Located just a mile away from Staples High School, the ABC House (A Better Chance House) is home to seven teenagers from different educationally disadvantaged areas of the United States. While each student brings something diverse and interesting to the house, they all possess one thing in common: the potential for academic excellence.
This year the seven scholars living in the ABC House are Emerson Lovell ’12, Stephan Patterson ’12, Rhyse McLean ’13, Khaliq Sanda ’14, Ruben Guardado ’14, Luis Cruz ’15 and Isaiah Nieves ‘15. These teenagers have left their families behind to live in Westport and attend Staples High School. Guardado traveled from as far as San Diego, Cal. to live in the Westport community for the school year.
All of the boys discovered the ABC Program differently. Patterson ’12 found out about this program from his aunt. “She saw an advertisement for the ABC House on one of her emails and thought it would be a good idea for me to apply,” Patterson said. Lovell ’12 found out about A Better Chance at his school in New York and was interested in this new school system.
The application process into the ABC House, however, is not a simple one. “It is similar to the college application due to the fact that I had to take SATs, write many essays and fill out endless applications. The process was very time consuming because it started from the beginning of my eighth grade year and ended around March of that year,” Guardado said.
Despite the hard work that it takes to get into the ABC House, the ABC scholars are guaranteed nice living accommodations. At the end last school year, the ABC House began its renovation.
These seven teenagers do not live in the house alone. The resident directors, Desiree and Titus McDougald, live there as well with their daughter, Maya. With seven kids and the resident director’s family too, the house was just not big enough to accommodate everyone. After this renovation, the Glendarcy House now has a larger kitchen, dining room and common space area for the scholars to spend their free time in, if they have any.
Just like any other teenager, the ABC teenagers are faced with jam-packed schedules. From school to after-school activities to visiting their “host families” each Sunday, the scholars’ lives are very demanding. These “host families” are members of the Westport community that volunteer to welcome their assigned scholar into their house each Sunday for the four years that the scholar attends Staples.
These seven teenagers are also required to make responsible decisions from day to day. “There are plenty of rules regarding curfew, social gatherings (we can’t go to parties with alcohol), and we have to be on top of our grades all the time,” Lovell said.
Nonetheless, the seven teenagers living in the ABC House share a strong bond. “Of course I feel comfortable living in this house,” Guardado said. “This house is always full of energy, and I get along with everyone.
The seven ABC scholars living in the Glendarcy House during the 2011-2012 school year: top left, Emerson Lovell ’12, Ruben Guardado ’14, Rhyse McLean ’13, Stephan Patterson ’12, bottom left, Luis Cruz ’15, Khaliq Sanda ’14 and Isaiah Nieves ‘15.
