This week CAST Schools Deputy Director Jen Maestas and I had the privilege of being included in the first annual Work-Based Learning Leaders Forum hosted by American Student Assistance (ASA).

Like CAST, ASA believes in putting students at the center of the conversation, so we kicked off the 2-day leadership forum by hearing directly from two students who had participated in SparkNC, a new program that offers students an opportunity to learn technology skills before being placed in an internship.

Working as part of a team in a professional setting taught him a great deal about himself, junior Lamont Vine shared, noting that he naturally gravitated toward problem-solving. “It showed me I’m a numbers guy,” he said, describing himself as a backbone of the group, avid to find information. Similarly, junior Melanie Cantú said she discovered a love of presenting, one that has opened her eyes to different fields outside of her original plans to become a doctor.

ASA is at the forefront of an emerging national movement around career-connected learning (CCL), and is producing research, offering new student tools, and funding innovative work in this space. A recent survey of young people confirms that there is a hunger for hands-on opportunities inside and outside the classroom to explore possibilities and identify a purpose. Career-connected learning offers a why, and makes learning relevant.

CAST Schools opened its first school, CAST Tech High School,  in 2017, and we opened our 7th school, CAST Imagine Middle School, this fall, and we have been intensely focused on our mission of catalyzing improved economic mobility in the San Antonio region.

But this week, we were so excited to join a small group of about 30 leaders, many working at the state and national level, and to learn from other organizations how we might be part of a movement that has the potential to transform the student experience, helping young people answer the age-old question: “Why am I learning this?”

Jeanne Russell

Executive Director

CAST Schools