Less than a month after the opening of the first Centers for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) High School in the former metal shop at Fox Tech High School in the SAISD, a second CAST is opening at Palo Alto College, in conjunction with the Southwest ISD, and Texas A&M San Antonio, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Kate Rogers, who heads the Holdsworth Center for Education, which was started with a major grant from H-E-B CEO Charles Butt, say the concept of Cast High began with an idea.
"Where are the jobs here in Bexar County that continuously go unfilled, and how can we create a more robust pipeline."
CAST is a magnet school which offers 'pathways in advanced manufacturing, engineering, energy and power, and global logistics. The new school will open next fall with 200 ninth graders.
Rogers says industry professionals, from CPS Energy to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas to Tech Bloc, work with students as mentors, and provide counseling and internship opportunities.
"So that student can make those connections much more easily to how what they are learning in the classroom will apply to life and their careers over the long term."
CAST STEM, as the new school will be called, will also allow students to earn credits in high school that can be transferred to Texas A&M San Antonio and to Palo Alto College.
The first two years of the CAST STEM program will be located on the brand new campus of Southwest Legacy High School. In the third year, students will move to Palo Alto College at the yet-to-be-built Welcome Center and Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, facilities approved by voters in a recent bond for the Alamo Colleges District.