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CAST Schools Network is a San Antonio-based, 501 (c)(3) nonprofit network of career-themed public high schools and one PK- 12 Academy. Our mission is to reinvent schooling in order to maximize options for students while preparing them for college, career, and life.
(Fox Tech Campus)
The Advanced Learning Academy is a pre-k through 12th grade school built around four commitments in service of its bold vision for a transformative educational model: Deep Learning, Individuality, Flexible Design and Connection. ALA seeks to nurture students who will become global problem-solvers, tackling the world’s most pressing issues through project-based learning.
Principal: Kathy Bieser
Created in partnership with San Antonio ISD
CAST Schools were co-created as a San Antonio regional partnership between independent school districts, higher education institutions, and local employers as a new model of teaching and learning. Today, CAST Schools serve nearly 1,900 students within its five schools.
Students select a CAST school based on their interests, set personal goals, and design their school experience with the support of their teachers, industry, and other nonprofit partners. Students tackle real-world projects designed by local employers and civic leaders and work in teams alongside mentors from the field. The academic model began with CAST Tech High School in 2017. Today, CAST Schools offers one model tailored for five different schools to educate youth in San Antonio.
Industry and other community leaders are equal stakeholders in school design and governance; they collaborate and work alongside students and co-create everything from projects to school curriculum and schedule.
As a community, we help all students reach their full potential. Our schools are intentionally diverse and integrated, and our enrollment practices create schools that reflect the communities we serve. We use data to drive continuous improvement and to ensure that every child’s needs are seen and met.
Students act as co-creators and co-problem solvers at the school and beyond, offering ideas, posing new questions and authentically engaging in their education. Student-led learning promotes effective collaboration, development of leadership skills and the development of self-management, goal setting, self-advocacy, and student agency.
Student learning is connected to real-world needs outside the school walls; students travel to the workplace and design relevant projects for real audiences, with competitions, presentations, and other authentic exhibitions of learning.
The Centers for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) Network is a tax-exempt organization as described in Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service code. CAST Schools are partnership schools with a focus on STEM careers, project based learning and work-based learning. Key partners include public school districts, higher education institutions, and local employers from target industries.
