August 2026 Blazer Gazette

Home August 2026 Blazer Gazette

Candy's Corner

A Strong Start — Better Together

From Dr. Candy Van Buskirk, Superintendent · Career Academy Network of Public Schools

A few weeks into the 2026–2027 school year, here is what I have seen in every building: buses running their routes, classrooms ready, and students glad to be back. A smooth start is never an accident — it is the work of bus drivers, custodians, food service staff, office teams, teachers, coaches, and building leaders, done long before the first bell rang. Thank you. That is Better Together: One Team. One Mission. Lasting Impact.

What Guides Our Work

Everything rests on our three pillars. Experiential Learning puts real-world, career-connected work in front of students so they apply, collaborate, and reflect. Professional Learning Communities give teachers weekly, data-driven time to turn student evidence into instructional action. College and Career Readiness means every student graduates prepared for college, career, and an AI-driven world.

Our five core values are how we get there: Be Student-Centered. Be Entrepreneurial. Be Respectful & Trustworthy. Be Joyful. Be Connected.

A Reminder About the New State Law on Cell Phones

Indiana’s new “bell-to-bell” law, Senate Enrolled Act 78, took effect July 1, 2026. Students may not use personal wireless devices — cell phones, smartwatches, earbuds, tablets, gaming devices — at any point in the school day, including passing periods and lunch, not just instructional time. Limited exceptions apply for school-declared emergencies, documented medical needs, and IEP or 504 accommodations.

Our board-approved handbook spells out where devices are stored at each building and what happens when the policy is not followed. Please review it with your student. If you need to reach your child during the day, call the school office and we will get the message to them. The purpose is not the rule — it is attention. That is Be Connected in its plainest form.

Across Our Five Schools

Career Academy High School. Seniors opened the year with Senior Sunrise, and students are moving into dual credit and CTE pathways that carry real weight after graduation. A new speech and debate program comes online this year, and an information night for the Summer 2028 Ecuador trip is September 2. Our 95% graduation rate and top-5% state ranking for college and career readiness come from exactly this work.

Career Academy Middle School. Departments have started building shared curriculum standards so every student gets the same guaranteed content, whichever teacher they are assigned. The Trailhead library is open and adding titles, and cross country and volleyball have begun competition.

The Portage School of Leaders. PSOL keeps pushing on mastery-based learning, mapping curriculum to what students can demonstrate rather than to seat time. Its partnership with the Carnegie Foundation keeps our most innovative model connected to the best thinking in the country. Be Entrepreneurial, in action.

Success Academy Primary School. SAPS, on August 31 the school celebrated Denim, Diamonds & Dolly Day for literacy, kindness, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library — proof that Be Joyful and high achievement belong in the same building.

Success Academy at Boys & Girls Club. Our K–5 partnership campus pairs a strong academic foundation with the wraparound support of the Boys & Girls Club — the clearest example we have of a school and a community partner working as one team.

A–F Accountability

The State Board of Education finalized Indiana’s new A–F accountability model this spring, and schools will receive letter grades on 2025–2026 data late this year. For K–8, the grade reflects ILEARN in English and math, IREAD, and academic growth. For high school, it reflects ninth-grade on-track status, dual credit and CTE coursework, industry credentials, college entrance exams, diploma attainment, and graduation rate. Attendance counts at every grade span.

I want families to hear this from me before the grades arrive: the model measures work our pillars were already built to do. We will share our results openly when the state releases them.

Which Is Why Daily Attendance Matters

The state gives a school credit for each student present at least 94% of their enrolled days — roughly ten absences all year. A student who misses two days a month is already past that line. And none of what I have described reaches a student who is not in the building.

So here is my ask. Schedule appointments and family trips around school days when you can. And when something is genuinely in the way, call us. We would far rather solve the problem with you than lose the days.

Mark Your Calendar

Parent-Teacher Conferences are Thursday, September 17, across the network. CAHS, CAMS, and PSOL will hold conferences from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m.; Success Academy Primary and Success Academy at Boys & Girls Club will hold theirs after school, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Thank you for the trust you place in our schools. It is going to be a very good year.

Better Together,

Candy Van Buskirk, Ph.D.

