CAST Schools NEWS RELEASE

June 18, 2025

As one of 24 school systems selected by the Carnegie Foundation, CAST Schools Network will help shape the future of high school education in the nation. 

CAST Schools Network is proud to announce its selection as one of 24 systems participating in the Future of High School Network, a new national initiative led by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Future of High School Network brings together innovative systems from across the country to catalyze learning, knowledge and progress to support a ‘new architecture’ for high school nationwide.

CAST Schools Network is an independent, standalone 501 c3 non-profit organization that partners with four San Antonio public school districts to implement its innovative, career-connected model. The nonprofit has 7 partner schools in 4 school districts across Bexar County: East Central ISD, Northside ISD, San Antonio ISD and Southwest ISD.

The Future of High School Network is built around a shared vision: high schools should be places where students gain meaningful skills, engage deeply in their learning, and graduate ready to thrive in a changing world. Through this partnership, CAST Schools Network will continue to explore and elevate new models rooted in competency-based education and improved tools to measure and support student growth.

“We are living through disruptive times, and the need to challenge our traditional approach to high school could not be more urgent,” said Jeanne Russell, Executive Director of CAST Schools Network. “We’re excited to join a national movement that is committed to making high school more relevant, more joyful, more creative and more purposeful, a place where every individual student can chart a unique path to greatness.”

The Future of High School Network is focused on exploring and advancing innovative models for American high schools—models that set ambitious goals for students, provide meaningful and rigorous learning experiences, and use improved tools to measure and accelerate student progress. The CAST Schools Network is putting this vision into practice across all six of its high schools through career-connected learning, internships, and mentorships that build strong connections and awareness about high-demand, high-wage fields in San Antonio. These experiences are further enriched by travel and field-based learning opportunities that offer relevance, deepen real-world awareness, and equip high school students to leave for college and careers with a purpose and a plan.

As part of the Network, CAST Schools will also contribute to the Carnegie Foundation’s upcoming National Research and Development Agenda—a comprehensive roadmap outlining research and development priorities that support high-quality high school transformation across the country. Insights from network members will help identify the conditions necessary for innovation to take root, sustain, and scale.

"The Carnegie Unit has become the bedrock currency of the educational economy, defining almost all aspects of schooling and systematically conflating time and learning,” said Dr. Timothy Knowles, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. “The insights and partnerships generated by the extraordinary members of this network—in parallel with the priorities outlined in our forthcoming National Research and Development Agenda—will support knowledge building to enable innovation to flourish in high schools everywhere.”

To learn more about the Future of High School Network, visit: www.carnegiefoundation.org. To learn more about CAST Schools Network please see our F.A.Q document HERE and/or visit www.castschools.com. 

About CAST Schools Network
CAST Schools Network is an independent, standalone 501 c3 non-profit organization that partners with four San Antonio public school districts to implement its innovative, career-connected model. The nonprofit has 7 partner schools in 4 school districts across Bexar County: East Central ISD, Northside ISD, San Antonio ISD and Southwest ISD serving approximately 3000 students. 

About the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The Carnegie Foundation is dedicated to catalyzing transformational change in education so that every student has the opportunity to live a healthy, dignified, and fulfilling life. Established by Congress in 1906, the Foundation has helped drive major educational milestones, including the creation of Pell Grants, the GRE, and the Carnegie Classifications for Higher Education.