Profile: DeVaughn Cooper

Before Claypit Hill Elementary School METCO coordinator DeVaughn Cooper returned to the Wayland Public Schools system as a faculty member, he attended WPS in the Class of 2010. DeVaughn began working as the Claypit METCO coordinator last year, and worked as the Loker Elementary School and Happy Hollow Elementary School METCO coordinator for three years prior to that. 

 

Throughout his entire journey as a student at WPS, Cooper was a part of several Wayland sports teams. While the late bus allowed him to play sports at the high school, he was unable to be a part of these teams in his earlier years of education.

 

“I wish there were more late buses for the elementary and middle school students,” Cooper said. “Having the late bus in high school allowed me to do sports with my friends after school and hang out with my Wayland resident friends after school.”

 

Cooper believed that witnessing the differences between his life in Wayland versus his life in his hometown, Dorchester, allowed him to understand diverse cultures and viewpoints on a new level by giving him two contrasting communities.

 

“Internally, I'm going back and forth between two communities and each community is viewing me as someone other than who I am,” Cooper said. “People are judging me based on the communities where I'm coming from, but not seeing me for me.”

 

Cooper decided to return to Wayland as a METCO coordinator because he believed that METCO students could benefit from having someone who shared many similar experiences to them as a Wayland METCO student. 

 

“I want  to be in this role as an advocate for our children, because at such an early age, there are certain things that you don't fully understand,” Cooper said. “I want to be the person who has lived the students’ lives, and can bridge the gap between the Boston resident students and the community here in Wayland.”

 

While Cooper finds that WPS gives METCO students a good foundation for their learning, Cooper believes that the METCO program also benefits Wayland students and residents.

 

“In my experience, I think there's not a lot of Wayland residents who have a lot of black people circulating their lives,” Cooper said “I feel like the METCO program gives them that opportunity to humanize black people.”

 

Cooper recommends the METCO program, however, he recognizes that it may not be the best fit for every student. He believes that the choice of whether or not a student enrolls into the METCO program should be entirely up to them, and students should take all factors of the program into consideration.

 

“I'm happy that my mom put me in this program so that I was able to experience this for myself and grow as an individual,” Cooper said. “Being a METCO student, you are on your own for so much and you're forced into independence, so I've been an independent individual for most of my life and I'm very thankful for it. But this isn't for everyone.”