This week, I had the opportunity to share a bit about the CAST story to graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Policy, which was a fun opportunity to field thought-provoking questions from smart young(-ish) people who have big ideas to change the world.
They honed in on the question of what it takes to start, and sustain, innovative schools like ours.
It is a question our team and board have been wrestling with internally, even as we try to balance our identity as a startup organization even as we contemplate a sustainable future.
Here are some of our insights:
Nonnegotiables are:
- Strong, stable campus leadership: When we opened our first school, CAST Tech, in 2017, we had a motto: “hire strong leaders and surround them with support.” The best-case scenario for us at our high schools, which typically open with 9th grade and add a grade level each year, is for the founding principal to stay at least until the first class graduates. A second goal for us is to build leadership from within, and in recent years, we have been fortunate to have several assistant principals move into that leadership role.
- Adequate, stable facilities: Because our schools are small, our school district partners typically provide an unused building or allow us a wing of an existing school; in some cases we are co-located with multiple schools or in one instance a community college. Having a facility that supports extracurriculars is critical because young people need more than academics and career connections, they also need opportunities to enjoy sports, fine arts, clubs and more. Secondly, if a campus does not have a permanent, guaranteed home, moves are disruptive for students and families and signal a lack of long-term commitment to the school itself.
Some keys to our success are:
- 1882 Partnerships: We are fortunate in the state of Texas that there is a mechanism that governs nonprofits partnering with public schools to implement innovative partnerships, and that 1882 mechanism provides a management agreement and structure that outlines the way in which a partnership will collaborate. These governing structures are useful because they spell out roles and responsibilities, but what makes them come to life in a way that serves young people is when both the nonprofit and school district have a strong foundational relationship of trust and mutual respect. This partnership also brings in additional state dollars which makes the additional costs associated with smaller schools affordable to districts.
- A human-centered culture: At CAST, our mission is to transform teaching and learning and we must build and protect a healthy, safe, positive culture in our schools and nonprofit as we seek to build a movement for positive change in schooling.
- Strong industry partnerships: Our schools were co-created by industry, and our nonprofit and advisory boards represent industry members who take the long view about the importance of talent development. Moreover, it is our industry partners who keep us on the cutting edge of workforce needs, and encourage us to bring new practices to our students and teachers.
- Strong ISD partnerships: The work we do is in deep partnership with public school districts. To do it well, there needs to be trust and commitment not only from superintendents and boards, but also leaders at all levels within the school district. Like with our school leaders, our best case scenario is when there is stability on school boards and within districts, providing continuity when, for example, there are transitions in superintendents. Some have compared the 1882 Partnerships to marriages or co-parenting, and described our students as dual citizens in CAST and their home district. These metaphors are imperfect but what they capture is that this relationship must be deep, it must be cultivated, and there must be strong communication and caring on both sides.
- Community & Family support: CAST is fortunate to have a strong base of support from parents and community members. Now that we serve close to 2,500 students, these community and family members act as ambassadors for the change we are manifesting.
Since we opened in 2017, we have experienced remarkable success, by which I mean, we have seen our students experience remarkable success. We are working hard to ensure that all students graduate from CAST prepared for whatever choice they make after high school, and they are armed with industry-recognized certifications and skills, in addition to foundation college credits.
Success is never guaranteed, and CAST exists within the context of public schools, most of which are facing significant financial challenges. That being said, as we enter our 7th year, we are becoming more clear on what are the underlying conditions needed to do innovative work in deep partnership with public school districts, community, and industry at our side.
Jeanne Russell
Executive Director
CAST Schools
