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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 not send 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.

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

    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…

  • 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.

    Rubin Founder Danny Rubin smiles with Miami-Dade County Public Schools CTE Director Dr. Lupe Diaz.
    Miami-Dade CTE teachers discuss ways to use Rubin’s Emerge and Aspire products at the Opening of Schools event.
    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.

  • Readying for 25-26: Rubin Products Get Refresh in Summer

    Readying for 25-26: Rubin Products Get Refresh in Summer

    When the students break for summer vacation, the Rubin team rolls up our sleeves.

    Now is the ideal time to make modifications and upgrades to our products for employability skills training.

    Here are the highlights so far:

    • In Rubin Emerge (employability activities), we have new financial literacy activities like how to write a check and understand credit card interest,
    • Also in Emerge, now teachers can apply a direct grade rather than use our rubric. Teachers told us the rubric can be too time consuming.
    • Significant improvements to our Propel email etiquette tool, including:
      • Scoring system that gives every student email a score out of 100
      • Ability to create a dynamic writing experience based on the nature of your message (ex: email your teacher about homework)
      • Deeper data like how your email writing scores compare with classmates

    We are excited to roll out these changes and many more ahead of the 25-26 academic year. Book a meeting with our team during the summer, and we will show you around.

    Rubin Propel now gives a score based on the quality of the student’s professional skills. As students correct mistakes, the score improves.

    What’s your email etiquette score?

  • Virginia 9th Grader Wins America’s Next Great Intern

    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 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 and counselors.

    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.

    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.

  • Here are the Finalists for America’s Next Great Intern!

    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 Enhances Accessibility Features for Emerge and Aspire Products

    Rubin Enhances Accessibility Features for Emerge and Aspire Products

    In both our Emerge employability skills curriculum and Aspire career exploration video platform, we added new accessibility features. Teacher now have:

    • 7 different American voices for text-to-speech
    • “Page mask” to highlight lines while darkening the rest of the page
    • The ability to read aloud and highlight text on a PDF or Word doc

    See screenshots below and then dive into Emerge or Aspire to try these exciting features!


    Click the box highlighted in red to launch the accessibility features from any page.

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    The new page mask feature.

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    Click on the icon circled in red to launch the accessibility portal for PDFs and Word docs.

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    A look inside the accessibility portal for a Rubin PDF about email etiquette.

    Rubin is for all learners.

  • Rubin Delivers Emerge to Charter Schools Across Miami-Dade

    Rubin Delivers Emerge to Charter Schools Across Miami-Dade

    Rubin, the leader in employability skills training, has now reached charter schools across Miami-Dade, the nation’s third largest school district.

    Educators within 15+ charter schools now have access to Emerge, Rubin’s signature digital curriculum for employability skills that covers topics like email/phone etiquette, interview prep, interoffice communication, public speaking and more.

    Rubin Director of Instruction Alexis Kruemcke (left) leads charter school educators in Miami-Dade through a training on the Emerge curriculum for employability skills. Rubin founder Danny Rubin (right) assists with the training.

    Rubin already works with Miami-Dade County Public Schools through the division’s career and technical education (CTE) department. Under the direction of Miami-Dade Curriculum Support Specialist Pam Lopez, Rubin now has a direct connection with students in charter schools across South Florida.

    “We are honored to work with Miami-Dade educators to help their students learn critical employability and workplace readiness skills,” said Rubin founder Danny Rubin. “Extending our resources to charter schools allows us to further the mission and make a deeper impact in one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.”

    Extending our reach in South Florida.

  • 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