Education, Research & Public Sector

Phoenix – September 17, 2026 -- Ninety-eight percent of managers who directly supervise University of Phoenix graduates report overall satisfaction with those employees, and 97% say they would likely hire another University of Phoenix graduate in the future, according to new research from The Harris Poll commissioned by the university.

Harris Poll surveys 408 U.S. managers to benchmark employer experience

The Harris Poll conducted an online survey from June 4-25, 2026, among 204 U.S. managers supervising at least one University of Phoenix graduate and 204 managers supervising graduates from other colleges and universities. Of 1,796 individuals contacted, 96% met screening requirements (n=1,728), and 24% of the qualified sample completed the survey. Results carry a Bayesian credible interval of ±8.6 percentage points for the University of Phoenix group and ±8.0 percentage points for the benchmark group at a 95% confidence level.

Salt Lake City – – September 17, 2026 -- Instructure, maker of Canvas LMS, has appointed Stephan Geering as chief privacy officer to lead its global data privacy programs and AI regulatory compliance efforts. Geering brings more than 20 years of experience in data privacy, risk management and public policy across technology, financial services and government sectors.

Geering will vet AI features for privacy and safety risks before customer release

In his new role, Geering will work across Instructure's legal, security and product teams to set requirements for how new products handle learner and educator data. He will oversee the evaluation of AI features for data privacy and safety risks prior to deployment and lead the company's response to emerging AI regulation worldwide.

Denver – September 17, 2026 -- Procare Solutions has acquired Playground, an all-in-one child care management platform serving more than 5,000 programs nationwide, expanding its footprint among the 40,000-plus centers it already serves.

Procare adds Playground's AI assistant Camber to its product suite

Playground's flagship tool, Camber, is described as the first AI assistant built specifically for child care operations. The platform also integrates marketing, enrollment, billing, subsidy management and payroll functions into a single system.

Roper Technologies-owned Procare extends 30-year presence with deal

Procare Solutions, a business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), has operated in child care management software for more than three decades. CEO Joe Gomes said the acquisition reflects continued investment in tools supporting center growth and reducing administrative workload for operators.

Allentown, Pennsylvania – September 17, 2026 -- Women in Science Demonstrating Outstanding Merits (WISDOM) will convene its third annual Connecting Our Talents: Women in STEM event on Oct. 8, 2026, at Lehigh University's Iacocca Conference Center, running from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Event pairs Lehigh Valley students with industry professionals to address AI's growing role in STEM careers

The gathering will bring together college students from across the Lehigh Valley with STEM industry professionals for networking and project showcases. A new format element this year requires each student presenter to spend one minute explaining how they incorporated artificial intelligence into their work, or explaining why they did not.

Sukhothai – – September 17, 2026 -- A sports court renovated by STARCARES at Ban Nam Lat School in Sukhothai, Thailand, now functions as a dual-use facility, serving 62 students on weekdays and roughly 600 residents from 180 households on weekends.

Renovated court shifts from single-use to community asset

The facility supports physical education for Ban Nam Lat School's 62 students during the week, then opens to neighbouring villagers once classes end and on weekends. STARCARES designed the transition intentionally, given that rural schools in Sukhothai often double as the only nearby recreational infrastructure available to local households.

Phoenix – September 16, 2026 -- University of Phoenix's College of Doctoral Studies will convene its 13th annual Knowledge Without Boundaries Summit on October 22-23, 2026, a fully online research conference featuring more than 90 research and scholarship presentations across disciplines.

Summit centers on research amid uncertainty and disruption

Co-sponsored by the Research and Scholarship Enterprise (RSE) and the College of Doctoral Studies, the event is themed "Research as Sense-Making in Times of Uncertainty" and titled "Exploring Scholarship, Society and Change." The interdisciplinary program addresses research practices during crisis and transition, methodological innovation amid data ambiguity, research ethics in high-stakes environments, and digital methods including artificial intelligence and algorithmic sense-making.

New York – September 16, 2026 -- Scholarship America has distributed $193 million to 3,877 students through the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund over the 25 years since the fund's creation in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.

Fund draws support from more than 20,000 donors including Citi and Strada Education Foundation

Scholarship America helped establish the fund in the direct aftermath of the 2001 attacks and has administered it continuously since, targeting children who lost a parent or whose parent became permanently disabled as a result of the attacks and subsequent recovery efforts. More than 20,000 individuals, corporations, foundations, and organizations have contributed to the fund, with Citi and Strada Education Foundation named as longtime supporters.

Ham Lake, Minnesota – September 16, 2026 -- DaVinci Academy of Arts and Science, a tuition-free K-8 charter school, will be featured in an upcoming Public Television segment of "All Access hosted by Andy Garcia," examining how data-driven instruction and integrated arts-science curricula close achievement gaps in primary education.

Broadcast to film on-site at Ham Lake campus, targeting achievement gaps

The segment will be shot at the academy's Ham Lake, Minnesota campus and will document how charter governance structures allow educators to implement targeted academic strategies. Producers will examine how blending arts and sciences into core curricula addresses conventional learning hurdles across all grade levels.

San Francisco – September 16, 2026 -- The International School of San Francisco has completed a full renovation of its 177,000-square-foot Hayes Valley campus, marking the project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 9. The 64-year-old institution, the largest secular independent school in the city, converted a former Caltrans structure built in 1948 into a modernized educational facility spanning an entire city block.

Over 300 windows replaced to boost energy efficiency and natural light

The renovation included the replacement of more than 300 windows, installation of a modernized HVAC system, and redesigned lower and middle school classrooms. Faculty and staff workspaces were also reconfigured as part of the overhaul.

Orem, Utah – September 16, 2026 -- Agilix Labs said its BusyBee AI assistant has now graded 6 million K-12 student submissions, returning roughly 150,000 hours of grading time to teachers, with monthly volume already running near 1 million submissions and a seventh million expected within weeks.

Written feedback rates nearly triple when BusyBee assists grading

Across more than 2.5 million submissions processed on the Buzz platform over the past two weeks, only 29% of assignments graded without BusyBee received a written comment from teachers. Of those graded with BusyBee's assistance, 84% received one. Agilix framed the gap as evidence that teachers already want to give feedback on every submission but lack the time to do so manually.