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Saved from the Bell: Self-paced Learning Redefines the School Day

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For generations, high school has been defined by time and space: first bell, daily attendance, seat time and last bell, all in the same place.

For many students, that structure works. For others, it is a barrier to learning.

Recognizing that reality, the National Heritage Academies® (NHA®) developed a self-paced learning program within its already established PrepNet Virtual Academy.

Launched for the 2025-2026 school year, PrepNet’s self-paced model is designed for students who are ready to learn, and need a more flexible, personalized path to succeed.

“For some students, the obstacle isn’t ability, it’s the reality of responsibilities outside the classroom,” said Melissa Brandon, principal of PrepNet Virtual Academy. “Self-paced learning gives them a way forward that is flexible, rigorous and supported.”

The program supports students whose lives do not fit neatly into a traditional schedule because they work to support their families or provide care for siblings and relatives. The program also benefits students who thrive as independent learners or need a calmer learning environment due to anxiety or other challenges.

Family Business
For Ben Robinson, self-paced learning was a clear fit for his daughter, Irene, a PrepNet Virtual Academy sophomore who helps run the family business, Robinson’s Popcorn, in Byron Center, Michigan.

“It allowed Irene to have control of her future and still get her education,” Robinson said. “She’s able to be a young adult, help with our business and meet state requirements without the traditional ‘sit down for eight hours’ model.”

Irene said self-paced learning solved the conflict between her schedule and traditional online classes.

“Going to all the classes wasn’t working with my schedule of working at the business,” she said. “So being able to do my homework and just get back to work is a great thing for me because I’m pretty busy all the time.”

Irene also values something families often worry about with virtual learning: access to her teachers.

“I like the fact that even though we’re not in classes, our teachers are still just a text away or an email away,” she said. “They’re able to help us at almost any time.”

How It Works
In PrepNet’s self-paced program, students access coursework through a learning management system, complete weekly assignments on their own schedule and demonstrate learning through their work, while still receiving support from certified teachers, check-ins and weekly opportunities to connect through advisory and Moral Focus™ programming, which is the backbone of NHA’s curriculum.

“Our students still have certified teachers. They still have support,” Brandon said. “The difference is that progress is driven by demonstrated learning, not a bell schedule.”

Students in self-paced learning can also participate in the broader PrepNet Virtual Academy community, including clubs, field trips, prom and graduation alongside online peers.

In NHA’s first year of self-paced learning, PrepNet Virtual Academy enrolled more than 300 students across K-12, including 151 students in grades nine through 12.

President and Chief Learning Officer Nick Sheltrown says NHA saw a growing niche of students who would benefit from self-paced learning, “By offering an additional online learning option, we’re strengthening our ability to support student success and transform lives.”

Keep Innovating
NHA has emerged as a leader in the online learning space, with PrepNet Virtual Academy delivering stronger attendance and lower absenteeism rates than the state average.

With virtual learning is still a relatively young field, PrepNet Virtual Academy continues to innovate through program design, staff development, and national collaboration. Brandon and her team engage with digital learning leaders across the country to share best practices and strengthen what works for students, including presenting at national conferences focused on digital learning and school improvement.

“We cannot become stagnant,” Brandon said. “Innovation requires risk. It requires flexibility. It requires educators who are never satisfied with the status quo because students’ needs keep changing and our responsibility is to keep responding.”

Ben Robinson said the structure helped Irene build accountability and time management skills that translate directly to real life.

“She’s able to hold herself responsible to do the tasks without a teacher or a parent over her shoulder,” he said. “She’s excelled at managing her time wisely.”

All while helping Irene learn to run the family business.

This alternative to learning has also given Irene space to dream about her future, opening her own Robinson’s Popcorn shop location after graduation. Something her father says would not have been possible without a self-paced learning program.

“I appreciate NHA allowing this to be an open door for children to choose the direction they need for their life,” says Ben.

PrepNet Virtual Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies® network, which includes 104 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 68,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

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SOURCE National Heritage Academies

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ADB SAFEGATE acquires Synaptic Aviation

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The acquisition brings AI-powered turnaround intelligence to the AIRSIDE 4.0® strategy, accelerating the roadmap toward the Intelligent Apron.

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ADB SAFEGATE today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Synaptic Aviation Inc., a US-based technology company developing AI-powered computer vision solutions for aircraft turnaround and apron operations. The acquisition extends AIRSIDE 4.0®, ADB SAFEGATE’s strategy for connected airside operations.

