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March 2026 Blazer Gazette
Candy's Corner
As we welcome the first signs of spring, March has been a busy and productive month across the Career Academy Network of Public Schools. Our students and staff have been deeply engaged in learning, growth, and achievement, and there is so much to celebrate.
We successfully completed the first round of I-READ 3 testing, and our buildings have been working through ILEARN Checkpoint 3. This is a testament to the focus and dedication of both our students and our educators as we continue to monitor progress and respond through our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Our PLC structures ensure we are consistently asking: What do students need? How do we know? And how do we respond?—keeping student learning at the center of all we do.
We are incredibly proud to celebrate several outstanding student achievements this month. Our African American History Quiz Team, led by Anita Wigfall and Anna Cooper, won the county competition and will now advance to compete at the national level in New York City—an incredible example of excellence and the power of Experiential Learning in action.
Our Business Professionals of America (BPA) students also had a strong showing, led by Shari Bloom, with several qualifying for regional and state-level competitions, demonstrating their growth and readiness for future careers. Additionally, we celebrate David Hendally, a senior at PSOL, who was named Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year for our region—an honor that reflects leadership, character, and commitment to community.
Across our network, these accomplishments reflect our shared commitment to College and Career Readiness, ensuring students are prepared not only academically, but with the skills and experiences needed for success beyond graduation.
We also continue to lead forward in innovation. Our AI Committee has finalized the K–12 AI competency strands, ensuring that all students develop skills in creativity, communication, and critical thinking through an AI lens. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, we are committed to preparing our students to be ethical, responsible, and informed users and creators of this technology.
As we look ahead, we are preparing for Acceleration Academy and Spring Break, while keeping our focus on a strong finish to the final quarter of the academic year. This is a critical time to continue supporting student growth, celebrating progress, and maintaining momentum.
At CANOPS, our work continues to be grounded in our core values: putting students first, embracing innovation, extending trust, enjoying life, and working together as a team. March has been a powerful reflection of these values in action across our schools.
Thank you to our students, staff, and families for your continued dedication and partnership. We are excited for what lies ahead as we finish the year strong.
African American History Club Qualifies for Nationals
Career Academy High School is proud to share that our African American History Club recently participated in the 100 Black Men African American History Challenge, a city-wide academic trivia competition that students have been preparing for throughout the entire school year.
The competition focused on important historical topics including Emancipation and Reconstruction, the Great Migration, and its aftermath, requiring students to demonstrate deep knowledge of African American history, culture, and historical impact.
In the first round, Career Academy defeated Rise Up Academy, while Riley High School defeated John Adams High School. In the championship round, Career Academy High School defeated Riley High School, earning the city championship title.
As a result of their outstanding performance, the Career Academy High School African American History Club will travel to New York City in June to compete in the national championship.
We are incredibly proud of our students for their hard work, dedication, and academic excellence. Their commitment to learning and representing Career Academy High School is truly inspiring.
Congratulations to our African American History Club, and we wish them the best of luck at the national championship in June!
Archiving Our Past in Historical Methods
In Dr. LeBlanc’s Historical Methods course, students have been exploring personal collections as both archivists and historians would–processing the artifacts and then developing original pieces of historical research based on them. Students adopt different roles throughout this process with some focused on organizing, others on digitizing, and others on transcribing. This is all happening in tandem with a seminar that explores different aspects of historiographical methods and asks students to grapple with the questions of why and how we preserve historical artifacts.
Dr. LeBlanc acquired two manuscript collections on eBay for the students to dig into. The first includes personal letters written to a Korean War veteran about his life while stationed in Japan and the second is a smaller collection of letters between members of a Jewish immigrant family on the east coast from around 1902. To provide context to these collections of correspondence, we are reading significant contributions to historiography. Once the archiving is complete, students will use the collections to support their own research on a topic of their choosing.
This is the beginning of what we hope can evolve into preservation and archiving work that we might do for community partners. We can’t wait to see how this project develops!
