Our mission is to increase equity and excellence in college completion through engaging, supportive, rigorous, and socially responsive education.
We believe that education...
- is a public good,
- is critical for a functioning multi-cultural democracy,
- is a tool to help dismantle long-standing oppression,
- empowers historically marginalized students to become impactful leaders for social justice.
Metro is a redesign of the first two years of higher education. Students join career-themed learning communities that follow core GE pathways. Wraparound support services for every step of their educational journey and a faculty community with a passion for learning and social justice foster student success.
![Four main components of Metro: Small learning communities, student services, integrated data systems, faculty development](/sites/default/files/images/TheMetroDifference_Graphic.png)
- Mary Beth Love, Executive Director of Metro
![Female students raising hands enthusiastically](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_320x586/public/images/Students%20raising%20hands.jpg?h=f655cb1f&itok=hOPnIVw2)
![Students writing on white board](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_320x293/public/images/White%20board.jpg?h=f655cb1f&itok=Oji0LNi-)
![Three smiling Metro graduates in cap and gown](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_320x293/public/images/grads_three.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=m1QwwJcR)
![student](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_320x586/public/images/Student%20Metro%20.jpeg?h=f655cb1f&itok=8bpkqDOY)
Our Values
![circle of people](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_250x250/public/images/Community_Blue_500px.jpg?h=2a479378&itok=Sthw5OIm)
COMMUNITY
We welcome our students in a supportive community. We cultivate communal spaces that celebrate our cultural wisdom and help us grow as scholars and activists.
![Person with hands raised and leaves flourishing around them](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_250x250/public/images/Reimagine_Gray_500px.jpg?h=2a479378&itok=c2ejR_MN)
REIMAGINE
Together, we reimagine an educational system where all students thrive, not just survive. We see education as a mechanism for collective liberation and healing, and ultimately a thriving multicultural democracy.
![hands clasped together to form a heart](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_250x250/public/images/Love_Red_500px.jpg?h=2a479378&itok=ABgHASHT)
LOVE
Our work is guided by acts of radical, decolonial love. With love, we see and honor the brilliance of our young scholars and foster their collective dignity.
![hands holding up earth](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_250x250/public/images/Equity_Yellow_500px.jpg?h=2a479378&itok=-_vG-4BD)
EQUITY
We commit to our students and our communities. We commit to understanding and dismantling educational injustices, in solidarity with all oppressed peoples.
![four hands holding each other at the wrist in support](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_250x250/public/images/Solidarity_Purple_500px.jpg?h=2a479378&itok=NEiRz1Fw)
SOLIDARITY
In solidarity with our students and communities, we aim to transform higher education to become a catalyst for deeper social change.
![raised fist](/sites/default/files/styles/sf_state_250x250/public/images/Justice_Green_500px.jpg?h=2a479378&itok=2TnqglnX)
JUSTICE
We work with urgency for intersectional social justice. We embrace and celebrate the many intersecting identities of our young scholars and understand that all forms of justice are interconnected.