Wayland students, teachers, school administrators, and residents celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the METCO community celebration luncheon held at the Thelma Burns Building in Boston.
The Wayland contingent represented 40 of the more than 150 attendees, and 15 Wayland students either presented or performed. Five from the middle school house named after MLK gave speeches on five local civil rights activists whose stories are told through the app about “The Embrace” monument in Boston Common. “The Embrace” is a bronze figural abstraction based on a photo of the embrace between MLK and his wife, Coretta Scott King, after he won the Nobel Prize.
Juniu Carvelo-Prieto, a Wayland METCO junior, gave a speech on “The Power of Us,” telling the audience that taking a stand even in this time can make a difference.
METCO administrators gave former police chief Ed Burman a recognition award for “going beyond the call of duty.” Wayland METCO Director La Toya Rivers said he always made certain that METCO students were included in community programs such as Shop with a Cop and Wayland’s youth police academy. She said the award is given to unsung heroes who perform not because they should but because they want to.
One hundred thirty-three METCO students in grades K-12 attend school in Wayland.
