Wednesday morning, as a sea of 8th grade students fanned out across a UTSA ballroom, social studies Manuel Vega looked across the room and pronounced: “the future of our city is in this room.”
Vega, a veteran teacher who recently joined the CAST Lead faculty along with his wife, both transplants from Miami, spoke about how coming to CAST had allowed him to return to his roots and his belief that even before focusing on academics, teachers must connect with young people to build connections and durable skills such as communication, confidence and critical thinking.
On Wednesday, 8th grade students from CAST Lead shared tables with college students from UTSA and civic leaders from across the San Antonio community, part of a “Living Library” project where young people explore ways to make a positive change through collective action.
CAST Lead is in East Central ISD, and offers pathways in retail and hospitality management, e-commerce and agribusiness. What has always struck me about this school is how their unifying identity has always come not from their pathways but from their shared interest in leadership. A few years ago, we decided to add 8th grade to this campus to give those young people who wanted a jump start on high school – and on a path to leadership – an early opportunity.
We’re so grateful to UTSA and Associate Dean Gina Amatangelo, for whom fostering civic leadership is a passion project. We’ve been doing this project for 4 years, and this is the first time we’ve begun with 8th graders. It was so affirming to look out at the room and see these young people laughing and talking with college students, asking probing questions, and digging into the topics at each table. Based on what we’ve seen in past years in the transformation from CAST Lead students from 9th to 12th grade, I can only echo Manuel Vega’s statement: “the future of our city is in this room.”
Jeanne Russell
Executive Director, CAST Schools