Mrs. Chayka and the AMS team, fortunately, did not stop with one school in Tucson. Since 2000, the success of AMS’s flagship school led to recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School and the 2016 Arizona Charter School of the Year and to network expansion in both Tucson and Phoenix. For the 2020-2021 school year, AMS will serve over 7000 students across 9 campuses. A key difference between AMS and other networks is AMS’s mission of only opening schools in under served neighborhoods, the ones most in need of high quality educational programs.
A central guiding question has continuously propelled AMS to move forward and keep growing: “If not us, then who will do this work?” AMS plans to continue to grow as long as there are communities in need of high quality educational programs. AMS’s growth and continued success is possible because of a team effort from families, AMS staff, and many others outside the immediate AMS team including organizations such as A for Arizona, Arizona Charter Schools Association, New Schools for Phoenix, the Walton Family Foundation, Charter School Growth Fund (and its consultants and partners who have helped the network formulate its growth plan), the program offices behind the federal and state Charter School Program grants, the many dedicated Governing Board members, and dozens of individual AMS supporters and partners.