Original Research by School Decision on Cast Med H S
CAST Med H.S. is a public charter school serving grades nine through twelve in San Antonio, located on Louis Bauer Drive. The school enrolls a small cohort of students, drawn heavily from families below the federal poverty line. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a small population of Asian, Black, and white students and no meaningful representation of other groups.
The school's academic standing rests on mixed results. In the most recent state testing cycle, students performed solidly in science, where all students met the approaching standard, and in social studies, where roughly two-thirds of students met or exceeded standards and a portion reached mastery. Reading performance was below science and social studies, with roughly two-thirds meeting approaches and about half meeting the higher standard, while fewer reached mastery. Mathematics presented a softer picture: most students met approaches, but only roughly one-third reached the meets standard, and about one-tenth achieved mastery. Across all subjects, fewer than one in eight students reached the highest mastery level.
Because the school serves high school grades only, it has no graduation rate data available, so a parent cannot assess college and career readiness outcomes from the figures published here. No data on English learner enrollment, special education enrollment, or chronic absenteeism are reported for this school. The absence of these enrollment and attendance metrics is common among smaller charter operations and does not indicate a problem; it reflects data reporting practices or the school's size.
The school is part of San Antonio ISD, a large urban district that has undergone significant reorganization. In November 2023, the board voted to close fifteen schools and merge or redesign five others as part of a "rightsizing" effort driven by falling enrollment. The closures affected many families and, by the start of the school year that followed, roughly a portion of impacted students had not returned to the district. The district has also moved to standardize curriculum across campuses in reading and math, shifting to a phonics-based approach to literacy instruction districtwide. Additionally, the district completed a large-scale facilities bond investment in 2020, funding renovations and technology upgrades at many campuses through 2025. Families considering schools in this district should recognize that it is undergoing restructuring and curriculum alignment that will shape the teaching environment.
The zip code where CAST Med sits has moderate rental costs in regional context and affordability metrics that put housing in the reachable range for many working families, though renting costs a material share of household income in the area. San Antonio itself is one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities, anchored by healthcare, military employment, and a growing technology sector, with walkable downtown and riverfront civic life, though the metro is broadly car-dependent outside the downtown core.
A parent evaluating this school should seek clarification from the school directly about graduation outcomes, college placement, and the specific makeup of the school's student support and career readiness programming, since state data does not provide those metrics for this charter. The academic performance pattern, where students show strength in science and social studies but more moderate progress in mathematics and reading, may reflect the school's curricular emphasis and the student population it serves; a parent might ask the school to detail how it addresses mathematics, given the lower mastery rates there, and what dual-credit, AP, or career-pathway options it offers to high school students.
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