The school year is right around the corner.

Dear Parents,

The upcoming school year is approaching quickly and we are excited to get all staff and students back into the building! I have two data points and one update that I would like to share with you.

We are now in year five of our teacher collaboration initiative. For the past five years school has started late every Wednesday to allow time for teachers to collaborate. This time is used to unpack standards, develop our own assessments, data analysis, and to create action plans for students who are performing below or above the standard. We are happy to see that the fruits of our labor are beginning to pay off. In the chart below you can see the past two years we have seen an increase in our overall ACT Composite Score. All juniors are required to take the ACT in North Dakota during the spring semester.

The chart below shows the percentage of the senior class that has qualified for the North Dakota Academic and Career Tech Scholarship. To qualify you need a minimum composite score of a 24 or three fives on the ACT WorkKeys Assessment. Students also need a high GPA and qualifying coursework.

As part of our teacher collaboration efforts we are continuing our gradual implementation of standards-based grading and reporting. You can expect that students in grades K-4 will receive a more detailed report card based on the standards in English and Language Arts. This method of reporting allows us to identify breakdowns in learning faster and provides more information to parents. We will continue implementation into future grades and subject areas in upcoming school years.

Please stop by the school to pick up your school registration packet. You will find information regarding our NEW school app. You can follow me on Twitter at @mdmcneff and visit my blog at http://mikemcneff.blogspot.com/ for current school related articles or news.

I am looking forward to an excellent year!

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael McNeff, Superintendent

Study Abroad Program heading to Italy.

In the summer of 2015, I was lucky enough to take part in the first study abroad trip to the country of Peru. We took approximately 30 high school juniors and seniors on the Peru trip. We were able to take in all of the fantastic sights throughout our stay in Peru. Mr. Blikre and I may or may not have gotten lost... :) It was a wonderful experience for myself and the students that were able to attend. It is something that I will never forget. Fast forward to 2017, our next group to travel abroad has spent the last two years preparing for their trip to Italy. I have no doubt that our students and advisers will have another successful learning experience overseas.

If you would like you can follow their experiences here beginning on July 31st.

Download the NEW School App!

The Rugby Public Schools' mobile app is ready for launch!

The new RPS mobile app for both iPhone and Android smartphones is ready for launch! We are excited to bring this new technology to RPS and hope you will enjoy the convenience of it. Now you can stay connected while you’re on the go with this FREE mobile app! Our new mobile app will keep you better informed about the news and events in our district and schools and will help streamline communication with our stakeholders. The app will deliver real time school news to your smartphone for fast, up-to-date access, with convenient links to other school information.

With the app you can:
 • Have school information accessible in one location on your smartphone
• Select the schools you want to follow
• Get push notifications about news, closures, weather, events, and more
• Quickly access the school calendar, lunch menus, school supply lists, etc.
• Tap to see administrator and staff contact information

 Download the new app in 3 easy steps:
1. On your smartphone, go to the iTunes App Store® or Google Play®
2. Search Rugby Public Schools. Look for our panther logo.  
3. Then select our Rugby Public Schools app.  Please click to "allow push notifications."