A Message from CEO, President, and Superintendent Dr. Adolfo Melara
Upcoming Event - October / November 2026
AAMA Annual Luncheon: The Language of Success
Thursday, October 29, 2026 • 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Amegy Tower, 9th Floor • 1717 West Loop South, Houston, TX 77027
You are invited to AAMA’s annual fundraising luncheon, The Language of Success. We are grateful for your past involvement and the positive impact of your support, and we would be honored to have you with us again this year.
This event will fund three educational programs that serve our families every day: the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC), the Work & Learn Center (WLC), and Prevention & Counseling (P&C). ECDC, located on AAMA’s south campus, serves our youngest community members and provides a path to early education during the most critical years of brain development. WLC offers youth training in graphic design, web development, Microsoft Office, Google Suite, Adobe, and workplace skills so students can move from low-wage jobs toward careers that earn a livable wage. Prevention & Counseling provides outpatient substance use disorder treatment and education, including family support.
Our keynote speaker is Jan Hargrave, CEO of Jan Hargrave & Associates and one of the nation’s leading behavioral authorities and body language experts. With warmth, wit, and practical knowledge, Ms. Hargrave shows that there is a method—and a style—to success. She helps audiences “read” family members, colleagues, customers, and everyone around them, and she reminds us that nonverbal communication often sends a different message from the spoken word. Come with curiosity and a sense of humor, and learn what your body—and the bodies of others—is communicating to the world.
Please join us for an event that will raise critical funding and bring our community of supporters together. Sponsorships and tables are available. For sponsorship information, please contact Daisy Morales at [email protected] or (713) 757-2078.
October / November 2026
Dear AAMA Community,
Thank you so much for your ongoing support. We are planning some very AAMAzing events in the weeks ahead and wanted to share both a historic milestone and what is coming next. Have a wonderful day!
A Historic Achievement for Sanchez Charter
On behalf of Board Chair Alexandria Hernandez and our Board of Directors, we want to recognize and congratulate the George I. Sanchez Charter Schools team for a historic accomplishment.
Sanchez Charter faced a third “F” academic rating coming into the 2025–2026 school year. A third “F” would have meant the end of our Sanchez schools, as charter schools receiving three “F” ratings must cease operations.
Against that stressful pressure and immense adversity, our students, teachers, support staff, and administrators faced the challenge with courage, conviction, commitment, and resilience. Our Board of Directors supported the work by providing the needed resources, expertise, and unwavering encouragement.
We are proud and humbled to share that Sanchez has achieved an Acceptable Rating and is no longer facing closure. With this new rating, Sanchez has erased its two prior “F” ratings and now stands with successful charter schools and ISDs. We are poised to keep climbing—and to become an elite public school system in Texas.
As we have said many times before, “Together, we can accomplish great things.” We just proved it, and we will continue to do so for years to come. Congratulations to Sanchez Charter for its AAMAzing academic performance.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(October/November 2025)
Dear AAMA Community,
Thank you so much for your ongoing support! We are planning some very AAMAzing events in the weeks ahead and wanted to take this opportunity to share them with you. Have a wonderful day!
AAMA Annual Luncheon
On October 23, 2025, at the AMEGY Tower, from 11:00 a.m. To 1:00 p.m. AAMA will be hosting its annual luncheon, Nurturing Futures: Bridging Early Childhood Development and Education.
This event will fund two areas of education: the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) and Work & Learn Center (WLC) programs. ECDC is located on AAMA’s south campus and serves our youngest community members, providing a path to early education during the most critical years of brain development. WLC offers youth training in graphic design, web development, Microsoft Office, Google Suite, Adobe and work skills to change the trajectory of their lives from low-income paying jobs to careers that earn a livable wage.
The guest speaker, Rafael (Rafa) Alvarez, is the Sr. VP of Regional Workforce Development at the Greater Houston Partnership, where he leads the UpSkill Houston initiative. Their goal is connecting education, non-profit, and business sectors to provide pathways to achieve family sustaining incomes. Rafa is also the founder of Genesys Works, which helps thousands of students from underprivileged communities avoid a lifetime of low wages and dead-end jobs through opportunities to fully participate in the economic mainstream.
Community Event - Health Fair - Saturday, November 8, 2025
The Hispanic Health Coalition has partnered with AAMA to host its 19th Annual ¡Vive tu Vida! Get Up! Get Moving! on Saturday, November 8, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at our 6001 Gulf Freeway location (Houston, TX 77023). This important health fair is dedicated to promoting health, wellness, and access to resources for the East End and surrounding communities. We are expecting over 2,000 people for the event.
Community Event - Pet Spay and Neuter Day - Saturday, November 15, 2025
The Empty Shelter Project and Barrio Dogs in partnership with AAMA will be hosting a spay/neuter event on Saturday, November 15, 2025, from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at our 6001 Gulf Freeway location. Our goal will be to provide about 550 free spays/neuters, vaccines, and microchips for pet owners.
