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  • Rubin Leads District-Wide CTE Training in Philadelphia

    Rubin Leads District-Wide CTE Training in Philadelphia

    It was nothing but (brotherly) love on Tuesday, August 19 in Philadelphia.

    That’s because the Rubin team attended a back-to-school CTE training day at Kensington High School in downtown Philly to train teachers on our Emerge curriculum for employability skills.

    The training, which occurred in the school cafeteria, was fast paced and energetic. Teachers dove into our instruction — which integrates to Google Classroom — and popped up to ask questions and shout out activities they liked (How to notsend an email like a text message).

    We also had the chance to speak with Superintendent Dr. Tony B. Watlington, Sr. and explain the Rubin resources his teachers will use in the 25-26 academic year.

    We are grateful and excited to roll out Emerge across The School District of Philadelphia. Below are photos and videos from the day.

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    Philadelphia automotive teacher Ben Starcheski reviews a Rubin Emerge activity during a training on August 19, 2025.
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    Rubin Founder Danny Rubin smiles with The School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. Tony B. Watlington, Sr. 
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    Philadelphia CTE teacher with her Rubin poster!
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    Rubin Founder Danny Rubin with several CTE teachers in Philadelphia who hold their new Rubin posters!

    Rubin + City of Brotherly Love

  • Rubin Team Kicks Off School Year in Miami, NOVA

    Rubin Team Kicks Off School Year in Miami, NOVA

    The Rubin team was on the move the week of August 11 at back-to-school events with CTE teams in Miami-Dade, Florida and Prince William County, Virginia.

    Within each school district, we engaged with admins, showed teachers how to access Rubin Emerge and Aspire resources and, of course, passed out Rubin posters!

    Here is a selection of photos from the trip.

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    Rubin Founder Danny Rubin smiles with Miami-Dade County Public Schools CTE Director Dr. Lupe Diaz.
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    Miami-Dade CTE teachers discuss ways to use Rubin’s Emerge and Aspire products at the Opening of Schools event.
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    Rubin Founder Danny Rubin poses with Prince William County CTE teachers after his workshop on using Rubin products in Canvas.

    Up and down the East Coast.

  • The School District of Philadelphia to Bring Rubin to All High Schools in 25-26 Academic Year

    The School District of Philadelphia to Bring Rubin to All High Schools in 25-26 Academic Year

    Starting in fall 2025, The School District of Philadelphia will incorporate Rubin Emerge into career and technical education (CTE) courses across all 31 high schools in the city.

    Emerge, the company’s signature curriculum for employability skills, is a broad library of videos, activities and assessments for topics like email/phone etiquette, conversation skills and interview prep.

    Rubin and The School District of Philadelphia, the largest school system in Pennsylvania, piloted Emerge in the 24-25 academic year within selected classrooms. After positive feedback from the initial group of teachers, the CTE department elected to give Emerge to all CTE teachers. The School District of Philadelphia uses Google Classroom as its learning management system (LMS).

    Rubin delivers Emerge, as well as our Aspire career exploration video library, to Google Classroom through a single sign-on connection. In that way, teachers and students don’t use traditional passwords to access the Emerge platform.

    The CTE program in Philadelphia provides hands-on instruction in multiple pathways, including health science, agriculture, automotive and digital technology. Emerge topics (ex: How to leave a voicemail) will be incorporated into the various career courses.

    “We are privileged to work with The School District of Philadelphia, one of the nation’s largest school systems,” said Danny Rubin, founder of Rubin. “We worked hard to build a relationship with city leadership and prove the merits of our instructional content. Now we have an opportunity to help thousands of students across Philadelphia gain the skills and confidence to pursue new opportunities.”

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    Rubin Founder Danny Rubin stands with Michella Lora, director of CTE operations for The School District of Philadelphia. The Rubin company will deliver its Emerge employability skills curriculum to all 31 high schools in the 25-26 academic year.

    Brotherly Love + Rubin = Magic

  • Rubin Adds 8 New School Partners, Enhances Propel with Scoring System

    Rubin Adds 8 New School Partners, Enhances Propel with Scoring System

    During the second half of May, Rubin started to work with eight new school districts or tech centers for our employability skills products. The initial users will be advisors of the student group Business Professionals of America (BPA).

    The BPA advisors experienced a free sample of Rubin Emerge and Aspire and then decided to purchase the full version for their students in the 25-26 academic year.

    The new customers:

    1. Vanguard Tech Center in Fremont, Ohio

    2. Four County Career Center in Archbold, Ohio

    3. West Central Area School District in Barrett, Minnesota

    4. Metropolitan District of North Posey County in North Posey, Indiana

    5. Moscow School District #281 in Moscow, Idaho

    6. Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy in Dallas, Texas

    7. Wichita Public Schools in Wichita, Kansas

    8. Ovid-Elsie Area Schools in Elsie, Michigan

    We look forward to kicking off the relationship in the new school year!

