a way they can reach me. I also have office hours for the high school and middle school,” she said.  

Looking to the future, Crawford-Cranmore hopes to be innovative and helpful. Explaining she would like to help develop a program where students are “showing their muscle in math, literature, art, and music,” Crawford-Cranmore sees “students of color being introduced to scholarships and what it means to be a scholar.” Crawford-Cranmore would also like to implement a kindergarten summer program, a METCO homework and tutoring center, and K-12 scholars program.

In addition, Crawford-Cranmore sees an opportunity to enhance communication and interpersonal relationships between Scituate and Boston residents: “The family partnership is something I’ve been working on this year–where each student in the METCO program is paired with a Scituate resident so that they have a learning experience.” She said, “It only makes sense that it’s a two-way exchange–that students from Boston are learning about Scituate, and students from Scituate are learning about students from Boston and their different cultures.”