History & Mission Statement

History

In 1962, 23 headmasters of schools in the New England area met to discuss the correlation between poverty and the lack of quality education. This group, under the leadership of Robert Plaut, Director of the National Scholarship and Service Fund for Negro Students (NSSFNS), Howard Jones, President of Northfield Mount Herman School, and John Kemper, Headmaster of Phillips Academy, concluded that the best way to provide better opportunities for minorities was to increase graduation rates from their institutions. With funding from a grant, the Independent Schools Talent Search (ISTS) was formed to recruit “talented Negro boys” who wanted to go to college. Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, became the site of what was then considered a radical experiment known as Project ABC: A Better Chance. Because of demand, in 1966, the program expanded from boarding schools to “community school programs,” which are top-ranked public schools where scholars live in community group homes.

A Better Chance of Wilton has been an important part of the Wilton community since it was first conceptualized in 1994 by a group of community, business and spiritual leaders. That group, led by Wilton High School Principal John Sullivan, Wilton Youth Council President Maureen Graham and Wilton Presbyterian Church Pastor David Graybill, envisioned a program in which teenagers from economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods could benefit from Wilton’s commitment to education, and the Wilton community could benefit from the diversity and enthusiasm that the students would bring. Two years later, with support from all of Wilton’s houses of worship and generous financial support from its residents, ABC of Wilton opened its doors on Godfrey Place.

Mission Statement

The purpose of A Better Chance of Wilton is to offer highly motivated high school students of color  the opportunity to live in Wilton and obtain an exemplary secondary education that may not be available to them in their home districts.  The goal of the program is to affirm and nurture our ABC Scholars’ potential and help prepare them for college and their future.

To that end, A Better Chance of Wilton commits to offer our Scholars the opportunity to learn in an excellent educational program that will affirm and nurture their academic talent to participate in the arts, community service, athletic and other extracurricular activities, and to develop confidence and independence as they prepare for college and their future as active, effective contributors to society.