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Dallas County students make gains and show broad-based progress across STAAR End-of-Course assessments

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Strong growth in Algebra I and Biology highlights progress in courses critical to college and career success

DALLAS, June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) assessment results for the 2025-26 school year, offering an important snapshot of how students across Texas are progressing toward key academic milestones tied to postsecondary readiness and long-term economic opportunity.

Dallas County grew the percentage of students meeting grade level standard by 7 points across all EOC assessments, outpacing the state’s growth of 5 percentage points.

Across Dallas County, students demonstrated growth across all five EOC assessments, with 14 of the county’s 15 largest school systems increasing their overall percentage of students meeting grade levels across EOCs. Of those 15 systems, 7 surpassed the growth seen by the state.

“These results reflect years of sustained, intentional work across our school systems,” said Miguel Solis, President of The Commit Partnership. “Across Dallas County, district leaders, campus leaders, and teachers are increasingly aligned around what matters most for student success, particularly in high school.”

“Through stronger collaboration, a shared commitment to ensuring students have access to rigorous, grade-level instruction throughout their academic journey, and clearer pathways to college and career success, districts are creating more coherent experiences that support student achievement,” Solis continued. “The improvements we are seeing on EOCs are the result of this long-term focus on high-quality teaching and learning.”

Growth was particularly strong in Algebra I and Biology. Since 2025, Dallas County students achieved an increase of 9 percentage points in Algebra 1 proficiency and an increase of 12 percentage points in Biology proficiency at the “meets grade level” standard.

The encouraging trends in Algebra I and Biology are especially notable given the role both courses play in preparing students for success after high school. Research demonstrates that students who complete Algebra I in 8th grade are more likely to enroll in and persist in postsecondary education, which is linked to higher lifetime earnings.

Today’s release doesn’t provide the grade level of the Algebra 1 testers; however, many Dallas County districts have implemented policies to increase the number of students accessing the course in middle school so it’s encouraging to see the results trending in this direction. Additionally, Biology provides foundational knowledge for many healthcare and STEM pathways, sectors that remain among the largest and fastest-growing employers in the Dallas region.

Looking ahead, House Bill 8, enacted during the second special session of the 89th Texas Legislature, will expand the tools available to school systems for monitoring student progress throughout the academic year. Although the legislation eliminates the English II EOC assessment beginning in 2027–28, it also authorizes optional beginning- and middle-of-year assessments in the remaining EOC subjects that are aligned to state standards. These assessments can help educators identify and address learning gaps earlier, enabling more timely interventions and better preparation for end-of-year assessments.

The EOC results released this week represent the first installment of a broader picture of student outcomes that will continue to emerge throughout June as STAAR results become available for grades 3–8. The Commit Partnership will continue analyzing the data to better understand where students are making progress, where challenges remain, and what practices may help accelerate long-term student success across Dallas County.

TEA makes statewide assessment data publicly available, and the information is often shared through reports and data files that require time, context, and technical expertise to fully interpret. The Commit Partnership translates that data into accessible insights that can be more easily understood and used to inform decisions that support student success.

Commit’s 2025–26 STAAR Results Data Dashboard turns complex state data into accessible, visual insights that allow educators, policymakers, funders, and community leaders to compare results across places, student groups, subjects, and years. We also provide additional views of the data that are especially relevant to local decision-makers, including county-level trends, regional comparisons, legislative districts, and other groupings that are not always easy to see through state reporting alone.

“Data is most useful when people can understand it and act on it,” Chelsea Jeffery, Chief of Strategy, Insights & Talent at The Commit Partnership. “As a third-party nonprofit, Commit works alongside partners to interpret analysis and mine for insights that help align everyone to what these results mean and how we can scale what works for students.”

Commit’s dashboard reporting initial insights and results of STAAR EOC Results for Dallas County can be found here.

Read more about Commit’s analysis of STAAR EOC Results for Dallas County on its Latest Learnings blog here.

About The Commit Partnership
The Commit Partnership aims to break the cycle of poverty in Dallas County by examining its numerous root causes and working with others to remove systemic barriers to opportunity for all students. Commit Partnership discovers robust data insights and activates them through trusted relationships to innovate systems and unlock public funding in ways that address the root causes creating current student outcomes. Commit Partnership’s true north goal is that, by 2040, at least half of all 25–34-year-old residents in Dallas County, irrespective of race, will earn a living wage.

For more information, connect with Commit Partnership at communications@commitpartnership.org and on social media.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dallas-county-students-make-gains-and-show-broad-based-progress-across-staar-end-of-course-assessments-302797049.html

SOURCE The Commit Partnership

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EVNIA Launches Three High Refresh-Rate Gaming Monitors for Japan’s Summer Promotion

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June 11, 2026

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TOKYO, June 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EVNIA, Philips’ specialist gaming display brand, has unveiled three new high-refresh gaming monitors for Japanese users, catering to casual gamers, competitive enthusiasts and professional creators to satisfy summer gaming and content creation demands.

