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Tag: email etiquette
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.”
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
300+ BPA Advisors Request End-of-Year Activities from Rubin
As they say, timing is everything.
In early May, Rubin offered a digital pack of 10 free employability activities to advisors of the national student group, Business Professionals of America (BPA).
Business Professionals of America is the premier CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organization) for students pursuing careers in business management, information technology, finance, office administration, health administration and other related career fields.
The free offer went out to the BPA advisors on May 6 and, within hours, 300+ advisors requested the resources. It’s often a challenge for teachers to fill class time at the end of the school year, and Rubin is right there to provide high-quality instruction.
Topics from the end-of-year activity packet include:
– How to understand the difference between a text message and an email
– How to write work experience professionally on a resume
– How to email your teacher politely for a reference letter
We are always happy to be a just-in-time resource for teachers and advisors around the country. And we are grateful for our ongoing partnership with BPA.
Timing is everything.
Johnston County (NC) Students Pilot Updated Version of Propel
Our thanks to a class of 9th grade students at Johnston County (North Carolina) Public Schools for piloting the latest version of our Propel email etiquette tool for Gmail.
We provided the students with an upgraded version of Propel on Monday, April 21 and gained feedback on Monday, April 28.
The overall takeaways:
– The students like the new Propel version and how it gives more tailored examples for the email message.
– The students also like the new scoring system and how the score improves when the student uses a green light bulb to correct an issue.
– Technical issues we need to work through:
1. Improve how a student moves from section to section in the email and not get the cursor stuck in a single spot.
2. Make sure the floating boxes with email writing samples don’t infringe on the email writing area.
You can see the newest version of Propel here.
We hope to roll out the newest version of Propel to all Rubin customers in fall 2025.
In the latest version of Propel, students begin the email by selecting the recipient and type of message. From there, Propel provides a tailored email example for the student to follow. Listening hard to the feedback.
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.
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!”
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.
Virginia 9th Grader Wins America’s Next Great Intern
Fairfax County’s own Rakshana Damodaran is America’s Next Great Intern. The 9th grader at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was one of 13 finalists selected to showcase top-tier communication skills essential to an internship.
Second place: Shannon Jenkins, 12th grade at Boone High School in Boone, Iowa
Third place: Jordan Blair, 12th grade at Blaine High School in Anoka, Minnesota
Rakshana’s teacher, Jane Iyengar, receives a $250 cash prize to support her classroom.
Rubin, the leader in online curriculum for employability and workplace readiness skills, hosted the competition.
The submission period for the America’s Next Great Intern contest ran throughout February 2025, which is National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. All middle school, high school and post-secondary CTE students were eligible.
The instructions were drawn from Rubin’s Emerge curriculum, a broad library of online exercises for employability skills like email/phone etiquette, job interview prep, LinkedIn communication and more. Rubin provides Emerge to CTE programs nationwide.
A panel of judges from the Rubin team assessed the students across three areas:
- Email Etiquette: Demonstrate a professional-grade email based on fictional, work-related scenario.
- Research and Critical Thinking: Learn to develop meaningful questions ahead of a fictitious internship interview.
- Ethical Dilemma: Provide a response to a tricky ethical situation you might face as an intern.
“Employers often lament that students don’t possess the ‘soft skills’ necessary to engage in an office setting or on the job site,” says Danny Rubin, founder of Rubin. “We hope the contest shows that, yes, there are motivated young people coast to coast who will add value to any business or organization.”
For more information or to set up an interview, please contact Danny Rubin at danny@rubineducation.com.
About Rubin:
Rubin is the leader in online instruction for employability and work readiness skills. The company, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, provides Emerge, a digital curriculum that teaches effective writing and speaking skills, to thousands of students in middle school, high school and higher education. Rubin also has a soft-skill notification tool for email writing called Propel.
Founded in 2017 by Danny Rubin, a former CBS television news reporter and consultant to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rubin teaches students nationwide critical lessons for email/phone etiquette, networking, team communication, leadership communication and more. Our motto: “Write well, open doors!”
The best of the best,
Rubin Partners with Miami-Dade, Nation’s 3rd Largest School District
Rubin Partners with Miami Dade, Nation’s 3rd Largest School District
In the photo: Rubin founder Danny Rubin (left) stands with Miami-Dade students and their teacher Shnae Wallace. The students use Rubin’s Emerge employability skills curriculum to help with email etiquette, job interview prep and more.
Rubin, the leader in online curriculum for employability skills, has partnered with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to provide high school students with lessons that focus on college and career readiness.
Miami-Dade, one of the largest school divisions in the country, has a robust internship program that sends thousands of high school students into the South Florida business community each spring.
In the 23-24 academic year, Rubin products proved themselves as supplemental curriculum for the internship program. During the classroom portion of the internship program, 3,000 Miami-Dade students spent more than 250,000 minutes in Rubin’s Emerge employability skills curriculum on topics like resume writing, email etiquette and job interview prep.
In the 25-26 academic year, Rubin has expanded further into Miami-Dade through career-based pathways like health science, business and agriculture. Rubin will also now provide its Aspire career exploration video platform and Propel email etiquette teaching tool.
All Rubin products integrate to Schoology, Miami-Dade’s learning management system, via LTI 1.3. That means students and teachers access Rubin content in Schoology seamlessly and without a traditional sign-in process.