Efficient aircraft turnaround requires perfect coordination between airlines, airports, ground handlers, equipment and infrastructure. Synaptic Aviation turns live video into structured, time-stamped operational events, making the most complex phase of airport operations measurable, predictable and improvable.

Synaptic Aviation is a pioneer in AI-powered object detection software designed to improve operational efficiency and safety across the aviation industry. Founded in 2021, the company has rapidly established a strong international presence, with deployments contracted at airports across North America, Europe and Latin America.

Synaptic Aviation will join ADB SAFEGATE’s APRON Business Line, bringing its technology, expertise and growing customer portfolio. Combined with ADB SAFEGATE’s market-leading apron management and aircraft docking solutions, Synaptic Aviation’s AI-powered capabilities will strengthen ADB SAFEGATE’s ability to help airports improve turnaround performance, anticipate disruptions and coordinate resources more effectively, supporting safer, more efficient and more predictable operations.

“Synaptic Aviation adds a critical new source of operational intelligence to AIRSIDE 4.0®, helping customers improve turnaround performance today while enabling greater automation at the stand tomorrow,” said Laurent Dubois, CEO of ADB SAFEGATE.

“Joining ADB SAFEGATE gives us the opportunity to apply what we have built at a much greater scale,” said Sal Salman, President of Synaptic Aviation. “Our focus has always been on solving real operational problems around the aircraft. Combined with ADB SAFEGATE’s airside expertise, global presence and apron solutions, our technology can help shape the next generation of intelligent airside operations.” 

Financial terms were not disclosed. 

About ADB SAFEGATE
ADB SAFEGATE provides integrated solutions to airports, airlines, and ANSPs. We are proud to be leading the way with innovative and smart Airside 4.0® solutions that turn airports into smart airports, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the passenger experience. Our solutions include airfield lighting, power and control systems, weather monitoring, ATC tower software, docking and apron management, and aftermarket services. With over 1,700 employees and over 3,000 airports in over 175 countries, from the busiest and largest to the fastest-growing airports, ADB SAFEGATE is dedicated to making airside operations safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly. 

More information is available at www.adbsafegate.com

About Synaptic Aviation
Synaptic Aviation develops AI-powered computer-vision technology for aviation operations. Its technology transforms video from airport and apron environments into structured operational information, providing greater visibility into aircraft turnaround activities and other operational events. 

More information is available at www.synapticaviation.com

Media contact
Anna Nolin
Marketing Communications
ADB SAFEGATE
press@adbsafegate.com

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SOURCE Synaptic Aviation; ADB SAFEGATE

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Reach Security Partners with Knox Systems to Pursue DISA Impact Level 5 Authorization

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Partnership will accelerate Reach’s path to bringing AI-driven security controls assurance to the Department of War and its mission partners

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reach Security, the AI that operates security defenses at machine speed, today announced it is partnering with Knox Systems (Knox), the largest, longest-running federal managed cloud, to pursue Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Impact Level 5 (IL5) Authorization. A rigorous U.S. Department of War (DoW) standard, IL5 authorizes cloud service offerings to host Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and unclassified National Security Systems data, accelerating the adoption of secure commercial cloud solutions for the DoW’s most sensitive unclassified missions.

Defense and federal security teams run complex environments built from many tools, and misconfigurations, underused capabilities, and configuration drift can open blind spots that are slow to find manually and quick for AI-powered adversaries to exploit. Reach Security gives security teams a central source of truth for their security controls, showing which existing defenses already stop a given attack, prioritizing action according to real-world risk and available control capabilities, remediating weaknesses or deploying compensating controls, and continuously validating that controls remain aligned with security policy.

Reach Security’s mission is to help security teams close gaps in defenses before AI-powered attackers can exploit them, while ensuring security controls remain aligned with organizational policy and established security baselines. Its platform provides an AI-native operating system for security controls, continuously analyzing the security control plane across identity, endpoint, email, firewall, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), and other critical defenses.

“AI has given attackers the ability to find and exploit weaknesses at machine speed, and federal defenders need the blue side of that loop. Reach Security turns the attacks and exposures that adversaries and red teams uncover into defensive action, using the security controls agencies already own to rapidly deploy remediation or compensating controls before attackers can take advantage of them,” said Garrett Hamilton, CEO and co-founder of Reach Security. “Partnering with Knox to pursue DISA IL5 is an important step toward bringing that autonomous defense to the sensitive, highly regulated environments where it matters most.”

