Running strong Readers Choice

The Lincoln-Sudbury girls track team ballot inside

returns to Dual County League action. Page 4
Page 9
2009

L INCOLN , M ASS . • V OL . 28, N O . 14 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 20 09 • WWW. WICKEDLOCAL . COM / LINCOLN • $1.00

MADRIGAL DINNER

A midwinter night’s dream L-S to hire

interim head
Housemaster interviewed
By Carole LaMond
Staff Writer
The Lincoln-Sudbury Re-
gional District School Commit-
tee will look to hire an internal
candidate as an interim super-
intendent/principal for the high
school, an effort the board says
will provide stability during a
time when the district is facing
a $1.1 million budget shortfall
and the possible reorganization
of the school district.
“In this time of deep uncer-
tainty and anxiety, we feel that Courtesy photo
it is critical to act quickly — but Scott Carpenter is a
not precipitously — in choosing candidate to serve as
the best possible person to work interim superintendent-
with all of us in leading the principal at L-S.
school,” the School Committee
wrote in a memo. “To have that On Dec. 16, the School Com-
matter resolved satisfactorily in mittee announced that con-
the near future would allow us sultant Jackie Roy, of J.A. Roy
all to devote our full attention Associates, was hired to aid in
to the other pressing issues con- the search for a new head ad-
fronting the school.” ministrator. The announcement
The formal search for a new came just a day after the Sud-
superintendent/principal for bury Budget Review Task
The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School chorus performs during the Renaissance Madrigal Dinner at Bemis Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High Force (BRTF) released a report
Hall. Students, clad in period garb, played in two dinner shows last week. School was essentially over be- recommending the consolida-
fore the ink had dried on the tion of L-S and Sudbury Public
search consultant’s contract. Carpenter, Page 7
L-S chorus A real princess
Jamie Faulkner motions during vocal

celebrates exercises prior to the start of the show at

Renaissance
Bemis Hall last Wednesday. Performing at
the Madrigal Dinner, in addition to the cho-
rus, were the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Coro
de Chicas, Women’s Chorale, Chamber
Officials talk
‘E
at, drink and be merry!” the king bade
his guests in a royal wassail toast.
Parents, siblings, friends and com-
Singers, and Collegium Musicum, directed
by Dave McLellan. consolidation
munity members sat around long banquet tables Meal fit for a king By Carole LaMond study of the financial and edu-
inside a festooned Bemis Hall, which was trans- Staff Writer cational impacts.
formed into a medieval castle for the first annual Michael Merullo sings as he presents A proposal to consolidate The School Committee did
Renaissance Madrigal Dinner. the boar’s head to the court. Before Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High agree to appoint an interim su-
The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School the feast could begin, the royal taster School and Sudbury Public perintendent/principal rather
chorus presented two dinner performances in was called up “so that our king may Schools into a single school dis- than hiring a permanent re-
Lincoln last week. Dressed in period costumes eat without fear.” The taster timidly trict is a long way from real- placement for John Ritchie,
and led by Choral Director Ruth Hartt, students sampled the cuisine before giving an ity, according to officials from who will retire at the end of the
sang, danced and served up a catered feast. All enthusiastic thumbs up. both towns. current school year. Mostue said
proceeds from the dinner will benefit the cho- The Lincoln and Sudbury fi- the School Committee hopes
rus trip to Carnegie Hall in New York City. nance committees held a joint to hire an internal candidate “to
Last Wednesday evening, students, clad in bil- Ladies in waiting meeting last week to discuss the make sure there was stability
lowy robes and flowing gowns, put on their best proposal as well as the current in the school leadership.”
old English as they bid guests “good morrow” and Sophie Sagan and Sherie Ouellet wait state of the high school’s budget. In December, the Sudbury
invited the “lords and ladies” to enter the court. As for the dinner to get underway. Students “The first opportunity to im- Budget Review Task Force
they entered, each guest was formally introduced donned a variety of colorful costumes be- plement this would be in July (BRTF) issued a report that ad-
to the court by their name and place of residence. fitting the style of the Renaissance era. 2011,” said Lincoln Selectman dressed cost-cutting measures
A dramatic drum roll and spirited fanfare an- Women in the royal court wore long gowns Gary Taylor, who added that at the high school and in other
nounced the arrival of the king and queen, fol- and garlands, while the men sported tu- might even be optimistic if both town departments. The BRTF
lowed by their court, and all eyes turned to the nics and large floppy hats. towns were required to approve recommendations include com-
royal couple as they welcomed their guests to the change at Town Meeting. bining the high school and Sud-
the feast. L-S School Committee Chair- bury Public School system un-
“So let us banish all care and strife and hate, Watch the man and Lincoln resident Pa- der one superintendent in a Su-
and join our hearts to gladly celebrate,” the queen Staff photos VIDEO tricia Mostue said she doubted perintendency Union, and ex-
proclaimed. by Holly Redmond on the Web any change to the 55-year old ploring other options, such as
With a final flourish, the king declared, “And regional high school agreement merging the Lincoln and Sudbury
www.wickedlocallincoln.com
now, my queen, let the carousing begin!” would occur after a thorough Consolidate, Page 7

