Meet Our Team!
Deb Canja , J.D.
Deb Canja is an experienced success coach and facilitator specializing in personal empowerment and belief-based strategies. With a background in education, law, and personal development coaching, she conducts workshops to help participants achieve breakthrough results. Deb’s professional career has been guided by three core values Empowering others with information and training,
Creative problem-solving while working with available resources, and
Service and contribution.
Lee Porter, Ed.S, MSW
Lee Porter, EdD, MSW with 25 years in education, Lee has held several roles: from principal of an alternative high school, assistant principal of a middle school, student support specialist in a Montessori elementary school, and now his current role as a district-wide student support specialist providing mentoring and guidance to administrators and teaching staff. Throughout all of his roles, his focus has been on finding new and improved ways to address both student and staff needs to meet building and district goals of student success. With a rare combination of insight, effectiveness and out-of-the-box thinking, he regularly offers professional development sessions that leave staff eager for more.
Testimonials
I loved the workshop on “How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies.” It gave me a different way to see teaching.
Jaynean Cornelius,
When Lee presents, he always shares information that’s interesting and that we can actually use with our students.
Karen McKinstry,
Thanks for listening to our concerns. We know you care about how we feel.
Tiffany Gravier,
I always feel you don’t waste our time and have a good understanding of all the issues we deal with in and out of the classroom.
Jennifer Goellner,
The information and interventions and strategies you presented to our staff and parents will be very useful. We always appreciate your work!
Dr. Nathaniel Clay –
Working with Deb has been nothing short of transformational. She has an incredible ability to cut through the noise and focus on what really matters. Her insights are profound, her coaching is powerful, and her guidance will constantly challenge you to align with your true purpose.
Melanie Thomas, –
Deb has an incredible ability to gently guide me to clarity and stay focused on what’s truly possible. Her support has been crucial in reminding me of my strengths and the bigger picture, allowing me to move forward with confidence and purpose, even when doubt crept in.”
Keira Merkovsky, LCSW, PMH-C, Founder of Evolving Mothers-
Professional Development
Who in education would not LOVE to
And all without investing in new programs, new technology, or extra hours of student instruction? You can. Education Activation has an answer. Is it a magic bullet? No, but the results can be extraordinary. Will it solve all problems a school faces? No, but without this ingredient, nothing will ever really change.
Background:
Just a fraction of a school’s student population and parents can take up 80% of school personnel time. And that fraction is growing. Increasing numbers of students struggle to succeed because of barriers created by behavior, disabilities, social needs, absenteeism, poverty, addictions, family dynamics, and even parenthood. As a result, many are unable to focus on exhibiting qualities that ensure success in school, such as acceptance of facts, problem solving skills, creativity, achievement, and respect of self and others. Instead, their attention and energy is focused on more basic needs for food, shelter, sleep, safety and security, and unmet needs for friendship, family and intimacy. According to Maslow, these lower needs must be addressed before learning can occur – a seemingly herculean task as schools find themselves with few tools that work and/or can be easily implemented.
Education Activation equips K–12 educators with strategies to foster certain empowering beliefs in students that can transform classroom dynamics and student outcomes by activating a student’s desire to take personal responsibility to positively direct their own life. Based on lessons learned in the development of The Flying Eagle Formula, Education Activation offers an approach that can give any student the means to overcome any difficulty by focusing on the ONE thing that drives all other change.
The ONE Thing
The Flying Eagle Formula introduces a different and easier approach to raising, teaching and coaching children. Based on actual experience and results, its powerful insights come from 27 years of guiding thousands of young boys through a transformative experience to which, decades later, they credit their success as husbands, fathers, teachers, and business and community leaders. Through Education Activation we empower each child to assume responsibility for themselves, help them see a new future, and permanently change their behavior and focus.
In a dynamic half-day, interactive program filled with engaging exercises that lead to both professional and personal growth, Success4Kids introduces the Formula and the easy ways it can be incorporated into daily interactions with students. Participants hear how the latest research on student achievement validates the Education Activation approach and have the opportunity to reflect, connect, collaborate, troubleshoot potential issues, share knowledge, and collectively problem-solve with other school personnel leading to greater engagement, growth, and retention of the strategies.
Professional Development
Who in education would not LOVE to
And all without investing in new programs, new technology, or extra hours of student instruction? You can. Education Activation has an answer. Is it a magic bullet? No, but the results can be extraordinary. Will it solve all problems a school faces? No, but without this ingredient, nothing will ever really change.
Background:
Just a fraction of a school’s student population and parents can take up 80% of school personnel time. And that fraction is growing. Increasing numbers of students struggle to succeed because of barriers created by behavior, disabilities, social needs, absenteeism, poverty, addictions, family dynamics, and even parenthood. As a result, many are unable to focus on exhibiting qualities that ensure success in school, such as acceptance of facts, problem solving skills, creativity, achievement, and respect of self and others. Instead, their attention and energy is focused on more basic needs for food, shelter, sleep, safety and security, and unmet needs for friendship, family and intimacy. According to Maslow, these lower needs must be addressed before learning can occur – a seemingly herculean task as schools find themselves with few tools that work and/or can be easily implemented.
