It was due to chance that Class of 1971 graduate Elliott Francis was the first Wayland METCO graduate. Since Francis was the first METCO program graduate at Wayland, there is a plaque to honor him that hangs in the Trailblazer room at the high school. 

 

When Wayland first joined the METCO program in 1968, only freshmen were supposed to start at Wayland High School, but Francis ended up enrolled in Wayland High School as the only sophomore METCO student.

 

“I was originally supposed to go to Wellesley High School,” Francis said. “When it came time for my place in line, somebody somehow crossed up Wayland with Wellesley, and I wound up going to WHS. I got there on the first day, and I thought, ‘I like that fieldhouse. I play basketball and I really want to play there.’”

 

Despite Francis being the only METCO student in his grade, he felt that all the METCO kids quickly formed a connection.

 

“We all interacted as we would with any students, so I didn’t feel separated from grade to grade,” Francis said. “We kind of thought of our group as one, and we were all connected at the hip. Then we kind of scattered out when we got to school.”

 

Francis also felt that he fit in with the Wayland resident students. Francis was an active member of the basketball team and co-founder of the model rocketry club, where he met some close friends.

 

He would often rely on his Wayland friends for a place to stay after sports practice. If Francis missed the bus home, he would either spend the night at a friend’s house, or get a ride to the train station at Riverside.

 

“I remember those nights at the train station fondly,” Francis said. “It was a small station at that time, and there was just one vending machine. I would hope and pray that somebody would come and fill the vending machine so I could grab a Hershey bar. That Hershey bar kept me company on those rides.”

 

Through interactions with Wayland friends, Francis believes that he and others were able to grow as people and experience new things. For example, one cultural exchange Francis remembers is sharing music with Wayland resident kids. He learned about musicians like Jimmy Hendrix and, in turn, taught Wayland resident students about artists like James Brown.

 

“Wayland is made up of people from all over the globe,” Francis said. “Human nature is that we're going to hang out with people who are familiar, with the people who look like us and speak like us. But if we get a chance to meet at a time when we're still very impressionable, we get a chance to understand each other and get an even chance to like one another, which is what we did in the METCO program.”

 

Although Francis does not believe that the METCO program is responsible for shaping the person he has become today, he was able to make life-long friends and have new experiences through the program. 

 

“The whole reason for the voluntary bussing program, which of course was much different than the forced busing program was to introduce a different culture, set of values and routine to METCO kids,” Francis said. “And in turn, Wayland students got the same benefit from getting to know our values.”