A new middle school focused on career and college readiness is opening on the campus of CAST Med High School in the San Antonio Independent School District this fall with a focus on exposing students to hands-on project learning, as well as a variety of career fields to help get students thinking about their futures.
Superintendent Jaime Aquino said in a statement shortly after CAST Imagine was approved by the district’s board of trustees that he hoped the new offering would attract students like those who have left the district in recent years.
“As we deepen our partnership with CAST Schools, we aim to bring back middle school students who have elected choices outside of the district,” he said.
Maricela Alarcón, the new principal of both CAST Med and CAST Imagine, said the new school’s mission is slightly different from others in the charter network, all of which operate within local districts.
“Within the CAST network, high school students are essentially already deciding what they want to pursue or do as a career or for college,” she said. “Whereas middle school students are kind of trying to figure themselves out.”
That process includes being exposed to different career fields and fields of study while also developing self esteem and learning how to determine what potential pathways they want to pursue, she said.
Sixth and eighth graders will start the first year, with students moving on to fill seventh grade as the school expands. Despite being on the same campus, the middle school is not designed to funnel students directly into the CAST Med High School or focused on the medical field.
Both schools will use the same campus while some parts of the facility undergo renovation, with a complete expansion planned for January.
Planning for careers
The CAST network stands for The Centers for Applied Science and Technology and includes a network of five tuition-free career-themed high schools, one middle school, and one pre-K through 12th-grade academy.
Even before starting at the school, incoming students are already thinking about what they want to do after moving on.
Faith Rodriguez and Etzel Soto, both 12, wandered the hallways where the new school will be located, as Alarcón explained to them and their families the innovative ways the school could meet their needs.
Rodriguez, who was accompanied by her mother and sister, said she wants to be a dermatologist in the future.
She recounted a summer program put on by CAST Imagine, where she had the opportunity to dissect a sheep’s eyeball and a cow’s heart.
Alarcón reviewed sample classes and shared how the school could connect with her interests.
“One of the classes that’s a dedicated class within their learning block is going to be the College and Career Exploration course,” she said. “For example, if someone’s interested in dermatology it’s like OK, here’s an opportunity for you to do some research. What are the dermatologists here in San Antonio? Can that English teacher teach you ways of how can you draft an email so that you can directly email that dermatologist and ask them questions?”
A dermatologist could also be brought to the school as a mentor, she said.
“So there’s a lot of opportunities to be able to bring outside people in because that’s one of the big pieces of the cast network,” she said.
Soto and Rodriguez both walked the hallways as their parents asked questions about what the school day would look like.
Alarcón predicted that by the end of the school year, the students would be the ones leading the conversation.
In addition to being the first middle school in the CAST network, Alarcón said the location of the school is significant for students on that side of the city.
“Having CAST Imagine, on the South Side of San Antonio is really critical and important,” she said. “I think that a common misconception is that the opportunities are to the north of the city … so being able to have a school that draws in students from the south side to be able to expose them of what can be, is really important.”
Parents interested in applying for the school can visit this website.