Education Activation is a new approach to teaching that focuses on the one thing proven to make a long-term, sustainable difference in student behavior, motivation, and academic success – a student’s personal beliefs about what they can and can’t do. Research repeatedly shows that student beliefs about themselves significantly influence their academic performance and behavior.
Education Activation equips K–12 educators with strategies to foster certain empowering beliefs in students that can transform classroom dynamics and student outcomes by activating a student’s desire to take personal responsibility to positively direct their own life. Based on lessons learned in the development of The Flying Eagle Formula, Education Activation offers an approach that can give any student the means to overcome any difficulty by focusing on the ONE thing that drives all other change.
The ONE Thing
What we think of ourselves and what we believe is possible governs everything we do on a daily basis and all of our future plans. Our behavior, interactions with others, confidence, motivation, and mental state are all controlled by our thoughts about ourselves. While these thoughts may be triggered by the actions of others, the fact remains that what is “triggered” is an existing belief. These beliefs start forming from our earliest moments. By the time a child reaches school, they may have picked up a number of unfortunate beliefs that affect their daily behavior.
A change in those beliefs will change behavior, motivation, and the ability to exhibit self-control and self-mastery. And it is possible to bring about a transformative change in those beliefs with a simple change in our focus when we interact with kids.
The Flying Eagle Formula introduces a different and easier approach to raising, teaching and coaching children. Based on actual experience and results, its powerful insights come from 27 years of guiding thousands of young boys through a transformative experience to which, decades later, they credit their success as husbands, fathers, teachers, and business and community leaders. Through Education Activation we empower each child to assume responsibility for themselves, help them see a new future, and permanently change their behavior and focus.
Popular Workshops for Educators
Education Activation: Unlocking Personal Responsibility in Students
Through Empowered Mindsets
1) Increase School Success with the Flying Eagle Formula
Popular Workshops for Educators
If you are interested in a workshop opportunity for your school, please reach out here and our team will connect with you.
Popular Workshops for Educators
If you are interested in a workshop opportunity for your school, please reach out here and our team will connect with you.
The Flying Eagle Formula
Are you a child’s biggest confidence killer? You don’t have to be. Yet it often happens despite our best intentions. But, there IS a solution. By simply keeping focused on The ONE thing that drives all other results, we can give a child the foundation he or she needs for a happy, confident and purpose-filled life with the strength to withstand the most difficult social and emotional challenges. Achieving success and abundance in life starts with our opinion of ourselves and what we believe is possible. Nurturing self-confidence and a positive self-image in young children is the goal of The Flying Eagle Formula, a different and easier approach to raising, teaching and coaching children. How? By understanding how to help them develop a success mindset.
For adults and children alike a success mindset is these rock solid beliefs
- people like and respect me,
- I bring happiness to others,
- I can succeed at whatever I put my mind to,
- I can take care of myself and others and thrive.
What would life have been like if you’d had these beliefs from your earliest days? What we believe about ourselves is the most powerful force determining our present and future happiness, our confidence, and our willingness to try new things and pursue our dreams. It’s the single most important factor that creates a joy-filled life. And it is surprisingly easy to nurture in a child the foundation for continued success in life. Based on expertise spanning generations and over 60 years of results from work with over 3,000 boys, The Flying Eagle Formula shows how to develop these beliefs whether you are a parent, a teacher, a coach or anyone raising or mentoring children.
Through online training and in-person workshops, participants discover:
- Why learning this formula is the BIGGEST needle-mover (even if you think a child is too young or too old);
- How to recognize opportunities everywhere and why the answer doesn’t require expensive schooling or the latest toy;
- The single biggest mistake that holds children back (and keeps them from ever achieving the success you want for them);
- Easy-to-do actions and activities that make an immediate difference;
- How to go from hoping you are doing a good enough job to knowing you are focused on the ONE thing that really matters;
- The right interventions to use to make sure your time with a child, no matter how brief, will have the lasting positive effect that leads to success;
- Why rules can lead to failure;
- Why what you do is not as important as why you are doing it. The Flying Eagle Formula just works!
Through online training and in-person workshops, participants discover:
- Where to Find Help For a Child
- Top 10 Advocacy Tips for Parents
-
How to Build a Child’s Success Mindset, Unleash Their Confidence and Give Them the Foundation for a
Great Life - Partners, Not Opponents: Tips for Successful Communication with Your Child’s School
Bridges4Kids
Raising and teaching children with disabilities and/or unique or special needs is challenging. Bridges4Kids was founded over 20 years ago to help parents find the information they need to help the kids they love and to help parents and schools better navigate difficult situations and work together for student success.
The Bridges4Kids website covers topics ranging from specific disability information to gifted resources, bullying, homework help, early intervention, lead poisoning, and a state-by-state list of resources. The website also contains Professional Development information for teachers and, one of its most popular resources, the very comprehensive “Goal Bank”- a huge collection of nearly 5,000 skill and behavior targets in 12 different areas of school and life learning.
Bridges4Kids is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit that operates as a public service. It does not accept paid ads or place paid articles designed to drive traffic to specific business or vendors.
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Contact Us
- Success4Kids
2025 Central Park Dr. Unit 285 Okemos, MI 48805
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