    Coming in fall 2025: Scoring system for student emails

    Students have written emails for decades, but have they ever received a grade in Gmail for the quality of their emails? 

    Starting this fall, our Propel email etiquette tool will provide students with a score out of 100 based on their professionalism (see image below).

    So when a CTE admin tells you, “Student communication skills are so bad these days,” you can turn around and say, “We have a solution!”

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    Stat of the week

    27.9 points

    The nationwide increase in score between Rubin pre- and post-tests for Rubin Emerge units like Email Etiquette-Beginner, Networking Mastery and Job Interview Prep. 

    The national average pre-test score in Emerge is a 62 (out of 100). The national average post-test score is a 90.

    Growth in multiple directions.

  • At Prince William Schools Workshop, Rubin is Glue between CTE, EL

    At Prince William Schools Workshop, Rubin is Glue between CTE, EL

    On April 24 in Prince William County (Northern Virginia), the Rubin team was part of a day-long workshop with CTE teacher leaders to determine ways Rubin employability content can bridge CTE and English Learners curricula.

    Prince William County Schools, the second-largest school district in Virginia, wants to make sure non-native English-speaking students can comprehend and excel at important communication skills for college and career.

    Rubin is privileged to be the resource that sits at the intersection of English Learners objectives and the needs of the CTE community.

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    Prince William County Schools CTE teachers develop a lesson plan that combines a Rubin Emerge activity (ex: How to Leave a Voicemail) with the scaffolding necessary to teach the lesson to a non-native English speaking student.

    Prince William CTE Supervisor Christine Good said it best from her post on LinkedIn:

    “Student achievement begins with adult behaviors.

    When the adults in the room share a compelling vision and actively engage in critical thinking, collaboration, innovation, digital citizenship, and demonstrating resilience through their work, the conversations are rich and the outcomes are powerful. This dynamic team of teacher leaders is committed to creating the conditions for student success within and beyond the classroom!

    The collaboration between the Career and Technical Education (CTE) and the English Learner (EL) Instruction teams is Learning and Achievement for All in action as we prepare all staff members to support and challenge all students.

    Imagine what our classrooms and schools might look like if we shift the conversation from “all students” to “each and every student.” Small shifts leveraging high impact instructional strategies have the power to transform the learning environment for each and every student, every day.

    Special thanks to Grant Bradfield, Katie Min, Danny Rubin, and Shawnell Carmichael for leading a packed and impactful day of learning, and a big shoutout to the entire hashtag#PWCSCTE team Sarah Martin, Ph.D., Tim Vaughan, Nasir Ayoub, Danielle Meyer, Benjamin Stodola, and Diana Collins for working tirelessly behind the scenes to make opportunities like this possible.

    Looking forward to the 2025-26 school year!”

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    Rubin Founder Danny Rubin (center) stands with Prince William County Schools (PWCS) Curriculum Supervisor Christine Good (left) and Supervisor of EL Instruction Kristine Lentz-Johnston. Rubin is collaborating with PWCS to connect workplace readiness skills with the needs of English learners.

    Every student deserve a chance at success.

  • Rubin Trains School Counselors in Las Vegas on Emerge, Aspire Products

    Rubin Trains School Counselors in Las Vegas on Emerge, Aspire Products

    Rubin is a leading provider of employability skills products for teachers, students andcounselors.

    During the week of March 24, 2025, the Rubin team led a series of virtual workshops with elementary school counselors in Clark County School District or CCSD (Las Vegas, NV) on our Emerge and Aspire products. Ashley Leon Ramirez, CCSD elementary counselor specialist, facilitated the workshops.

    Emerge is our signature employability skills curriculum, and Aspire is a growing library of career exploration videos. Both products are available in Canvas, the learning management system CCSD uses to provide instructional content to its more than 300,000 students.

    CCSD is the nation’s fifth largest school system.

    In the workshops, Rubin founder Danny Rubin and Director of Instruction Alexis Kruemcke directed 100+ counselors to locate Rubin Emerge and Aspire in Canvas. The Rubin team then demonstrated how to access a piece of Rubin content within Canvas without signing in traditionally.

    The counselors found value in topics like social media etiquette, email writing, resume help and interview prep.

    Live trainings (virtual or in-person) are a critical part of how Rubin delivers instructional materials to large districts like CCSD or smaller school divisions.

    Book a demo to see Emerge and Aspire in action, and discover why many of the nation’s largest districts choose Rubin for employability skills training.

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    In the image above, Rubin founder Danny Rubin leads a virtual training for elementary school counselors across Clark County School District (Las Vegas, NV), the nation’s fifth-largest school system. Clark County is a Rubin customer and employs our Emerge and Aspire products for employability skills training and career exploration, respectively.

    Fifth largest school district in the nation.

  • Rubin-Trained GA CTAE Student Lands Job During Mock Interviews

    Rubin-Trained GA CTAE Student Lands Job During Mock Interviews

    Whether it’s a mock interview or an actual interview, opportunities can happen.

