This past week, CAST Lead High School has been hosting its “Summer Studio” camp, where students can engage in hands-on project-based learning to prepare them for the upcoming school year. This year’s camp had students involved in a variety of games and activities throughout the camp, highlighting CAST’s four pillars along the way: Relationships, Equity, Youth Voice, and Authentic Learning.
On Monday, the camp began with a scavenger hunt and other team-building activities to help familiarize the students with each other. On Tuesday, the students had activities that built upon Equity/Relationships. The students were instructed to design keychains or bracelets using beads and strings, incorporating their chosen word into the design. This game encourages creativity in the design process, and allowed students to express themselves through their creations. They were also tasked with mapping out resources and services available in their community. This opened up discussions on access to these resources and how inequities in access can impact individuals from different background.
On Wednesday, the camp took a trip to St. Philips’ College to learn more about Authentic Learning and Youth Voice. With St. Philips’ new hospitality program, the students were able to see how Authentic Learning could be applied to their educational career after high school. When they returned to CAST Lead, the students played a budgeting game where they were given a set amount of “money” and had to allocate it towards building their very own roller coaster. The students could make decisions on materials, design elements, and safety features while staying within budget constraint.
Finally on Thursday the students took a second trip, but this time the Marriott Hotel in downtown San Antonio. Given that many CAST Lead students had interned with the Marriott last year, taking new students to the hotel showcased the kind of opportunities they could pursue with a career in hospitality. Overall, Summer Studio gave students an early, exclusive look into what helps CAST Lead stand apart from the traditional high school experience, as it was able to shed some light on the many different opportunities available to its students.
About CAST Lead High School
Created in partnership with East Central ISD and CAST Schools Network, CAST Lead is an in-district choice high school serving 8th through 12th grade students that focuses on career and college readiness in the areas of retail and business management, e-commerce, hospitality and tourism and agribusiness.
