AAMA Educational Programs

George I. Sanchez Charter Schools

AAMA operates two pioneering high schools for students otherwise left behind.  Serving more than 700 students at campuses in Houston and San Antonio, George I. Sanchez Charter Schools offer a unique educational alternative for at-risk students who have not been able to succeed in traditional large high schools.

What signifies an at-risk student?  The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has identified 12 factors that put high school students at-risk for dropping out of school, including failing two or more core subjects, pregnant or parenting, placed in an alternative education program, previously expelled, homeless, on parole or probation, and identified as Limited English Proficiency.  While 60 percent of students in alternative schools statewide have one risk factor, more than 80 percent of AAMA's students have at least one risk factor.  In fact, more than half of the students at GIS have two or more of these risk factors and nearly 85 percent are behind more than two grades levels when they enter Sanchez.

Yet AAMA believes that even the most disadvantaged Latinos can graduate from high school academically ready for college.

AAMA believes that by giving students a more personal learning environment, along with a suite of support services, it can create the right environment for at-risk students to learn.  This principle, coupled with the passionate and dedicated GIS staff, is responsible for the school's 30-year legacy of turning would-be dropouts into high school graduates and promising leaders.
Smaller classes, block scheduling, intensive tutoring, night school and an optional English as a Second Language program, are key components of the school's innovative academic plan.  The GIS Early College Program allows students to take college-level coursework leading to concurrent high school graduation and an Associate's Degree through Houston Community College.
Support services are designed to remove the most prevalent barriers at-risk students face, including pregnancy or parenting, behavioral challenges and family or home issues.

• GIS offers free on-site daycare services, a pre-kindergarten program and parenting courses for pregnant and parenting students.
• GIS mitigates emotional and behavioral challenges through extensive counseling, home visits to engage students and parents, and practical, no-nonsense policies such as a strict dress and behavior code, a proactive attendance program and strong expectations outlined in a compact signed by students and parents.
• For students who are homeless, have been placed in a foster home or referred to protective services, GIS creates caring relationships via extensive counseling, refers students to health and human services, and provides a free on-site health clinic.

GIS staff is a critical ingredient in AAMA's ability to educate the most at-risk Latino youth.  GIS teachers and administrators share a deep empathy for at-risk youth and a commitment to improving students' educational and career opportunities.  Teachers are credentialed in their fields - more than 50 percent have Master's degrees - and have expertise working with academically challenged students.

The unique combination of a rigorous academic curriculum, comprehensive social support services and an empathetic staff is yielding extraordinary results, especially in light of the serious academic deficiencies most students bring to GIS.  For example, GIS Houston 11th grade students posted some of the highest gains in Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores of any Houston area school, including a 39-point increase in Science and 31-point increase in Math.  The 11th graders also achieved a 93 percent passing rate in Social Studies, the highest in school history.  Additionally, 10th grade reading scores exceeded the statewide average for all Hispanics.

Daycare and Pre-Kindergarten Programs

AAMA provides daycare to more than 100 children of teen parents who attend GIS.  Children range in age from six weeks to three years old and are cared for in age-appropriate groups.  AAMA's family-like environment allows teen parents to visit with their children daily during the lunch period. 

AAMA also offers a pre-Kindergarten program for children of GIS students and other families in the community.  More than 70 students were enrolled in the 3- and 4-year-old programs in 2005.