    That proved true for a Dawson County Schools CTAE student. Dawson County incorporates Rubin’s Emerge curriculum for employability skills into its CTAE curriculum. Students use Emerge units for job interview prep, resumes, cover letters, email etiquette and more.

    Dawson County Schools held a day when employers from the community visited the school to help students practice job interviews. One employer, who manages an insurance company, was so impressed with a particular student’s poise and maturity during the interview, that he hired her for an administrative position on the spot.

    Mind you, the experience was a mock interview. There was no initial plan for job offers.

    The student’s job interview performance speaks to the high-quality instruction students receive through Rubin Emerge.

    Kristy Moore, the work-based learning coordinator in Dawson County, believes Emerge made the difference during the mock interview.

    Rubin = Job offers.

  • Rubin Awards 1,200+ Digital Badges in Sept/Oct 2024

    Rubin Awards 1,200+ Digital Badges in Sept/Oct 2024

    With the 2024-2025 academic year underway, students are busy in Rubin Emerge learning in-demand employability skills.

    At the end of each unit (ex: Email Etiquette — Beginner), students take a post-test. Once students pass the post-test, they earn an Emerge digital badge. So far, students have garnered 1,200+ digital badges for email writing, job outreach strategies, networking, resumes and more.

    Here’s a snapshot:

    • Email Etiquette — Beginner: 383 badges
    • Email Etiquette — Advanced: 172 badges
    • Job Outreach: 106 badges
    • Networking: 86 badges
    • Resume Writing: 78 badges
    • Cover Letter Writing: 52 badges

    Each badge features a QR code that brings the person to this page on the Rubin site. The pages explains the skills students gained to earn the digital badge.

    The badges are ideal for a resume, portfolio, LinkedIn profile and anywhere else students can showcase skills learned.

    Badges abound from Emerge.

  • Teacher Spotlight: For Kyle Bashore, Rubin “Sets the Standard”

    Teacher Spotlight: For Kyle Bashore, Rubin “Sets the Standard”

     

    In Kyle Bashore’s classroom, Rubin isn’t just a curriculum tool.

    Since 2021, Rubin is the standard of excellence his students must strive to meet.

    Bashore is a CTE teacher at Cathedral City High School near Palm Springs, California. He teaches inside the HEAL Academy (Health and Environmental Health Academy of Learning), and he’s also the co-advisor of the school’s HOSA chapter.

    Bashore draws on our Emerge employability skills curriculum and Aspire career exploration video library to ensure his students write and speak like professionals.

    In particular, Bashore has students complete the Emerge Project Management unit to learn how to communicate in a clear, professional manner with teammates.

    “I notice a huge change in formality and consideration of others after the Project Management unit,” said Bashore.

    Bashore integrates Emerge and Aspire through a seamless connection with his Google Classroom. He carefully selects different topics for the health sciences classes he teaches.

    For example:

    General resource throughout his classes: Emerge unit called Email Etiquette-Beginner where students learn to write a proper email.

    For the TAs (teaching assistants): The TAs practice speaking skills through the Emerge unit called Phone Etiquette.

    Emergency Medicine and his HOSA chapter: Emerge units called Project Management and Public Speaking.

    Medical Terminology: Emerge unit called Ethics Discussions for tricky workplace situations.

    Public Health: Emerge unit called Website Content, which guides students to write a business website.

    Bashore also has students search the Aspire career exploration video library to learn about roles in health care (ex: surgical assistant) and also discover cool jobs in fields like STEM, marketing, sports, law and the trades.

    Above all, Bashore relies on Rubin to help him prepare students for the world after high school.

    “At the start of the year, students begrudgingly work on Rubin assignments as if to say, ‘Do I REALLY need this?’” said Bashore. “By the end of the year, I see significant changes in their professionalism. Without me even asking, they hold themselves to a new standard.”

    Thank you, Kyle, for being a wonderful partner in the classroom.

    Check out Rubin Emerge and Aspire for yourself! Free trial available here.

    CA teacher embraces Rubin Emerge and Aspire

  • Irvine USD Creates “Light Bulb Challenge” with Rubin Propel

    Irvine USD Creates “Light Bulb Challenge” with Rubin Propel

    When learning becomes a game, the teachers win and so do their students.

    At Irvine (California) Unified School District, a longtime Rubin partner, students practice their email etiquette through a competition.

    Our Propel tool provides feedback on a student’s email in the form of lightbulbs next to the words that need correction (ex: capitalize a lowercase word if it begins a sentence).

    Special education students in a class called Directed Studies now vie to see who can write an email with the fewest light bulbs (mistakes). The students, all in grades 10-12, have fun while improving their professional skills.

    “We weren’t sure how the students would respond to Propel,” said Career Link Supervisor Renee Melton. “Right away, they found the tool engaging. Plus, Propel helped their emails improve.”

    We love to see how educators incorporate Propel into their instruction. The tool is a simple resource that can be modified in dozens of ways. As long as students strengthen how they communicate with teachers, employers and other adults, we are satisfied!

    Work turns into play in California.