By Erika DeLaRosa, Manager of Strategic Partnerships

At Freedom to Choose Schools, we have one belief that guides everything that we do: all children deserve access to quality school options, and community-rooted leaders are pivotal to creating and providing these opportunities. What we’ve seen time and again is that each leader that we work with has a “secret sauce.” They deeply care about the children they serve, they are community-rooted, and they respond accordingly.

One such leader can be found in the East End of Houston, Texas. Leading George I. Sanchez Charter School, Superintendent Dr. Adolfo Melara’s “secret sauce” is simple, yet courageous. Dr. Melara invites every adult from the School board to the students’ families into honest conversations and implements the right tools, techniques, monitoring, and organization tailored to the Sanchez student community.

Originally an alternative education program for youths facing challenging obstacles, Sanchez now serves Pre-k through twelfth grade students on two campuses. Working closely with the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans(AAMA) to ensure the community and families have access to services like early childcare, health care, prevention and counseling services, adult learning, and anything else that comes up, Sanchez is truly a community-rooted school.

Though a shining spot for the families it serves, Sanchez faced a sobering reality in the 2025-2026 school year: earn a passing score on the state assessments, or be closed down for good. In the state of Texas, any open-enrollment charter school that receives a failing academic grade three consecutive or preceding years must automatically have their charter revoked and face closure. Commonly known as the “three strikes” rule, it is one way to hold schools accountable to providing a high quality education that all students deserve.

Dr. Melara, described the reality as grim. However, his commitment to the belief that every child can achieve greatness emboldened him to radical transparency and courageous changes. Before implementing any changes, he had professional conversations at the adult level with all of the school staff and the school board members. He asked simple, yet powerful questions: How are we serving children? Are the children’s needs being met? Through questions and conversations that Dr. Melara guided, all adults in the AAMA and Sanchez community were expected to own their responsibility to care and guide the students to achieve greatness. If Sanchez’ mission was to ensure the holistic wellness and socioeconomic mobility of all students, then they had to hold themselves accountable. And in Dr. Melara’s courageous leadership, he reminded all adults that “if we cannot get to an A, then we don’t deserve to exist.”

So, how did a school at risk of closure due to two consecutive failing scores, with a history of low academic performance, jump from 46 proficiency to 75 and 77 proficiency at its two respective campuses? Dr. Melara’s answer was courageously simple.

In a society where it’s more common to blame parents, social media, or even children for academic failings, Dr. Melara chose to hold a mirror up for himself and the AAMA/Sanchez team. He demanded that everyone look at themselves, ask the right questions, and respond accordingly. Through courageous conversations it was established that everyone must deliver – staff, teachers, and families. There was just one nonnegotiable: they could not accept any variables that insinuated that children “can’t,” especially their children.

Dr. Melara and the Sanchez team had a simple approach. They implemented the right tools, right techniques, right monitoring, and right organization. “Right” for the Sanchez team didn’t mean a one-size-fits-all approach, it meant reminding the teachers, administrators, and leadership that they have the necessary skills to take in the information from the child in front of them and find the solutions in their expertise field. Dr. Melara often encouraged his staff that they “are the brain surgeons, just operating from the outside.” This simple mindset shift led to a campus-wide culture of seeing each child’s promise, knowing their individual profiles, and responding with the best educational treatment to support their growth.

Dr. Melara’s “secret sauce” is his unwavering belief that educational professionals have the skillset and responsibility to meet the unique needs of every child in a safe and structured environment. In conjunction with institutional changes at the school, Dr. Melara led by example. Seeing a need, he stepped into the classroom during the 2025-2026 school year and put his own teaching skills to work. A self-described mother hen, he showed up prepared every day, he had high expectations of every student, and he prioritized connection with each child and family. It’s this combination of high expectations and human connection that he believes fully supports the brilliance of each child.

Throughout the year, Dr. Melara and the Sanchez team implemented a total commitment to taking the right approach and monitoring, and course correcting as many times as necessary. They developed the ability to respond and pivot immediately when monitoring demanded a change for the students. After a year of rigorous monitoring and responding, the Sanchez team was able to review the data. Sanchez North grew from 46% proficiency to 75%, and Sanchez South grew from 46% proficient to 77%. Both campuses exceeded all monitoring expectations, leading the campus to an overall C rating. After reviewing data from the region, Dr. Melara pointed out that Sanchez was the most improved charter school academically in Harris County and the second most improved in Texas.

So what’s next? Dr. Melara is adamant that Sanchez will continue building on their success. Their ultimate goal is to provide an elite education to this community. One that demonstrates that all kids are capable of greatness, especially those who come from communities that others deem incapable. His secret sauce is simple: honest conversations paired with the right tools, techniques, monitoring, and organizing will ensure that the students receive a high quality education, which is ultimately the goal for us all.