Business Professionals of America Participate in State Leadership Conference
Career Academy High School’s Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter had an outstanding performance at this year’s State Leadership Conference in Indianapolis, with multiple teams and students earning top honors and qualifying for national competition.
Two Career Academy teams qualified for the National Leadership Conference, which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee this May.
National Qualifying Teams:
- Website Design (3rd Place) — Amara Rose, Braelyn Hall, and Anna Truhn
- Podcast Production (3rd Place) — Mi’Lana Beathea, Zyiana Hudson, and Leah Harvey
In addition to the team awards, several Career Academy students received individual recognition:
- Erin Harvey — Chapter All-Star Award
- Amara Rose — Chapter Recruiter of the Year and Statesman Torch Award
Career Academy’s BPA chapter also earned the Quality Chapter Award, recognizing the overall strength and growth of the chapter.
What makes this accomplishment even more impressive is that Career Academy’s BPA program is still relatively new. In just two years, the program has grown into a nationally competitive chapter with award-winning students and strong leadership.
Congratulations to all of our BPA students and advisors, and good luck at the National Leadership Conference in Nashville this May!
CANoPS Attends Junior Achievement Jobspark
Career Academy High School students and the CANOPS Marketing Team recently participated in the Junior Achievement Career Expo held at the Century Center in South Bend on March 24–25, 2026. The two-day interactive event brought together 8th and 9th grade students from across northeast Indiana to explore different career pathways and future opportunities.
Career Academy High School had a strong presence at the event, with the CAHS Robotics Team demonstrating hands-on activities and sharing information about the CTE pathways and programs offered at both Career Academy High School and The Portage School of Leaders. The booth saw a large turnout, and all of the marketing materials and swag were distributed quickly due to the high level of interest from students and attendees.
Several Career Academy student helpers shared their thoughts about the event:
- James Zinn-Steinbeck said it was fun talking to students and showing them what the Robotics team can do.
- Isaac Hernandez shared that the event was a great opportunity for students who may not yet know what they want to do in high school, because it helps them understand what programs and opportunities are available.
- Olivia Cooper said the event was very good and wished more parents could attend.
- Kailynn Butler mentioned that highlighting robotics was important because it allowed them to show students what they do and also explain the CTE pathways offered at Career Academy High School.
The Junior Achievement Career Expo is designed to help students explore career clusters, learn about in-demand jobs, and understand the skills and education needed for future careers. Events like this help students begin thinking about their high school courses, post-secondary plans, and career pathways.
Thank you to the Career Academy High School Robotics Team and all student volunteers who helped represent Career Academy High School at this event!
Career Academy Middle School Goes Skating
Career Academy Middle School students recently enjoyed a fun and energetic Skating Night, where students had the opportunity to spend time with friends, skate, play games, and build stronger connections outside of the classroom.
The event brought together students, families, and staff for an evening full of laughter, music, and great memories. Students of all skating skill levels participated — from beginners learning to balance to experienced skaters showing off their moves on the rink. Many students also enjoyed time in the arcade and seating areas, spending time talking, eating snacks, and taking photos with friends.
Events like Skating Night are an important part of building a strong school community. They give students a chance to relax, socialize, and create positive memories with their classmates while strengthening school spirit and relationships.
Thank you to the staff and everyone who helped organize this event and to all the students who participated and made the night so enjoyable.
Career Academy Middle School looks forward to hosting more fun community events like this in the future!
Career Academy Wolf Pack Competes in South Carolina
Career Academy’s Robotics Team recently traveled to South Carolina for the Lower Richland District Event, and the team returned home with both the Judges’ Award and the Event Finalist Award after an incredible week of competition, teamwork, and leadership.