The star of the lineup is the flagship 27-inch 27M2N6501L/11 QD-OLED model, engineered to balance elite competitive gaming and professional creative workflows. Its quantum dot self-emissive panel delivers a staggering 1,500,000:1 contrast ratio, native 10-bit color depth, alongside 98% Adobe RGB, 99% DCI-P3 and 147.5% sRGB wide color gamut coverage, rendering vivid, true-to-life colors with seamless tonal gradients. An integrated graphene heat dissipation layer effectively curbs panel burn-in and color degradation, maintaining consistent visual quality through hours of continuous use.

Equipped with a 240Hz refresh rate and ultra-low 0.03ms GTG response time, the flagship drastically reduces motion blur and ghosting for fluid gameplay. Certified NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible and AMD FreeSync Premium, plus HDMI 2.1 connectivity, it delivers tear-free, low-latency visuals across FPS, racing and 3A games, with seamless compatibility for PCs, PlayStation 5 and other mainstream consoles. Factory pre-calibrated to Delta E < 2, it excels for graphic design, photo retouching and video color grading, while the MultiView split-screen function enables dual-input simultaneous display to boost multitasking efficiency.

Philips exclusive SoftBlue technology filters damaging short-wave blue light without skewing color accuracy, relieving eye fatigue during long gaming or editing sessions. AI-enhanced Ambiglow ambient lighting analyzes on-screen visuals in real time to match surrounding backlight tones, greatly elevating immersive gaming and streaming experiences. Its minimalist white ergonomic stand supports 130mm height adjustment, ±90° portrait pivot and horizontal swivel, paired with comprehensive ports including dual HDMI 2.1, DP 1.4 and a USB 3.2 fast-charging hub. Aligned with eco-friendly standards, the monitor incorporates 35% recycled plastic in its chassis and comes with fully recyclable RoHS-compliant packaging.

Rounding out the product portfolio are the 27-inch 27M2N3501PA/11 and 24-inch 24M2N3201P/11. All three new releases feature a minimum 240Hz refresh rate, covering entry-level home entertainment and commercial professional usage scenarios to match diverse user budgets and requirements.

Full product specifications and details are available at https://evniapromotion.co.jp/

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/evnia-launches-three-high-refresh-rate-gaming-monitors-for-japans-summer-promotion-302795993.html

SOURCE EVNIA

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Insta360 Launches Luna Ultra: Leica Co-Engineered Gimbal Camera Built for Next-Generation Mobile Filmmaking

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June 11, 2026

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SYDNEY, June 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Insta360 announced Luna Ultra, its flagship gimbal camera co-engineered with Leica, built to combine professional imaging, 3-axis stabilization, and flexible creative tools in one portable device.

Featuring a dual-lens design with a pro-grade telephoto lens, it’s built for everyday creators and mobile filmmakers.

With 1″ 8K imaging, Leica Summicron lenses, a detachable OLED touchscreen, and advanced AI-powered tracking, Luna Ultra brings Insta360’s imaging expertise into a new category for creators who want smooth, high-quality video and photos wherever they go.

Advanced Imaging and Optics

Luna Ultra features a Leica Summicron lens paired with a 1″ 8K sensor for high-resolution video and photo capture, and a secondary telephoto lens system with a 1/1.3″ sensor and F2.0 aperture, enabling natural bokeh across five focal lengths, with up to 12× zoom, including 6× lossless zoom.

“Luna Ultra marks Insta360’s arrival in the gimbal camera space, backed by the full strength of our imaging expertise. We believe this category is ready for a new standard, defined by smarter technology, stronger performance, and a more intuitive user experience.” — Max Richter, VP of Marketing and Co-Founder of Insta360.

Video capabilities include 8K30fps recording with Dolby Vision and 10-bit I-Log capture for greater color information and flexibility in post-production and up to 14 stops of dynamic range for richer detail in highlights and shadows. For photography, Luna Ultra supports 37MP UltraPhotos and 200MP Scenic Panorama photos.

Low-light performance is enhanced by PureVideo Mode, reducing noise and improving brightness and detail up to 4K60fps. Luna Ultra also features a Triple AI Chip to support advanced image processing and overall performance.

 

Design and Stabilization

At just over 200g, Luna Ultra offers a compact, lightweight design for easy everyday carry.

An industry-first detachable 2″ OLED touchscreen enables remote monitoring and control with HD transmission up to 20 meters, supporting flexible shooting angles and solo capture.

A 1550mAh battery delivers up to four hours of use, with fast charging to 80% in approximately 23 minutes. Built-in storage provides 47GB of usable space, with support for up to 1TB via microSD.

A 3-axis stabilization system, combined with electronic image stabilization, ensures smooth footage during movement. Deep Track 5.0 enables precise subject tracking, including Auto Tracking, Active Zoom Tracking, Group Tracking, and Smart Framing.