Moving to the front of the bus POLL RESULTS:

METCO program has deep roots in Lincoln
By Ben Aaronson
Staff Writer
Editor’s note: This is the first
in the Journal’s series explor-
ing the history of the METCO
program in Lincoln. The first
installment details the origins
of the desegregation program.
Subsequent articles will ex-
On Sept. 6, 1966, nearly nine
years after Rosa Parks refused
to give up her seat on a bus
in Montgomery, Ala., another
bus — a school bus — arrived
in Lincoln carrying 10 children
from Roxbury to their first day
of kindergarten at Lincoln Pub-
lic Schools. On that day, the
RESULTS
Should the town grant a
liquor license for a wine and
cheese shop?
in the METCO program at 33 Yes
school districts in metropoli- 76%
tan Boston and at four school
districts outside Springfield.
Foundation for change
After years of protest about No
NO
racial segregation in Boston’s 24%%
public schools, in 1965, an ex- Courtesy photo by Diane Koules
tension to the Racial Imbalance Lincoln and Boston children became fast friends after SOURCE: WWW.WICKEDLOCAL.COM/LINCOLN

amine the early years of
METCO in Lincoln as well as
the current state of the program.
There was a time when rid-
ing the bus was a daily humil-
iation for African Americans
in this country — a time when
a rider could be denied a seat
based solely on the color of
one’s skin. But over the past
43 years, the METCO program
has turned bussing into a pos-
itive not only for African Amer-
icans, but also for people of all
races in the Boston area, both
in the city and the suburbs.
METCO program bussed a to-
tal of 220 students, from
kindergarten to 11th-grade,
from Boston to attend school
in seven suburban school dis-
tricts, including Lincoln.
The program has grown dra-
matically since that historic day
and is now one of the largest
continually running voluntary
desegregation programs in the
nation. According to the Mass-
achusetts Department of Ele-
mentary and Secondary Edu-
cation, there are currently about
3,300 students participating
Act, commonly referred to as
the “METCO Enabling Bill,” cre-
ated the framework to allow chil-
dren attending any school with
a “racial imbalance” to attend
school in another municipality.
The Metropolitan Council
for Educational Opportunity,
or METCO, was established to
provide opportunities for chil-
dren from the city to enroll
in participating school districts
in the suburbs.
By the spring of 1966, seven
suburban school districts
had expressed interest in
Lincoln Public Schools implemented the METCO
program in 1966.
participating in the program,
and that fall at the start of the
following school year, the
METCO program was incor-
porated in Lincoln, Arlington,
Lexington, Newton, Wellesley,
Brookline and Braintree.
But in Lincoln the founda-
tion for implementing such a
program was laid much earlier.
In her 1996 dissertation for
the Lesley College School of
Education, Kahris Dianne
Source: www.wickedlocal.com/lincoln
White-McLaughlin wrote that Index
Lincoln has a long history of Perspectives, 6
involvement in civil rights Public meetings, 2
causes. Her thesis, entitled, “A Religion, 11
Qualitative Examination of De- Travel, 14
segregated Education Through
the METCO Program,” in-
cludes a case study of the 44 Pages • 4 Sections
implementation of the METCO
program in Lincoln.
According to White-
McLaughlin, Lincoln residents
METCO, Page 7