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September 2026 Blazer Gazette
Candy's Corner
From Dr. Candy Van Buskirk, Superintendent · Career Academy Network of Public Schools
September is when the school year takes shape. Routines settle in, the first data arrives, and families and teachers sit down together to talk about how each child is doing. This month also asked a great deal of us as a community. We had moments to celebrate, and we had a loss that none of us will forget. In both, I saw what Better Together looks like: One Team. One Mission. Lasting Impact.
Remembering Nasir
In early September, our network lost Nasir Hill, a second grader at Success Academy. Nasir was a sweet boy whose smile brought joy to his classmates and teachers. He will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him.
Our hearts are with Nasir’s family and with the entire Success Academy community. I am grateful to the Success Academy staff, who carried their own grief while helping young students understand something that is hard even for adults, and who cared for one another along the way. Please keep Nasir’s family in your thoughts.
Our CARES Team: Caring for Students and Staff
Our network has a CARES Team: counselors and student support staff who are ready when students, families, or staff need support. This month, the team made sure support was in place at Success Academy after Nasir’s death, so that students and staff had people to talk with and guidance on age-appropriate conversations.
The CARES Team also supports students in quieter ways every day. It shapes our school counseling plans as student needs change. Being Student-Centered means seeing the whole child, and this team makes that happen.
If your child is having a hard time for any reason, please call your school office and ask to connect with the CARES Team. You do not have to handle it alone.
Parent-Teacher Conferences: Thank You, Families
On Thursday, September 17, families across the network came in for parent-teacher conferences, and the turnout was strong. At the high school, staff described attendance as above average, and I heard the same energy from our other buildings. Thank you for making time for these conversations.
These conferences were a real progress check. Families and teachers looked together at beginning-of-year results, talked through each student’s strengths and needs, and agreed on a plan for the rest of the first quarter. That partnership is at the heart of Be Connected.
If you could not attend, it is not too late. Teachers are reaching out to families they did not see, and phone conferences are available. Please contact your child’s teacher to set up a time. Quarter 1 ends Friday, October 9.
Synchronous and Asynchronous eLearning Days
Conference week also included two different kinds of eLearning days, and I want families to know how they work.
Thursday, September 17: synchronous (live) eLearning. Students joined their teachers online in real time for direct instruction, discussion, and small-group work. On synchronous days, students in grades K–6 receive at least 150 minutes of live instruction, and students in grades 7–12 receive at least 180. Teachers take attendance during live sessions. Because devices do not go home at most of our schools, every building offered an on-site option with a device, internet access, meals, and transportation for students who needed it.
Friday, September 18: asynchronous eLearning. Students completed independent assignments or packets at home, with no live sessions, while our teachers took part in a full day of professional learning.
After any eLearning day, students have three school days to finish their work and be counted present. Thank you, families, for helping your children log in, stay on schedule, and turn in their work.
Professional Development: Growing Together
On September 18, our teachers and staff spent the day learning together. This year’s network focus is Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), one of our three pillars. Every building worked on team norms, the four PLC questions, and ways for teams to use student data to guide instruction.
Each school also worked on its own priorities:
- Success Academy at Boys & Girls Club: The Science of Writing, strengthening how we teach and assess student writing.
- Success Academy Primary School: PLC team planning with a focus on common formative assessments.
- Career Academy Middle School: Behavior training that helps teachers build positive, well-managed classrooms.
- Career Academy High School: Identifying essential standards for each course, project-based learning, and responsible use of AI in the classroom.
- The Portage School of Leaders: Durable skills, project-based learning design, special education support, and cultural competency.
When adults keep learning, students benefit. Days like this are how we stay Entrepreneurial and Innovative and keep improving what happens in every classroom.
Looking Ahead
- Friday, October 9: Quarter 1 ends
- Week of October 12: Fall Break across CANOPS
- Friday, November 13: Next network professional development and eLearning day
Thank you for the trust you place in our schools and for the care you show one another, especially in hard moments. We are one CANOPS family.
Better Together,
Candy Van Buskirk, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Career Academy Network of Public Schools
Starfish Award: Making a Difference, One Student at a Time
What is the Starfish Award?
The Starfish Award is a monthly, peer-to-peer recognition given to a Career Academy High School teacher who truly embodies the spirit of the famous Starfish Story—making a meaningful, individual impact on students’ lives every single day. The best part? The selection is passed directly from teacher to teacher, as the previous month’s recipient chooses and presents the award to the next! September recipient of the Starfish Award is Ashleigh Klatt.
Meet Ashleigh Klatt!
Ashleigh has been dedicated to CANOPS for 4 years, where she currently supports English and EL students across all their courses.