Knox’s IL5 landing zone is purpose-built as a separate, dedicated boundary that meets the elevated security, isolation, and operational requirements necessary to support high-impact defense missions while simultaneously enabling technology companies to enter the environment faster. By eliminating the need to build and operate a standalone IL5 environment, Knox will help Reach Security significantly reduce compliance timelines and costs and provide agencies with a solution that delivers the speed, visibility, and automation needed to stay ahead of modern adversaries.

“Every network in the Department of War is layered with identity, endpoint, email, firewall, and SASE defenses, and each one is only as strong as its configuration,” said Irina Denisenko, CEO of Knox Systems. “By clearing Reach Security’s path to IL5, Knox is helping defense security teams get a continuously validated view of whether their controls are doing what policy requires, inside the boundary where their most sensitive unclassified workloads live.”

To learn more about Reach Security’s AI-native operating system for security controls, visit reach.security, and to learn more about obtaining DISA IL5 Authorization with Knox, visit knoxsystems.com.

About Reach Security

Reach Security provides the trusted source of truth for security controls across the enterprise. Powered by deterministic AI, Reach continuously discovers, analyzes, validates and optimizes security controls, helping organizations identify attack paths, reduce risk and prove protections are working as intended. Through Reach Everywhere, its growing ecosystem of integrations, APIs and AI interfaces, Reach brings continuously validated security control data directly into platforms, workflows and AI systems where security decisions are made. By enabling organizations to operate at machine speed while maintaining confidence in their defenses, Reach helps security teams close exposure faster, strengthen resilience and safely scale AI-driven security operations. For more information, visit www.reach.security.

About Knox Systems

Knox Systems operates the largest managed federal cloud, trusted by top agencies and partners across defense and civilian sectors. Built for speed, resilience, and compliance, Knox delivers FedRAMP authorization in 90 days – turning the biggest bottleneck in government IT into the fastest path to modernization. Knox proudly serves Adobe, Celonis, OutSystems, Armis, BigID, and more AI and SaaS providers, accelerating secure innovation across the federal landscape. Learn more at knoxsystems.com.

Media Contact:

knox@w2comm.com

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SOURCE Knox Systems, Inc

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Visage Amplifies One Platform™ at RSNA 2026

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Visage demonstrates AI Optimized Reporting and comprehensive Enterprise Imaging innovations

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Visage Imaging, Inc. (“Visage”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pro Medicus Ltd. (ASX: PME), has announced it will highlight a series of new innovations and events for the industry-leading Visage 7 | CloudPACS, powered by the Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform (“Visage 7”), at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2026 annual meeting, Booth 4329, McCormick Place South Hall (Chicago, IL) from Sunday, November 29 – Wednesday, December 2, 2026.

Visage 7 provides One Platform for ultrafast, cloud-native, AI Optimized Enterprise Imaging. Now with Visage 7 | Reporting, Visage has eliminated the friction, frustration and long‑standing barriers that have historically restricted radiologist workflow. Visage empowers radiologists with next-generation assistive tools, while preserving the precision and control that diagnostic reporting requires. With One Viewer™, the Visage 7 smart-client displays and manages all Radiology, Breast Imaging, Cardiology Imaging, Pathology, Ophthalmology, Dental, OB US, POCUS, Visible Light Photos, Video, and PDFs, without limitation to the size of datasets, or scale of the institution, for all workflows. Over the past six years, 100% of Visage’s new PACS customers have been implemented in the cloud, without limitation whatsoever in scale, scope or clinical mission.

“Visage customers have One Platform purpose built for the cloud and AI, providing immediate relief for today’s Imaging challenges and the strongest foundation to take advantage of what’s coming next,” explained Malte Westerhoff, PhD, Visage Co-Founder and Global Chief Technology Officer. “We will highlight our latest customer driven innovations that showcase native differentiation in all aspects of Enterprise Imaging — reporting, viewing, workflow, archiving and AI across All Imaging.”

