At the CAST offices, it is a time of transition, full of sadness and joy. We’re sorry to say goodbye to our high school and college interns, who have made our lives fuller, and more full of laughter, and have kept us true to our mission of listening to young people.

• Kay Cansino (ALA Alum) kicked off our Alumni Advisory Board and now heads back to Trinity University for her junior year.

• Tim Huff (ALA Alum) worked closely with our student and educator experience team and will go to Milan for a second internship before returning to Northwestern University to complete his junior year.

• Joel Rosales (Brackenridge Alum) partnered with our communications team to create storytelling content and will complete his senior year at Our Lady of the Lake University.

• Leona Fletcher – partnered with Dr. Carol Harle to elevate student voice programs and will complete her senior year at CAST Lead High School this year.

• Robert Gonzales – partnered with Analisa Vasquez at CAST Tech and Eddie Rodriguez to bring our career-connected learning roadmap to life, and goes back for his senior year at CAST Tech High School.

This feels especially personal to me, as I say goodbye to my own son, an ALA graduate, when he leaves for college this month.

But also! CAST Lead was the first to return to school this year in East Central ISD, and that team is stronger than ever under returning Principal Erica Jackson; we’ve also seen tremendous student growth at Lead in the past year, particularly in our 8th grade, which gives students an early jump start on high school.

All of our San Antonio ISD schools opened this week: the Advanced Learning Academy, CAST Tech, CAST Med, and our new middle school – CAST Imagine!

We’re honored by the interest and support for our new middle school, and we’re excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with the students, families and interested stakeholders on the Southside as we build this campus out, under the direction of Principal Dr. Mari Alarcon.

I’m excited to see what career-connected learning, and travel, outdoor and place-based learning look like at this campus, and how we best leverage community assets at Brooks, as well as the Missions, Mitchell Lake, Palo Alto College, UIW Medical School and Texas A&M-San Antonio, the new Arboretum, and so many more!

I asked my son, who is heading off to college this year, what he was looking forward to, and he said: “new experiences, new people, new opportunities.” He will spend his first week on a camping trip as part of a freshman experience getting to know his peers.

I wish we could send our students camping the first week of CAST, but what we can do is make sure that we care as much about relationships and memorable experiences as we do the required parts of school. One such example is that all of our students have the opportunity to go overnight to the H-E-Butt Outdoor School in Leakey, Texas, and we often hear that experience, full of learning how to work together, is their favorite memory.

If you are a parent, like me, or you have young people in your life, ask them – what are you looking forward to this school year?