Success Stories

Jonathan Moreno

As the second oldest of four children, Jonathan became the first person in his family to graduate with a high school diploma. He was a dedicated student during his time at Cassata, always showing up for tutorials and doing anything necessary to complete his education. In fact, Jonathan walked to school every day and had an excellent attendance record, missing only 5 days his entire time at Cassata.
Cassata mentor Vertis McManus helped guide Jonathan during high school, and Vertis continues to keep in touch with Jonathan as he makes the transition to college.
“In a very short time, Jonathan inspired and energized me more than any young person I have ever met,” Vertis said. “He is one of the hardest working students I have ever associated with and the burning desire he has for his education is contagious.”
Today, Jonathan is enrolled at TCC Trinity River Campus, studying English, math, speech and U.S. government.
“Cassata really prepared me for college,” Jonathan said. “A lot of the time at Cassata, you are doing work on your own and that is the way it is in college too.”
His eventual goal is to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering, although he remains undecided on his exact specialty.
“I am researching all the different types of engineering,” he said. “I don’t know what type I want to go into—maybe petroleum or aerospace or biomedical. The University of Texas has a really interesting program that includes physics and engineering together.”

Jay Johnson

Principal Nancy Martin remembers when Jay Johnson first enrolled at Cassata, “Jay was the type of student that stretched the rules as far as he could—he was always stretching the limits.”
Jay came to Cassata after losing his scholarship at a local private school where his grades were dropping fast and his citizenship marks were horrible.
However, Jay thrived with Cassata’s unique learning model,
“I learned more at Cassata than I ever did at my previous schools,” he said. “For me, the flexible schedule was really important. The schedule kept me focused during class time, and provided me with freedom and space to learn in other ways outside the classroom. This is the first environment where I could be successful.”
After school, he performed community service for state senator Wendy Davis. He eventually became the first official district intern for Senator Davis and he continued working for her until he started college.
In 2011, Jay earned his Associate’s Degree in Real Estate. He is currently attending Texas Wesleyan University and majoring in Mass Communications. He works for the NPR group as a community and government relations consultant where he is working on an $11 million project that will bring 54 new/affordable homes to Southeast Fort Worth. Jay serves on Cassata’s Board of Directors and provided the December 2010 commencement address.

Amy Price

Cassata graduate Amy Price came to Cassata after getting behind on her credits from missing school when her mom was very sick. She was quickly transformed at Cassata and found a path of success. “Cassata helped me succeed in a school setting during a very difficult time in my life. I thank the school’s flexibility and excellent faculty,” Amy said.
After high school, Amy was accepted to the Digipen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Washington where she studied computer programming. Today, Amy is working for Kuma Games in New York City as a programmer.