This month’s recipient was chosen by the Class of 2026 to speak at graduation as her proudest school moment. Outside of work, she has been married for 22 years and is a proud mother to two daughters, aged 20 and 8. In her free time, she enjoys eating sushi and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, loves the color green, and delights in diving into ACOTAR or The Vampire Diaries. Guided by her favorite quote from Sarah J. Maas, she lives by the principle: “Don’t let the hard days win.”
Join us in celebrating Ashleigh for her dedication, heart, and the endless ways she makes a difference for our students every day!
Starfish Story
Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley (1907 – 1977)
College GO! Week: PSOL Students Explore Colleges, Majors, and Future Careers
This month, students at The Portage School of Leaders jumped into College GO! Week with three days of hands-on exploration built around one big idea: your future can take you anywhere.
On Day 1, “Go Somewhere!,” students kicked things off by rating their interest in college on their fingers and explaining their thinking, which sparked some great conversations about hopes, questions, and goals. From there, they researched a college or university of their choice anywhere in the United States, tracking down its name, location, and mascot. Then came the fun part: designing tiny, hand-drawn index cards featuring each school’s name, logo, and mascot. Fitting all that onto a mini card was no small challenge, but students rose to it with creativity and plenty of personality, and the finished cards were proudly glued onto the giant map in our hallway.
On Day 2, “Go Do Something!”, students returned to their chosen schools’ official websites to dig into programs of study, whether it was the school’s most famous program, a surprising major they never knew existed, or the field they hope to pursue themselves. Each student created a sticker with a symbol and title for their major, and these were added to the map right beside their college cards.
Day 3, “Go Beyond!”, connected all the pieces. Students shared their colleges and majors with classmates, then researched a career that could grow out of that program of study, along with its salary range here in Indiana. This led to eye-opening discussions about how cost of living and pay vary from state to state.
Students captured their findings on sticky notes showing the profession and salary range, then posted them along the salary line in the hallway. By the end of the week, our hallway had transformed into a colorful, student-built roadmap linking colleges across the country to real majors and real careers.
The energy was contagious, with students stopping to compare mascots, swap career ideas, and discover new possibilities they hadn’t considered before. Most importantly, they walked away seeing college as a real and exciting path they can start planning for today.
Fresh Flavors Bring CAMS Families Together
Career Academy Middle School families had a chance to try something fresh during parent-teacher conferences: bruschetta made with ingredients from local farms.
Chef Lamond prepared the samples on-site, making five trays as parents and students stopped by the tasting station. The response was enthusiastic. In a simple taste test, 56 participants voted “like it,” while two voted “didn’t like it.” Families talked about the ingredients, shared foods connected to their heritage, and discussed the possibility of bringing more fresh options into the cafeteria.
Thank you to Chef Lamond and Lauren for preparing the tasting, Octavia for creating the station signs, and everyone who helped welcome families and gather feedback. The evening showed how a shared meal can spark conversation and bring our school community together.
Success Academy Students Find Support Through Connection
In mid-September, Dustin’s Place visited Mrs. Troup’s class and shared The Invisible String by Patrice Karst. This beautiful story reminds children that we remain connected to the people we love, even when we can no longer be together.
During the visit, students had an opportunity to share fun and loving memories of our friend Nasir and participate in activities designed to help them understand and work through feelings of grief and loss. We are incredibly grateful to Dustin’s Place for providing such thoughtful, age-appropriate support to our students during a very difficult time.
Our school social worker, Mrs. Martin, has also coordinated follow-up grief counseling for students who may benefit from additional support. These services will take place right here at school, allowing our students to continue processing their feelings in a familiar, safe, and supportive environment. We are so thankful to Mrs. Martin for her care, compassion, and commitment to making sure our students, staff, and families have the support they need.
I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone across CANOPS who has reached out with kind words, messages of support, and offers of help. The love shown to our school has meant more than you know. Thank you for continuing to keep Nasir’s family, his classmates, our staff, and the entire SASB community in your hearts as we move forward together while honoring and remembering a very special little boy.
Principal Sybil Snyder
Success Academy South Bend
Bethel University Partnership Blossoms in Kindergarten
Bethel Education Majors come every Wednesday to work with our Kindergarteners in Mrs. Boshaw’s class.
The students got to work with their older buddy on an Apple STEM project, take a nature walk on campus to discuss the Fall season, and sometimes their buddies teach a lesson or work with them during intervention time.
This partnership with Bethel University is really blossoming!
September HR News!
- November 2: Portage School of Leaders (PSOL)
- November 3: Success Academy South Bend (SASB)
- November 4: Career Academy Middle & High School
- November 5: Success Academy at Boys & Girls Club (BGC)
- PSOL: Wes Weber
- SASB: Jennifer Cannoot
- Career Academy Middle School: Brie Childs
- Career Academy High School: Ashleigh Klatt
- BGC: Tim Gall
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