If you would like more information, please reach out to us by email (Nancy Capuchino at [email protected] or call us at 713-929-2318.
OUR ACADEMIC RATING
(August 2025)
Thank you for taking the time to read my comments related to our academic ratings for the last two years.
George I. Sanchez Charter Schools received an "F" rating during the 2024-2025 school year. This represents the second year of receiving such a low score. Of course, this is concerning.
Without a doubt, the transition from when we were considered an alternative school to a comprehensive Pre-K through 12 school has proven challenging, as there are now more accountability measures to meet.
Also, the difficulties with our North Campus location over the last couple of years challenged our ability to focus solely on instructional quality.
Of all possible factors for our academic struggles, the ones mentioned above were the primary factors.
What are we doing to improve immediately? Among the vital actions we are taking, here are a selected few:
- We have focused on instruction even prior to the beginning of the school year.
- We are ensuring classroom instruction is protected from disruptions and that daily support for our teachers is available and a priority.
- The North Campus is self-sufficient with school campus-based infrastructure issues having been resolved.
- We have made key hires at every level of our school systems: as we honor the hard work of the past, we have retooled for a successful future.
- We will be working shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues at Region 4 Educational Service Center to receive targeted technical support to ensure student academic growth in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and other key school programs at the elementary and secondary levels.
- We are providing additional time for professional development and collaboration so that our teachers, instructional support staff members, and administrators can proactively monitor student learning and student growth.
- From week one, we are engaging in the virtuous cycle of using the appropriate instructional tools consistently, using high leverage instructional techniques, ensuring we assess our teaching and learning--and adjust our classroom instruction based on academic results.
All other actions we are taking and will be taking will be planned through the lens of “how will this support student learning?” Training is important; collaboration is important; cooperation is important. We can do this as a team. We will accomplish the needed improvements as an AAMA and Sanchez community.
We can all contribute to these efforts. If we work together and rely on each other to accomplish the actions above, we will succeed. Already this year, we are approaching campus culture, learning, support for each other and for our students differently; it is an all-hands-on deck approach.
Finally, for today, what we have done up to this juncture has added much value to our students and families; we do honor that hard work, dedication, legacy of giving, and at the same time commit and plan for a different approach, one that can produce higher levels of academic achievement. We will course correct; we will recommit to our hard work on behalf of our students, families, and each other; we will improve our daily practices at every level of our district and organization; we will work together as a team; we are not giving up; we are moving forward and upward. These are just a few of the reasons why we will succeed.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Our students' lives are better because of you!
For our children,
Adolfo Melara, PhD
CEO, President, and Superintendent
THE YEAR AHEAD - IMPROVEMENT AND GROWTH
As we welcome back our George I. Sanchez Charter Schools' teachers and support staff members after the summer break, we look ahead to a pivotal year for AAMA and for G.I.S. AAMA has been an admired institution in Houston since 1970 and Sanchez is preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary, as one of Texas' first-ever charter schools. We have much to celebrate and for which to feel extremely proud.
As we look ahead at 2025-2026, we reaffirm our commitment to improve our programs as we continue to grow. Join us on this AAMAzing journey!
April 2025:Día de los Niños
On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, AAMA held its annual Día de los Niños celebration. We would like to thank everyone who organized, supported, and attended the event. It was truly an amazing, edifying, and fun event on behalf of our community. Thank you, all!
AAMA’s mission has evolved to our current statement: “Empower all individuals to promote socioeconomic mobility and health through community partnerships, education, workforce readiness, and integrated support services.” We strive for a community that can achieve economic independence through increased college graduation rates, better preparation for participation in the workforce, and a reduction in the number of lives impacted by substance use.
Understanding that everyone has a unique path in life, AAMA guides our students, our clients, and their families toward an individualized, purposeful approach to learning - pursuing their own potential. As a Generation One Texas open-enrollment, public charter school, AAMA’s George I. Sanchez Charter School, originally founded in 1973 and chartered in 1996, stands tall as a beacon of light to serve our community - in many instances in their native language. Our South and North campuses are comprised of nearly 1,200 Pre-K through 12th grade students. We also provide a fully accredited Early Childhood Program.
AAMA’s Adult Education Program is a vital component of our service model – offering adult participants the opportunity to learn English Language skills, to earn a High School Equivalency diploma, and to participate in workforce readiness and career certification programs. AAMA believes that these important skills set bridge together the family unit and directly impact on our communities.
AAMA’s Prevention and Counseling Program is at the core of our mission. With the vision of our founding members – and through solid commitment of the Board of Directors – our focus includes substance use counseling and prevention programs, behavioral health programs, outpatient treatment, and our award-winning HIV Prevention program. These programs serve Houston and Laredo.
AAMA’s integrated approach is what truly differentiates us from others. As Houston, Laredo, and the other communities we serve grow and evolve, so will AAMA’s commitment to providing much-needed services to the most vulnerable - and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
