Two presentations titled "Pittsburghers Who Make a Difference" will be held at Fox Chapel Area High School to discuss how six local people have contributed to the region.

The presentations, which are open to residents of the school district, will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 25 and May 16 at Fox Chapel Area High School, 611 Field Club Road, O'Hara.

The members of the April 25 panel will be Dan Braddock, a KDKA-TV producer; Chris Fennimore, WQED Multimedia's director of programming and host of "QED Cooks"; and Lawrence Tamburri, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The May 16 panel members will be Dr. Pilar Fish, director of veterinary services and animal programs of the National Aviary; Mary Lee Gannon, president and chief executive officer of Forbes Health Foundation; and Richard Wolk, chief executive officer and founder of RJW Media.

Seating is limited. To attend, district residents should send an e-mail to Lisa_Giguere@fcasd.edu.

Hampton High School's commencement ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. June 6 at Fridley Field.

The district has been discussing the condition of the Fridley Field bleachers, where water runoff has eroded dirt at the base.

An inspection report from Gateway Engineers has stated, "The general condition of the bleachers is good and [they] can be used until the footings are replaced ... ."

The field and bleachers also will be used for spring sports in the weeks before commencement, the district said.

After graduation, work will begin to upgrade the supports, including replacing the concrete footings, power cleaning and painting rusted areas of the steel supports, removing paint from some welds and repairing and repainting welds found to be defective following inspection and testing.

The work is expected to be completed by August, and fall sports will not be affected, the district said.

The water causing the runoff situation also will be redirected.

Amanda Mathieson is the new assistant principal of Marshall Elementary School, and Rachel Fields is the new assistant principal of McKnight Elementary School.

Ms. Fields, a teacher at Peebles Elementary School, has been with the district since 2006. Before that, she taught in the Duquesne School District.

She will receive an annual salary of $79,500 as assistant principal.

She has a bachelor's of science in psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and an elementary education certificate from Chatham College. She also has a master's of education in administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

Ms. Mathieson has worked with the Deer Lakes School District since 2004, serving in an administrative internship since 2007. She will receive an annual salary of $78,500 as an assistant principal.

She is certified in elementary and special education and also as a reading specialist, principal for kindergarten through grade 12 and supervisor of curriculum and instruction.

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The school board has named Guinevere Maximo as supervisor of special education.

The board appointed Ms. Maximo to the position March 26 at an annual salary of $93,000.

She has been a special education supervisor with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit for seven years. Before that, she was the director of special education for the Bethlehem-Center School District and for the Burgettstown Area School District. She also taught in the Brownsville Area School District.

The school board has approved a resolution opposing the proposed statewide graduation competency assessments.

The state Board of Education in January approved requiring high school students to pass six of 10 tests in English, math, social studies and science to be eligible to graduate. The proposal is making its way through the state's regulatory review process. If it is approved, the class of 2014 would be the first affected.

The measure is opposed by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

School districts have cited concerns that include loss of local control, overuse of standardized testing, one-size-fits-all education, cost and time to prepare for the testing.

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The school district is offering evening computer classes for district residents age 18 or older. Classes are taught by district teachers and technology staff members and will be held at North Hills Senior High School, 53 Rochester Road, Ross.

Here is the schedule:

• Microsoft MOUS Certification, 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. Wednesdays, starting Wednesday through May 14, $129 plus a study guide.

• Photoshop 1, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, starting Tuesday through April 29, $79.

• Computer Maintenance, 6 to 8 p.m. April 23, $35.

• Digital Scrapbooking using Photostory 3, 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and April 16, $35.

For information or to register, call 412-318-1000, ext. 1211.

Dr. Patrick DeMeo, medical director for the Pittsburgh Pirates and director of sports medicine at Allegheny General Hospital, will talk to students at Pine-Richland High School next Thursday about careers in medicine.

Dr. Edward Snell, team physician for the Pirates, and other experts in the field also will attend the school's medical day.

Quaker Valley

Lunch will cost a dime more, and the price of breakfast will go up by a nickel for the 2008-09 school year.

The cost of lunch in the district will go from $2.25 to $2.35. The breakfast cost will rise from $1.25 to $1.30.

It's the first increase since 2003, officials said, noting that the district's food service costs have increased by about 3 percent each year since then because of rising costs for supplies and personnel.

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The school board has awarded $243,350 in construction contracts to convert classroom space at the high school into a technology lab and to improve the school's art room.

The work is to be done during the summer. The improvements are being made to address new needs in those subject areas, according to the district.

Several infrastructure upgrades also will be made.

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The school board has approved a new four-year lease agreement with Apple Computer to provide about 1,450 computers and 12 servers to the district.

As one of three Digital School Districts in the state, Quaker Valley provides every high school student and professional staff member in the district with a laptop computer.

The annual cost for the computer lease and other related expenses for the technology initiative total $895,000.

That's an increase of less than 1 percent over the district's current four-year lease, which will expire in June.

Karlton Chapman, director of technology services, conducted focus groups in the district's four schools during the past 18 months to assess the district's needs.

The lease is contingent upon final legal review of the documents.