Superintendent, Career Academy Network of Public Schools

Career Academy Robotics Hosts Its 2nd Annual Paddle of The Pack!

After weeks of preparation, Career Academy Robotics students put their creativity, teamwork, and engineering skills to the test during the second annual Paddle of the Pack cardboard boat race on Saturday, August 22.

Students worked together to design and build their cardboard boats before practicing for the ultimate challenge: seeing whether their creations could survive on the water. Teams gathered at Stone Lake Beach in Cassopolis for a fun-filled day of friendly competition.

The event was a great opportunity for students to collaborate, solve problems, and bring their designs to life. Congratulations to everyone who helped make the second annual Paddle of the Pack a memorable event!

To Launch the School Year, Students at The Portage School of Leaders Took on The Portage Portage

To launch the school year, students at The Portage School of Leaders took on the Portage Portage — a five-day project-based learning experience where every student worked in Wayfinding groups to design and build a boat capable of supporting a passenger.

Students explored engineering, buoyancy, art, boat history, and South Bend’s local portage history while working together across grade levels.

Four boats completed the course at Pinhook Lake, but every team gained something valuable: collaboration, problem-solving, real-world learning, and a deeper connection to our community.

Career Academy Middle School students are taking their Tinkercad 3D design skills to the next level by creating their own marble-run racetracks in the Makerspace.

Throughout the project, students used creativity, problem-solving, and engineering skills to design tracks that guide a marble from start to finish. The hands-on activity gave students an opportunity to test their ideas, make improvements, and see their digital designs come to life.

Projects like this help students build valuable technology and design skills while encouraging collaboration, innovation, and perseverance.

Meet the SASB Coach Team!

Success Academy South Bend is excited to introduce our new SASB Coach Team: Mandi Martin, Instructional Coach; Carrie Marks, AI Coach; and Jo Carroll, MakerManager/STEM Coach.

The team has already hit the ground running, connecting with new and returning teachers, identifying needs, sharing resources, and beginning to plan supports for the year ahead. As the year progresses, the team will provide training, model lessons, troubleshoot challenges, support professional learning, and work alongside teachers and teams.

Their work is grounded in our continued growth as a Professional Learning Community. At the heart of a PLC is the belief that student success is a collective responsibility.

Mandi will support teachers around instruction, curriculum, assessment, and the use of student data. Carrie will help staff explore ways to use AI to work more efficiently, create resources, differentiate instruction, and enhance teaching and learning. Jo will support STEM, creativity, and hands-on learning, helping teachers create opportunities for students to design, explore, and apply their learning.

Together, the Coach Team will provide job-embedded professional learning through planning, PLC conversations, professional development, modeling, resources, and classroom support.
We believe that when educators learn together, students benefit. We are excited to see how our Coach Team helps strengthen collaboration, build teacher capacity, and keep student learning at the center of our work this year.

SABGC Bethel Kindergarten Lab Is Off to a Great Start!

Our Kindergarten Lab Classroom at Success Academy at Bethel University is officially up and running! Students have enjoyed a successful start to the school year in a welcoming and engaging learning environment on Bethel University’s campus.

This exciting beginning was made possible through the incredible efforts of our Literacy Coach, Specials Teachers, SABGC support staff, and our outstanding Bethel Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kris Boshaw. We are grateful for their dedication to creating a strong foundation for our youngest learners and look forward to a wonderful year of learning and growth.

AUGUST HR News!

A few quick reminders for everyone:

Frontline: If you have not already created your Frontline account, please do so immediately. This is our system for absence management and substitute coverage.
Public School Works: All required PSW testing/training is due by September 18. Please make sure you are up to date.
Benefits Changes: Any benefit changes should be made directly in Employee Navigator.
HR Resources: Need help finding something? Click on the HR tab on the INET for forms, links, and HR information.
Payroll Changes: HR does not make changes to your direct deposit, tax withholdings, or similar payroll elections. Please log into Paylocity to make those updates yourself.
Please note the Hepatitis form in PSW does NOT need to be returned to HR

If you have questions or are having trouble accessing any of these systems, please reach out.

Career Academy is a Notre Dame Flagship Partner

Ciao