CAST Awarded National Catalyze Challenge Grant to Advance Innovation in Career-Connected Learning

Part of a nearly $4 million investment from Catalyze to help CAST put its ideas into practice and connect young people to real-world experiences that build skills and confidence for the future.

September 22, 2026 — CAST has received a $300,000 grant as part of a national effort to expand access to high-quality career-connected learning for young people. CAST is one of 14 organizations nationwide selected for this round of funding.

CAST will build and test a rural career-connected learning model. CAST will partner with rural Montana educators, middle school learners, and workforce partners to co-design career exploration experiences connected to the state’s emerging photonics industry. Through educator-designed resources, ProjectSet experiences, and youth co-researchers, the project will test what helps career-connected learning take hold in rural communities and create a model that can expand to other industries and regions.

CAST was selected through a competitive process that began with more than 500 applications from across the country. In April 2026, it was one of 31 organizations selected by Catalyze to receive $10,000 and three months of technical assistance from national experts to refine and strengthen its idea. CAST’s model stood out for its innovative approach to career exploration for young adolescents, a key priority for this round of the Catalyze Challenge.

Rather than bringing a pre-designed career exploration program into rural communities, CAST’s model positions rural educators and youth as co-designers and co-researchers who shape, test, and improve the experiences themselves. By combining this community-driven approach with ProjectSet’s career-connected learning platform, CAST will generate both engaging experiences for rural middle school learners and evidence about how emerging-industry career exploration can be successfully implemented and scaled across rural communities.

“Rural communities shouldn’t have to wait for career-connected learning models designed somewhere else and adapted to fit them. This project starts with rural educators and young people as the experts, giving them the tools and opportunity to build, test, and improve experiences that reflect their communities and connect young people to the emerging careers taking shape around them.”— Amanda Bastoni, Project Lead, CAST

In addition to the funding, CAST and fellow Grantees will continue to receive technical assistance to implement, test and strengthen their approaches while generating lessons that can inform the broader career-connected learning field. CAST also joins the Catalyze Community of Practice, a learning community made up of more than 100 organizations.

“We’re excited to support this cohort as they grow impactful employer partnerships and build strong organizational infrastructure to turn the spark of innovation into transformational change for young people. We look forward to seeing these ideas come to life through meaningful career-connected learning experiences that reflect where the world of work is headed.”— Dr. Michelle Cheang, Director, Catalyze

Learn more about the Catalyze Challenge and most recent round of funding