Education, Research & Public Sector

Austin, Texas – – September 29, 2026 -- A new national study of 8,353 family members across 77 colleges and universities finds that philanthropic giving is driven primarily by trust and visible student success rather than direct fundraising appeals. Encoura and CampusESP jointly released the findings from "Drivers of Family Giving: The 2026 National Study," based on data collected in May 2026 through CampusESP's family engagement platform.

Family members ranked trust and relevance above fundraising volume

The research shows that families who feel informed about their student's progress and trust the institution are more likely to engage philanthropically over time. Sarah Kleeberger, senior vice president of consulting fundraising management at Encoura, said the surveyed families made clear that seeing students supported and succeeding builds the foundation for lasting relationships with an institution.

Washington – September 29, 2026 -- The National Park Foundation (NPF) has awarded $4.7 million through its Open OutDoors for Kids program to fund 83 education projects across more than 90 national parks during the 2026-27 school year, marking the program's 15th season.

NPF allocates $4.7 million to 83 grantees for park-based learning

The funding supports field trips, classroom engagements, and virtual learning tied to national parks. The program was created in 2011 with the National Park Service to complement the federal Every Kid Outdoors initiative and address barriers such as transportation costs.

Scottsdale, Ariz. – September 29, 2026 -- The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) will open applications October 1 for its ninth round of massage school grants funded by Massage Envy, offering ten $10,000 awards totaling $100,000. The fall cycle brings Massage Envy's cumulative funding of the program to $550,000.

Massage Envy doubles annual grant capacity in 2026

The program now distributes 10 grants per cycle in both spring and fall, up from five per cycle in prior years, effectively doubling annual grant availability for accredited massage schools.

Accredited schools can apply through October 31

Eligible massage schools must submit an online application via AMTA detailing how grant funds would support school programs and students. The application window runs October 1–31, 2026.

Beijing – – September 29, 2026 -- iHuman Inc. (NYSE: IH) reported a second-quarter net loss of RMB17.5 million (US$2.6 million), reversing a net income of RMB30.7 million in the same period last year, as revenues fell 17.8% to RMB173.4 million (US$25.6 million) from RMB210.9 million.

Revenue Decline Tied to Falling Birth Rates and Cautious Spending

The company attributed the drop directly to China's declining newborn population and more conservative consumer spending. Average total monthly active users fell to 20.72 million from 23.97 million a year earlier, a 13.6% decrease also linked to the demographic downturn.

London – September 29, 2026 -- Pearson (FTSE: PSON.L) has agreed to acquire Workera, an AI-native skills intelligence platform used by enterprises including ServiceNow, Accenture and the United States Space Force to verify workforce capability.

Pearson targets enterprise skills verification gap as AI reshapes workforce needs

Workera combines agentic AI, psychometrics and adaptive assessment to measure employee proficiency through role-specific scenarios and simulations, rather than relying on self-reported skills data. The platform gives business leaders a live baseline of workforce capability, including AI fluency, and routes employees to targeted development that closes specific skill gaps. It also verifies whether skills improved post-training, offering measurable ROI on learning investments, and informs hiring, internal mobility and workforce planning decisions.

New York – – September 28, 2026 -- Florida Tutoring Advantage has selected Littera Education to manage the statewide program's data layer for the 2026-2027 school year, expanding on Littera's role after the 2025-2026 launch.

Littera moves from one of 25 providers to statewide data manager

Littera was one of 25 tutoring service and support providers in the program's launch year. For the upcoming school year, Florida Tutoring Advantage has now chosen Littera specifically to build and operate the data infrastructure aggregating results across more than 15 different tutoring providers statewide.

Washington – September 28, 2026 -- Fifty-two middle school finalists from all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and American Samoa will compete for a $100,000 prize at the third annual National Civics Bee Championship, set for Wednesday, October 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Championship makes broadcast debut on C-SPAN

For the first time, the event will be televised and live-streamed on C-SPAN and C-SPAN.org, as well as YouTube, expanding the competition's reach to a nationwide audience. The show will be hosted by Emmy-nominated actor Jerry O'Connell and produced under executive producer Hilary Crow, with Steven Raff and Caitlin Thomas as co-executive producers.

Irving, Texas – – September 28, 2026 -- Just Right Reader has launched an online informational hub to help school district leaders navigate the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant program, consolidating state funding requirements, allowable uses, and application guidance into a single resource.

CLSD grants fund literacy programs from birth through Grade 12

The federal CLSD program allows districts to develop evidence-based literacy initiatives targeting underserved student populations, requiring investment in activities aligned with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Hub consolidates state-specific requirements and deadlines

District leaders can access links and resources to identify CLSD opportunities, requirements, and timelines specific to their state, alongside an overview of evidence requirements shaping funding decisions.

Bentonville, Ark. – September 28, 2026 -- Heartland Forward and rootEd Alliance are expanding a rural college-and-career advising program into Oklahoma, with plans to reach 10 high schools across 10 rural districts and more than 1,000 students by the 2027-28 school year.

rootEd advisors have already served over 100,000 rural students nationwide

The nonprofit program places trained advisors directly in rural high schools to work one-on-one with students on post-graduation plans, covering college, career credentials, apprenticeships, military service or direct workforce entry. rootEd currently operates in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Alaska, Illinois and Idaho, with Oklahoma added this academic year.

Shanghai – September 28, 2026 -- Mikala Sposito, a 21-year-old welding student from Washtenaw Community College, won a bronze medal at the 48th WorldSkills Competition, becoming the first woman to represent the United States in the Welding skill category.

Nine-member U.S. delegation competes against global field of 1,400

The 2026 WorldSkills USA team, comprising nine SkillsUSA state champions, competed Sept. 22-27 in Shanghai against skilled professionals from 73 countries and regions across 64 skill categories, including seven new emerging occupations.

Two U.S. competitors secure Medal for Excellence with 700+ point scores

Elizabeth Brown, 22, of Missouri, earned the Medal for Excellence in Cooking, ranking among 19 of 45 competitors globally to score above 700 points on the WorldSkills scale. Brown's preparation was backed by Unilever, ZWILLING and Smithfield Foods.