Charles Barkley donates to New Orleans school after students’ math achievement

St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans received its first disbursement of $100,000 from Barkley. In a press release Wednesday, the school said it will continue to receive the donation in installments over the next decade.

The two students who solved the theorem are Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson, both graduates of the academy and now at the university. The pair solved the Pythagorean theorem, which has puzzled mathematicians for nearly two centuries.

A representative for the Charles Barkley Foundation said in a statement that the nonprofit is committed to “transforming future generations through education and opportunity.”