Home - Appleton | A Better Chance (ABC)

Our Mission

Appleton A Better Chance (ABC) provides students of color with educational support, guidance and personal development opportunities. Our mission is three-fold:

Support education for scholars of color

Our goal is to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society.

Provide a unique living experience

Located in the heart of the Wisconsin's Fox Cities on Lawrence University's campus, Appleton ABC strives to create the safest, most supportive residential experience possible.

Engage the Appleton community

We believe Appleton ABC and its students play an important role in the Fox Cities region. We aim to promote the importance of educating students of color, both within Appleton and around the U.S.

What is A Better Chance?

Nationwide, A Better Chance, is a network of boarding schools and community non-profits that provide scholarships to students of color. Appleton A Better Chance is known as a community school program (CSP) in which students from across the U.S. attend top-tier Appleton public high schools while living together in an innovative residential home.

What Do Alumni Say?

Amadeus Frazier

ABC Class of 2013. Kingston University (United Kingdom) Student.

What Appleton - A Better Chance offered me was growth... From my freshman year to graduation, I honestly knew that I was bettering myself through communication skills, my confidence, and, most importantly, my academic skills. Each and every year, the Appleton ABC program helped me develop my skills and graduate early with academic honors.

Hayden Knight

ABC Class of 1976. Former Professional Soccer Player.

ABC has taken kids out of the inner city and put them in an environment where they can obtain a better education. Had I stayed in New York City [and not entered ABC's program], I would have gone to Wingate High, which is commonly called, "The Drugstore." Some of my friends in New York ended up selling drugs, and when I go back there I feel sorry for them. I came that close to winding up like they did.

Tim Dorsey

ABC Class of 1978. Professional Recording Artist.

Moving to Appleton and entering the ABC program was a pivotal move for me. In Pittsburgh, my high school was bad and we weren't being taught much in music class. In northeast Wisconsin, I found a more supportive atmosphere that allowed me to develop my musical talents. At Appleton West High School, I appeared in a number of musical and theatrical productions, which jump-started my career.