Jeremy Lugbill - Superintendent

After growing up in Elkhart, Indiana and graduating with distinction from Concord High School, I accepted academic and athletic scholarships to attend Azusa Pacific University in Los Angeles.

While completing undergraduate studies and earning a graduate degree in education, my passion for making an impact for students grew. Providing quality, meaningful opportunities for students to learn and grow became my mission. My first seven years as an educator were spent teaching history in a large urban district in Southern California.

After getting married and having children, our family moved back to the Midwest. While earning a second graduate degree in Educational Leadership, I’ve spent the last eight years in administration. In 2014, serving as assistant principal position at New Prairie Middle School, my responsibilities included school safety, discipline, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Mult-Tiered Systems of Support, curriculum and instruction, and teacher evaluation. I was responsible for guiding school culture toward an environment conducive for teaching and learning while implementing an iPad 1:1 initiative. The school saw positive growth during this time moving from a “C” letter grade to “B” on Indiana’s state accountability rating system.

In 2017, Michigan City High School, including 160 staff and 1600 students became home. During this time, the school improved many measures of college and career preparedness. The Early College program became the only accredited high school in the region (Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning - IUPUI). While acting Designated Administrator for Advanced Placement Teacher Investment Program, we were awarded the AP TIP 2018 School of the Year from University of Notre Dame. From 2016-2018 we saw an increase of AP students from 120 to 280; an increase in AP exams taken from 286 to 552; and an increase in AP qualifying scores as well.

For the past three years, I’ve served as principal and superintendent at Career Academy South Bend. The district is STEM focused with an emphasis on project-based learning. We provide students with relevant learning opportunities while preparing them for a successful future in college or career. Meeting students social and emotional needs, focusing on the whole child, is a strength for the district. Our vision is to empower all students with the skills necessary to be successful.

Vera Jones - Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Currently, I am the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment at Career and Success Academy South Bend. My responsibilities include K-12 curriculum and assessment development. I research, write, and complete final reports for all grants in the district. I work with the building administrators to ensure that all needed professional development is provided to appropriate staff members. I supervise the Coordinator of English Language Learner program to ensure all state and federal requirements are met. I am also a member of the committee developing the district strategic plan. As a building administrator, I supervised and evaluated teachers’ instructional practices. My duties included curriculum planning, writing and implementation, student discipline, grant writing and reporting, community outreach initiatives, planning and facilitating Professional Learning Communities and other staff development. I was also in charge of supervising classified staff. As High School Curriculum Coach and Curriculum Coordinator for Special Education, I received training from Diane Paynter, a Senior Associate for Marzano Research, Chris Jakicic, Solution Tree Associate, and Claudia Wheatley, Educational Specialist for Solution Tree. I worked with teachers to develop a guaranteed and viable curriculum with common formative and summative assessments, planned and facilitated staff development for data analysis, assisted teachers with using data to drive instructional practices, and provided classroom demonstrations as needed.

Nick Garstka - Principal

Nick Garstka started in education by going through the Transition to Teaching program through Indiana University. He graduated from Trine University with a BA in Mathematics in May 2010 and started the T-T program in June 2010.

Upon obtaining his teaching license, he went to teach Algebra 1 and Accelerated Geometry for La Porte High School for four years. In his second year at La Porte, he was named the head tennis coach and coached his final three years at LPHS.

Nick moved to Career Academy in his fifth-year teaching to teach Algebra 2, Precalculus, and Calculus. He did this for Career for 3 years, taking over as the 11/12 grade team leader for 2 years. In his fourth year at Career Academy, he moved to be the assistant principal of the building. Upon the principal retiring, the school moved to a 2-principal building naming Nick the principal of the Middle School. He was in that position for 2 years and is now the high school principal for Career Academy.

Aaron Esper - Student Services Coordinator/HS Science Teacher

My name is Aaron Esper and I am the Student Services Coordinator at Career Academy South Bend. My view on education is that growth is everything-no matter where a student starts they are capable of more with the right support. In my time at Career I have served in a variety of roles and departments. I am most proud of my work in helping to start and maintain our Early College partners and designing and facilitating an expanded summer school program to meet the needs of students coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before education I attended medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine and Saint Joseph’s College. Since joining education I have gotten two masters in educational fields, additional coursework in chemistry and biology for enhancing my dual credit courses, and I anticipate finishing my doctorate from Purdue University by the end of 2022. On a personal note, I love gigantic dogs and have about 400 pounds of pooch at home.

Lea Ann Solberg - Guidance Counselor

My name is Lea Ann Solberg. I grew up in a small town called Little Chute, Wisconsin. I obtained my Human Development Degree: Teaching emphasis from University Wisconsin Green Bay in 1987. I had been teaching middle school students in WI for almost 8 years when we moved to Indiana. I continued to teach in Mishawka, IN for another 21 years in a variety of grade levels 1-8. During my teaching time, I had a variety of leadership and coaching roles. In 2014 I graduated with my masters in school counseling. I became Career Academy’s counselor in 2015. I thoroughly enjoyed all my teaching experiences as well as my counseling. I find Career Academy to be a wonderful place to work and I will most likely retire from here.

Bryan Lord - Math Coach

As long as I can remember, I wanted to be in education. The older I got, the more I leaned towards teaching mathematics. When I was a high school student in Mishawaka, Indiana, I found myself using my in-class time to help my struggling classmates opposed to completing my own assignments. During my junior and senior years, I was enrolled in the cadet teaching program where I taught math in a 5th grade classroom, volunteered at my old elementary school, and was the President of school’s Project TEACH club. Needless to say, I longed to become a teacher.

After graduating high school, I went to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Mathematics Education. During my time at Ball State, I was given ample opportunities to develop my teaching skills in both middle school and high school classrooms. I spent my final semester student teaching Geometry at Avon High School in Avon, Indiana before moving on to my own classroom.

My first teaching job was at John Young Middle School back in my hometown where I taught 7th grade math. In my third year of teaching, my colleagues named me Teacher of the Year for the 2008-2009 school year for my dedication to my students. After my time at JYMS, I spent time in a few other local schools teaching 7th grade, 8th grade, Algebra 1 and 2, Algebra remediation, and AP Statistics at various points in my career a math teacher. Every school I worked at saw tremendous growth amongst my students on their corresponding standardized tests.

In 2021, I was hired by Career Academy South Bend to be a math instructional coach for both the middle school and high school teachers. This new role has allowed me to expand my knowledge and influence as a teacher leader with my colleagues. Now instead of trying to impact 100+ students each year directly, I spend my time working with their teachers in order to impact 800+ students indirectly. It is a challenge I have been extremely excited to take on.