“We are honored to work with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, one of the nation’s leading school districts,” said Danny Rubin, founder of Rubin. “Already we have made an impact on several thousand students, and we’re excited at the chance to make a deeper impression in the school years to come.”
We reach South Florida.
Rubin Leads “PD” Workshops for Loudoun County
On Monday, April 7, our founder Danny Rubin lead a series of professional development workshops for CTE teachers at Loudoun Valley High School in Loudoun County, Virginia. Loudoun is a fast-growing county just west of the nation’s capital.
Danny showed the teachers how to locate and use Rubin Emerge employability content in Schoology via LTI 1.3.
We also passed out our popular Rubin motivational posters for the teachers’ classrooms.
Thanks for having us, Loudoun. And thanks for being a terrific partner!
Loudoun County teacher Ellen Milligan with a Rubin poster. 
Rubin founder Danny Rubin leads a workshop on the Rubin Emerge curriculum with Loudoun County teachers on Monday, April 7, 2025. Training trainers in one of VA’s largest school districts.
Here are the Finalists for America’s Next Great Intern!
The Rubin team is excited to announce the 2025 finalists for our America’s Next Great Intern contest.
In the annual contest, students showcase employability skills that employers nationwide value in new hires.
Rubin, the leader in online resources for employability skills training, hosts the competition.
The contest is 100% free. All participating students receive a certificate of completion and a ready-made portfolio of their submitted contest materials. The first place winner (high school division) will meet virtually with Scott Kaufman-Ross, an executive with the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The free contest is open to middle school, high school and postsecondary students in any CTE or project-based (hands-on) class or program.
Students were asked to submit examples of their work in the following categories:
- Email Etiquette: Demonstrate a professional-grade email based on fictional, work-related scenario.
- Research and Critical Thinking: Learn to develop sharp questions ahead of a fictitious internship interview.
- Ethical Dilemma: Provide a response to a tricky ethical situation you might face as an intern.
Demand for intern and job applicants with “soft skills” is a top priority across all industry sectors. According to a 2022 survey of employers by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 76% of respondents want to hire young people who can work on a team, 73% want ones with strong written communication skills and 58% seek new hires who can speak well.
“Employers often lament that students don’t possess the ‘soft skills’ necessary to engage in an office setting or on the job site,” says Danny Rubin, founder of Rubin. “We hope the contest shows that, yes, there are motivated young people coast to coast who will add value to any business or organization.”
Voting is now open! Visit rubineducation.com/vote to pick America’s Next Great Intern.
Here are the 2025 finalists!
- Kainat Ahmadzai, 10th Grade
Prince William County Schools (VA)
- Kris Basa, 12th Grade
Nacogdoches ISD (TX)
- Jordan Blair, 12th Grade
Anoka-Hennepin School District (MN)
- Ailey Bolson, 12th Grade
Oconomowoc Area School District (WI)
- Rakshana Damodaran, 9th Grade
Fairfax County Public Schools (VA)
- Da’moni Gosha, 10th Grade
Phenix County Schools (AL)
- Asher Hoffman, 11th Grade
Laguna Beach USD (CA)
- Shannon Jenkins, 12th Grade
Boone Community School District (IA)
- Anvith Narayana, 9th Grade
Wake County Public School System (NC)
- Jocelyn Osborne, 12th Grade
Botetourt County Public Schools (VA)
- David Sheffield, 12th Grade
Montgomery ISD (TX)
- Sofia Tovar, 12th Grade
Allen Village School (MO)
- Eliana Wehrle, 11th Grade
Clark County School District (NV)
See who made the cut!
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 Partners with EdTech Global to Expand National Sales
Rubin, the leader in online resources for employability skills training, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with EdTech Global, a premier provider of educational technology solutions. The collaboration aims to expand Rubin’s reach across the United States, providing CTE and other instructors with access to Rubin’s tools that allow students to write, speak and lead with confidence.
The partnership leverages EdTech Global’s extensive national sales network and digital distribution channels, ensuring Rubin’s best-in-class content reaches a broader audience.
“Rubin has proven itself as a high-quality curriculum provider to many of the nation’s largest school districts,” said Danny Rubin, founder of Rubin. “Now it’s time to broaden our reach and share Rubin products with more administrators across the country. We feel EdTech Global will be a key partner in that mission.”
Rubin school customers include Miami-Dade, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Fairfax County.
“Partnering with Rubin aligns perfectly with our mission to bring the best educational resources to learners nationwide,” said Thomas Snyder, Managing Director of EdTech Global. “Together, we will ensure that more school districts have the best-in-class tools for employability skills.”
The partnership is set to roll out nationwide immediately with expanded sales efforts and accessibility enhancements expected in the coming months.
To request more information on Rubin, CLICK HERE.
About EdTech Global: EdTech Global (www.edtechglobal.com) is a strategic sales and marketing partner dedicated to supporting EdTech organizations globally in expanding their reach and diversifying their revenue streams. As master distributors, EdTech Global utilizes its extensive international network to effectively manage the sales and marketing processes for its customers.
About Rubin: Rubin is the leading provider of online resources for employability skills training. Founded in 2017 by Danny Rubin, a former CBS TV reporter and producer for NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the company draws on industry-best practices for communication skills and delivers those lessons to students in grades 5-12 and beyond. Popular Rubin topics include email/phone etiquette, networking, LinkedIn communication, resume and job interview prep, public speaking and customer service skills. Learn more at rubineducation.com.
Broadening distribution.