Creative Tools and Professional Workflow

Luna Ultra incorporates Leica color profiles, including Leica Natural, Leica Vivid, and Leica Chrome, alongside a range of cinematic filters for flexible in-camera looks. It also supports professional color workflows, including ACES.

Built-in timecode enables multi-camera synchronization and supports editing in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. Additional tools include QR Color Share for sharing color settings between devices and AI-assisted editing in the Insta360 app.

For audio, Luna Ultra features a built-in wind guard for clearer outdoor recording, along with direct compatibility with Insta360 Mic systems for single or dual-transmitter setups.

A dedicated accessory lineup further expands creative options, including a POV Head Tracker for hands-free capture, Black Mist filters for cinematic diffusion, a Wide-Angle Lens that expands the field of view to 108°, and ND Filters for exposure control and motion blur.

A Six-Year Partnership in Imaging Innovation

Insta360’s partnership with Leica spans six years and five co-developed products, combining Leica’s optical heritage and iconic color science with Insta360’s Emmy Award-winning imaging technology. With Luna Ultra, the two companies bring that collaboration into a new category, pairing professional optics with compact, AI-powered gimbal camera design.

Luna Ultra was unveiled at Leica’s Headquarters in Wetzlar, underscoring the close partnership behind Insta360’s first Leica co-engineered gimbal camera.

“This launch represents more than a new product announcement. It reflects the shared vision and long-term collaboration between Insta360 and Leica, combining optical heritage with a new generation of intelligent imaging technology.” — Marius Eschweiler, VP of Business Unit Mobile at Leica Camera AG.

Availability & Pricing

Luna Ultra is now available in Australia via the Insta360 Store, Amazon, JB Hi-Fi, and selected retailers, with pricing starting at AU$1,229.99, in Cosmic Black and Stellar White.

About Insta360

With a “Think bold” mindset, Insta360 empowers people to capture and share their lives in extraordinary ways. Recognized as a market leader and innovator, Insta360’s vast lineup includes the world’s best-selling 360 cameras in the X Series, the pocket-sized GO Series for everyday capture, as well as an extensive range of action cameras, gimbals, webcams, and professional photography solutions. With intuitive, AI-powered software, Insta360 simplifies the creative process, allowing users to focus on storytelling without technical barriers. Insta360 is dedicated to helping a new generation of athletes, creatives, travelers and professionals bring their ideas to life.

For more details visit: http://www.insta360.com
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insta360.anz/
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/insta360

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/insta360-launches-luna-ultra-leica-co-engineered-gimbal-camera-built-for-next-generation-mobile-filmmaking-302796917.html

SOURCE Insta360

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Orqa Unveils the MRM2-10AI at Eurosatory: A Tactical Drone Designed to Dominate in the Age of Electronic Warfare

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June 11, 2026

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Onboard compute platform ready to run customer supplied or third party AI modelsHybrid communications architecture with IRONghost radio control and native fibre optic plus automatic failoverVision based terminal guidance for GNSS-denied operationsOptional advanced thermal imaging

PARIS, June 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Orqa – Europe’s leading developer and manufacturer of drones made without Chinese components – today announces the launch of the MRM2-10AI, a next-generation tactical drone purpose-built for contested battlefield environments and the realities of modern electronic warfare.

With armed forces increasingly facing radio-frequency jamming, GNSS disruption, and electronic attack, the MRM2-10AI sets a new standard in resilient communications, intelligent autonomy, and mission continuity, enabling it to succeed where conventional drone systems struggle.

At the heart of the platform is a hybrid communications architecture combining Orqa’s proven IRONghost radio control system with native fiber-optic integration and automatic communications failover. This enables the MRM2-10AI to use either communication method without platform reconfiguration and instantly transition to the radio-frequency link if the fiber-optic connection is broken.

The MRM2-10AI features a powerful new Auto Pilot Board that unlocks a series of cutting-edge autonomous capabilities, including vision-based terminal guidance for GNSS-denied operations, advanced computer vision applications, battlefield analytics, and collaborative multi-drone operations.

A fully open development architecture and a supported third-party Developer Program (developer.orqafpv.com) provides a foundation for AI capabilities and software solutions, while ATAK compatibility supports seamless integration with existing battlefield management and situational awareness systems.

“As the nature of warfare continues to evolve, drone operators require systems that can remain effective in contested spaces,” said Srdjan Kovacevic, co-founder and CEO of Orqa. “The MRM2-10AI combines resilient communications, onboard intelligence, and autonomous capability in a platform designed to keep missions moving. It represents the next step in tactical drone capability for today’s armed forces.”

Available in multiple configurations to meet a variety of mission requirements – including variants equipped with advanced thermal imaging and enhanced processing capabilities – the MRM2-10AI is being officially launched at Eurosatory 2026, the global event for defence and security in Paris.

SOURCE Orqa d.o.o.

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