Dear familia,

This month seems to be about sauce. On Friday, our faculty and staff distributed cranberry sauce as part of a complete Thanksgiving meal to our families. On November 9th, in a panel discussion hosted by the Harvard Business School of New York, I along with two fellow charter leaders I admire were asked about our schools' "secret sauce."

The first kind of sauce is meant to be shared by family. The second kind of sauce requires family as part of its recipe. You'll find this and other ingredients of American Dream's "secret sauce" below in the words of our spotlighted alumnus, faculty member and Dreamer of the Month.

Wishing you and your family a very happy (and delicious) Thanksgiving,

Melissa Melkonian
Founder and Executive Director
Harvard Business Club Panel Features American Dream School
On November 9th, the Harvard Business Club of New York hosted a panel event entitled "What are the Secrets of Successful Charter Schools?" American Dream Founder and Executive Director Melissa Melkonian joined two fellow charter leaders in discussing unique aspects of their programs, the challenges facing their students and families and the greatest needs they would address if granted additional resources. You can view a recording of the entire event, which was organized and presented by Harvard Business Club Member Charley Beever and moderated by PIX11's Monica Morales.
Photos of the Month: 8th Annual Thanksgiving Celebration
Alumnus Spotlight: Ellington Santos (ADS '21)
During the summer before his senior year of high school, Ellington Santos got a job stacking bricks. A forklift would deliver a palette of 500 bricks that he unwrapped and stacked for $12. He worked six-to-seven hours-per-day in 90-degree heat and sometimes waited hours for the next palette while his boss, who manned the forklift, was off tending to other things. One day he earned just $36. Santos knew then that he was going to college.

It helped that Santos’ mom had come to the US from the Dominican Republic at age 17 to provide this opportunity for her future family. “She grew up in a generation where education meant success and she wanted nothing but success for me,” he says. He felt The American Dream School allowed him to create his own educational experience, becoming captain of the flag football team, earning the Seal of Biliteracy and serving as Class Speaker at graduation.

Santos was accepted to Pace University on a $20,000-per-year scholarship, where he majors in Business Economics. He also works 40 hours per week split between jobs at Chipotle and as a nightclub security guard, but he’s on the path to a career of his choosing.

With his meager earnings from three weeks of bricklaying that summer, Santos bought a pair of sneakers that he was able to resell for a small profit. It felt good and he continued to buy and sell sneakers. He hopes to use his business education at Pace University to open a sneaker consignment store. “I want to be that store,” says Santos. “I want people lining up for me.”
Faculty Spotlight: Tracy Teach, 9th Grade History Teacher
Tracy Teach is no stranger to adjusting to new languages and cultures. The ninth grade History teacher moved six times as a child owing to his father’s work in the auto industry, ultimately graduating from high school in Tokyo. While in college in Michigan, he fell in-love with Latin American cultures and, after college, spent 18 months traveling around Latin America. He returned to the US and became an NYC Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary and middle school, including in the South Bronx. He met Melissa Melkonian at Mercy College, where they were each pursuing a Master’s degree in education, years before Melissa founded The American Dream School.

Teach loved making a difference in individuals’ lives through education, and he became an assistant principal at an elementary school in Queens. However, after three years during which he says he spent more time with other people’s children than with his own, he needed a change.

He and his wife, who is Peruvian, moved to Peru with their two young children, where Teach experienced firsthand the challenges of immigration. “I didn’t know how to get a driver’s license, how to pay an electric bill, how to get to the hospital...and I spoke some Spanish!” he recalls.

Eight years later, at the start of the pandemic, the family returned to the US. Teach joined The American Dream School in-time for the 2020-2021 school-year, which began virtually. “I picked up the culture of the school and its sense of camaraderie even while we were online. It’s the most positive school culture I’ve seen.”

The fact that Teach’s youngest child, who was born in Peru, did not speak English when the family returned to the US, and her school did not offer the needed services, makes Teach even more appreciative of The American Dream School. He speaks bilingually in the classroom, and in Spanish with the families of 18 of the 19 students in his advisory.

“The kids know this isn’t an average school...They are more open to talking about their personal lives. There’s a greater sense of bonding and trust between students and staff.”
Call for Dream Higher (Ed) Advisory Board Candidates!
The American Dream School's Dream Higher (Ed) Advisory Board is expanding and seeking additional volunteer leaders! The mission of the advisory board is "To support the preparedness of American Dream School 11th and 12th grade students to attend and succeed in higher education." Advisory board members gain special updates from school leadership and together create meaningful professional and personal development opportunities for ADS students and alumni, nearly all of whom are first-generation-American and first in their families to attend college.

We ask that interested candidates e-mail Robbie Brenner and please include "Advisory Board" in the subject line.
Our Mission: The American Dream School develops academic excellence in both Spanish and English for grades 6-12, preparing students to excel in college and become leaders in their communities.