At RSNA 2026, Visage will demonstrate the latest features of the Visage 7 platform, as well as multiple new solutions and enhancements, including:

Visage 7 | Reporting. Visage 7 | Reporting delivers native, ultrafast, AI optimized radiology reporting designed to support all clinical workflows, including resident/attending interpretation. The use of legacy third-party diagnostic reporting systems is no longer required, enabling faster, more precise, and higher quality interpretation that allows radiologists to eliminate friction and further increase efficiency while minimizing cognitive burden. Visage 7 | Reporting includes AI Optimized capabilities such as “Draft-from-Prior Report”, Revision Tools, Auto Impression generation, and Error Checking further streamlining report creation and quality review.Visage 7 | Digital Pathology. Visage will demonstrate our latest ultrafast, work-in-progress capabilities for whole slide imaging, including: Automatic Registration, AI optimized and manual Cell Counting, Fluorescence and Z-stacking. Visage 7 | Digital Pathology uses the same Visage 7 smart-client, reinforcing our One Viewer and One Platform philosophy for Enterprise Imaging.Visage 7 | Cardiology Imaging. Visage will showcase native vascular ultrasound tools to include: right/left proximal; right/left distal; right/left PSV; right/left GSV; and additional custom measurements integrated to third party cardiac reporting solutions, including the Epic EHR and Epic Cupid. Visage will also demonstrate optimized WADO integration to third-party cardiology tools.

At RSNA 2026, we also invite customers to experience Visage in the following ways:

RSNA 2026 | Visage Customer Presentation

Tuesday, December 1 at 2 PM CST – Join Myles Taffel, MD, Professor of Radiology, Director of Workflow Analytics, Associate Section Head of Abdominal Imaging, where he’ll share an insightful presentation, Smart Distribution: The NYU Experience, exploring the fundamentals of automated case distribution, the challenges of managing complex clinical workflows, and practical strategies for designing distribution systems that balance institutional needs with the radiologist experience.

Real ROI | Whitepaper and Panel Discussion Video

Visage is pleased to announce a new whitepaper based on customer interviews: “More Gas in the Tank: Unleashing the Real ROI of Next Generation Imaging IT,” authored by Signify Research’s Amy Thompson, Principal Analyst. This has been supplemented by an expert video panel discussion of Visage 7 users, moderated by Brian Casey, Managing Editor, The Imaging Wire: “Cloud-Based Imaging IT for Better Radiologist Efficiency“.

Demonstrating a commitment to standards-based interoperability, and for the seventh consecutive year, Visage will be participating as the PACS in the RSNA “Radiology Reimagined: AI, Innovation and Interoperability in Practice” demonstration located in the AI Showcase, Booth 4729. Through real-world clinical scenarios, attendees will experience how AI-powered technologies seamlessly connect imaging, reporting and clinical systems to streamline workflows, enhance diagnostic confidence and support better patient outcomes.

To schedule a priority demonstration of Visage 7 at RSNA 2026, please click here for additional details. If you are unable to attend RSNA 2026, but would like to schedule a demonstration of Visage 7, please click here.

About Visage Imaging, Inc.

A global provider of enterprise imaging solutions that enable PACS replacement with local, regional and national scale. The Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform is proven, providing a fast, clinically rich, and highly scalable growth, One Platform™, deliverable entirely from the cloud. Visage 7 supports the simplicity of a One Viewer™ philosophy, for All Imaging, that enables diagnostic, clinical, specialty, research, and mobile imaging workflows from a singular platform. Visage also offers modular scalability and future-proof flexibility with reporting (Visage 7 | Reporting), enterprise workflow (Visage 7 | Workflow), vendor-neutral archive (Visage 7 | Open Archive) and artificial intelligence (Visage 7 | AI) solutions, all 100% native. https://visageimaging.com 

About Pro Medicus Limited

Pro Medicus Limited [ASX: PME] is Australia’s leading imaging IT provider. Founded in 1983, the company provides a full range of integrated software products and services to hospital, imaging centers and health care groups worldwide. www.promed.com.au 

Visage, Visage Imaging, Visage Ease Pro, Visage Ease, Visage Ease VP, Visage Chat+, Live Connect, One Platform, One Viewer, ANV, CloudPACS.com, Video Reports, Load Balancer, Deep Search, Visage Ix, and Deconstructed PACS are trademarks, registered trademarks and service marks that are licensed by Visage Imaging Inc. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners or licensees.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/visage-amplifies-one-platform-at-rsna-2026-302936522.html

SOURCE Visage Imaging, Inc.

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