Public Sector, Education & Research

San Francisco – October 19, 2026 -- IXL Learning has acquired NoRedInk, an English language arts platform used by 9 in 10 U.S. school districts since its launch, adding a writing-instruction product with near-national district penetration to its education portfolio.

The source does not disclose financial terms. Tucker Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to NoRedInk.

NoRedInk will keep its brand and operate independently under IXL

NoRedInk will continue as an independent brand, and teachers and students will see no disruption to the platform, according to the announcement. IXL Learning will back the business with its resources and scale to bring writing instruction to more classrooms.

IXL CEO Paul Mishkin said NoRedInk earned its place in classrooms through word of mouth from educators. NoRedInk founder and CEO Jeff Scheur said he is excited about what the two companies will accomplish together.

SAN FRANCISCO – October 19, 2026 -- Avive has deployed 27 Avive Connect AEDs across five campuses of Affton School District in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, replacing a mixed fleet of legacy devices with one standardized, connected program. The district serves roughly 2,500 students and 400 staff, plus the parents, volunteers and visitors who use its facilities.

Affton replaces four or five AED models with a single system

Before the rollout, buildings held four or five different AED models, with inconsistent signage, separate adult and pediatric pads, and a monthly maintenance routine that fell to school nurses. Adam Jasinski, the district's Executive Director of Operations, said that having to identify the model and physically swap in pediatric pads could delay time to shock.

Bridgeport – October 19, 2026 -- The University of Bridgeport (UB) and CYBER.ORG have launched a national partnership that lets high school students earn college credit and industry-recognized credentials in cybersecurity, the first time CYBER.ORG's curriculum has been paired with a university partner to create an early college pathway.

UB faculty will convert CYBER.ORG curricula into college-level coursework

UB faculty and academic leaders will work with CYBER.ORG to adapt its existing cybersecurity curricula into college-level courses and build the academic framework. The program draws on UB's ABET-accredited School of Engineering, which includes cybersecurity and artificial intelligence programs, and on hands-on learning in the Interdisciplinary Emerging Technologies (IET) Lab.

North Little Rock – October 17, 2026 -- Highland County and Bath County, Virginia, went live on Caliber Hosted CAD on October 6 in a shared hosted environment, putting two neighboring rural dispatch centers on one platform across more than 900 square miles of mountainous terrain, Caliber Public Safety announced.

Each county keeps its own dispatch operation, configuration, workflows and local control. Both run on the same underlying platform, which removes the technical barriers that normally separate CAD systems in adjacent jurisdictions.

Shared tenant targets cross-county incidents in a sparsely staffed region

Highland County covers roughly 416 square miles and has about 2,300 residents. Bath County covers more than 500 square miles and has about 4,100 residents. Both are largely forested and mountainous, with few dispatchers and responders on any shift, and mutual aid is routine.

Lakeland, Fla. – October 17, 2026 -- Florida Southern College dedicated its Army ROTC building in honor of alumnus Lt. Gen. Donald L. Kerrick on Friday, following a gift from Kerrick that funds significant renovations and equipment upgrades for the Moccasin Battalion.

The facility is now the Lt. Gen. Donald L. Kerrick Building. The investment is intended to enhance training facilities and resources for future military officers.

Kerrick's career spans combat, the White House and Dayton

Kerrick graduated from Florida Southern in 1971 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. His career included combat assignments in Southeast Asia and Operation Desert Storm. In 2000, he was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor to the President of the United States. He also served on the U.S. Balkans Peacekeeping Delegation, which helped negotiate the Dayton Peace Agreement ending the war in Bosnia.

Los Angeles – October 17, 2026 -- The University of Southern California will launch its first bottom-up redesign of undergraduate general education in decades, President Beong-Soo Kim announced at his installation as the university's 13th president at the University Park campus.

Kim sets three priorities for USC's next phase

Kim's vision centers on reimagining education for a rapidly changing world, combining USC's academic and research strengths to address major societal challenges, and deepening partnerships with industry and communities to expand the university's impact.

He also called for more experiential learning and immersive experiences, greater interdisciplinary collaboration, and stronger links with the industries and communities that make Los Angeles a global center of innovation.

San Antonio – October 16, 2026 -- PayrollOrg will host its 39th Annual Educational Institutions Payroll Conference (EIPC) October 18–21, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio, gathering payroll professionals from colleges and universities across the United States to address AI, legislation and financial compliance.

AI and regulatory change drive the EIPC agenda

Dan Maddux, Executive Director of PayrollOrg, said higher education payroll teams "can't afford to fall behind" as regulations evolve and artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace.

Sessions will cover AI in payroll, federal and state legislative developments, payroll and data governance, nonresident alien taxation, and IRS fringe benefit regulations specific to higher education.

Salt Lake City – October 16, 2026 -- BorboletaPro has acquired Dulce Lash Artistry and been named preferred lash and brow education partner of Paul Mitchell Advanced Education (PMAE), giving it a route into the Paul Mitchell Schools network nationwide.

Under the arrangement, BorboletaPro will supply its professional products, specialized curriculum and hands-on training across the school network. The company said the initiative is designed to link traditional cosmetology and esthetics education with specialized lash and brow skills. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Phoenix – October 16, 2026 -- University of Phoenix put three conference sessions on credit for prior learning (CPL), skills recognition and microcredentials in front of higher education leaders at 2026 Convergence: Credential Innovation in Higher Education, held Oct. 13-15 in Washington, D.C.

Marc Booker, PhD., vice provost of Strategy, and Cate Tolnai, director of Microcredentials & Innovation Credential Strategy, represented the university. UPCEA and AACRAO jointly presented the annual conference, which focuses on credentialing, learner mobility and workforce-aligned education.

Booker and Tolnai detail a CPL-to-skills-to-microcredential workflow

The two co-presented "Connecting Value Chains for Mobility: CPL to Skills to Microcredentials." Drawing on University of Phoenix practices and findings, the session outlined a process linking life experiences, education and career pathways through CPL-to-skills-to-microcredential workflows.

Sacramento – October 16, 2026 -- The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) will open its state application portal for the federal Workforce Pell (WFP) Grant on October 21, allowing colleges and career technical education providers to seek state authorization for eligibility starting in the 2026-27 academic year.

CSAC acts as the state gatekeeper under Senate Bill 135

Under Senate Bill 135, CSAC is the designated state agency that decides whether an institution's short-term program meets state and federal requirements. It consults the California Workforce Development Board and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Programs deemed eligible are then submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for final approval. ED notifies institutions of their eligibility, after which students can receive grants through campus financial aid offices.