A little over a month ago, you may remember our story about CAST Ink, CAST Tech‘s new, student-led newspaper. The organization was created for this year’s PBL, as they looked to leave their legacy through their stories. Newspaper organizations had been pitched to CAST Tech administrators before, but several roadblocks usually prevented things from moving forward. However, when the idea of CAST Tech, a student-run newspaper club/organization was pitched last year, administrators gave it the green light with Mr. Dayton King as the teacher-sponsor. Students Yliana, Nikolas, Jacob and Juan looked to elevate student voice through CAST Ink, and their hard work these past few months is starting to finally pay off.
CAST Ink competed at the 2024 Speak Up Speak Out regional fair held at Texas A&M University San Antonio earlier this year, where they were able to advance to the state civics fair held at the University of Texas at Austin. While at the state fair this week, CAST Ink was recognized for excellence in creative expression. Cast Ink looks to keep this momentum rolling with their upcoming publications without losing sight of what’s most important: student voice. CAST Ink is important not just because it lets students connect to what’s happening at CAST Tech, but because it elevates student voice and agency. Nikolas reiterates this with a simple quote:
Without student voice, CAST Ink isn’t CAST Ink.
About Cast Tech High School
Located downtown in two freshly-renovated buildings on the former campus of Fox Tech High School, CAST Tech works hand-in-hand with industry partners to prepare students for careers in technology and business, fields where the demand is high for talented workers. Some features of the unique program include flexible schedules, hands-on projects and real-world problems to solve, as well as job shadowing, mentorships, internships, and job opportunities upon graduation.
CAST Tech uses computer-based learning to allow students to progress more quickly in areas where they have mastered concepts, allowing them to dive more deeply into projects and areas of great interest. College coursework is embedded in the program, and students can earn up to two years’ of college credit, industry certifications and portfolios that feature long-term projects and other examples of their work.