After a long 13+ hour drive to South Carolina, the team immediately demonstrated what Career Academy robotics is all about. When they arrived, event staff were behind on setting up the competition field. Without hesitation, Career Academy students volunteered their time to help assemble the field and prepare the competition area. Their willingness to step in and help wherever needed left a strong impression on event organizers and other teams.
One of the core values of FIRST Robotics is “Coopertition,” which emphasizes helping and supporting other teams while competing. During the event, a rookie team arrived with an unassembled robot kit and needed assistance. Career Academy students and mentors worked alongside that team, helping assemble, wire, program, and inspect the robot so they could compete. By Friday evening, that team was able to compete in their first match with a functioning robot, and Career Academy students cheered them on as if they were their own teammates.
During the competition, Career Academy was selected by the third alliance and fought through the playoff rounds. After dropping into the lower bracket early, the team showed determination and resilience, battling their way back through the bracket and ultimately reaching the finals, earning the Event Finalist Award.
More important than the trophies, however, was the way the team represented Career Academy through teamwork, leadership, perseverance, and helping others. The trip was not just about robotics competition — it was about teamwork, character, and building a strong team culture.
This experience would not have been possible without the support of the school district, sponsors, mentors, and families who continue to support the robotics program and our students.
Congratulations to our Robotics Team on an outstanding event and for representing Career Academy with pride!
Success Academy & SABGC Take a Field Trip to Career Academy
Career Academy Middle School recently welcomed 5th grade students from Success Academy and Success Academy Boys and Girls Club for a special visit to give them a preview of middle school life.
During their visit, students had the opportunity to meet Middle School Principal Mrs. Reilly and several 6th grade teachers, learn more about what to expect in middle school, and participate in a variety of fun and engaging activities. The day included live music performances, instrument demonstrations, a school tour, team-building activities, and a chance to sample some of the school lunch options, which were a big hit with students.
Students also took part in a meaningful activity where they wrote letters to their future selves, which they will receive later as they continue their journey at Career Academy Middle School.
A special thank you goes to Mrs. Koehler and the performing groups, including the 8th Grade Band, High School Jazz Band, and Middle/High School Strings, for providing outstanding musical performances. Thank you also to all the staff members who helped organize and support this successful field trip.
We look forward to welcoming these students to Career Academy Middle School in Fall 2026 and are excited to see all they will accomplish in the years ahead.
The Portage Pythons Kick Off Their Season
Team 9554, the Portage Pythons, participated in the FIRST Robotics competition at Penn High School earlier this month. Students, families, and staff from the Portage School and from Career Academy High School packed the bleachers at Penn to cheer on both the Pythons and the Wolfpack. We were so proud of our students and coaches for their persistence and collaboration throughout the event. With four wins under their belt, the Pythons are ready to face their upcoming opponents at their next event in Washington, Indiana, from April 2nd to April 4th. Go Pythons!
March HR News!
A note from your HR Team:
As we head into Acceleration Academy and Spring Break, we just want to take a moment to say thank you. This season of the year can be a lot, and we know how much time, energy, patience, and heart our staff pours in every single day. We see it, we appreciate it, and we are incredibly grateful for all you do for our students and our schools.
We are also looking forward to getting into each building for our 4th Quarter/2nd Semester HR Day. We always enjoy the chance to connect, check in, answer questions, and just spend time with you all. As always, please know that you can come directly to us with comments, concerns, questions, or feedback. We want to hear from you, and we want you to feel comfortable doing so.
And one little friendly HR reminder before everyone heads off to enjoy a well-earned break: there are only a couple of PublicSchoolWORKS courses left for the year, so don’t forget to knock those out. You can access them here: PublicSchoolWORKS. We truly appreciate your support with these important compliance pieces — they may not be the most glamorous part of the job, but they matter, and we are grateful for your follow-through.
We hope Spring Break brings you a little time to rest, recharge, and enjoy a well-earned pause before we head into the final stretch of the school year. Thank you for all you do — we are cheering you on and looking forward to a strong finish together.
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Fax: 574-288-6125 
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