There’s a unique Community Schools program at a Radnor Victorian home that gives 10 gifted students from around the country a chance to attend Radnor High School, writes Wakisha Bailey for CBS Philadelphia.

“I’m here to just have better opportunities in life, like a better education,” said ninth-grader Malachai. “Back home in Chicago, the system isn’t the best.”

The co-educational program, called Radnor, A Better Chance, or “ABC” for short, has been running out of the home since 1972.

The goal of the program is to develop future leaders by providing gifted students of color from underserved communities with strong leadership and academic potential a chance to study at a top school like Radnor High.

 The students live at the property, adding to the diversity of the Radnor community, said ABC president Michael Blumberg.

“We make it better by bringing in these 10 really gifted wonderful children and we see how much we can make a difference,” Blumberg said. 

Now the historical home is needing some repairs, including a new kitchen.

“It takes a lot of maintenance when you have a house that has 10 students, five adults,” said executive director Candyce Wilson, who volunteered at the home for 20 years.

Read more about this unique program in Radnor at CBS Philadelphia.