Four new teachers have joined Rugby High School and Little Flower Catholic Elementary School for the 2023-24 year.

Jason Block brings 21 years of teaching experience in elementary and middle schools from throughout central North Dakota to Rugby Junior High School. He will teach junior high social studies. Block taught several subjects, including math and science.

“Social studies is the subject I’ve always wanted to teach,” said Block.

Block, grew up in Towner, recently married and settled in Rugby with his wife, who grew up in Rugby. He said he was glad to settle in familiar territory.

“That’s what I want them to get out of it, to respect each other and be responsible enough to finish work because that’s what life is about,” he said. “You go out and you need to be responsible enough to manage your life.”

Craig Erickson, Rugby High School’s new business education teacher also has local roots. He’s a 1979 Rugby High graduate.

Erickson pursued a teaching career in Fargo for more than 40 years. He recently retired from that position. He will teach entertainment and sports marketing and computer basics part-time to middle and high school students, plus oversee Rugby High School’s co-op job placement program.

“It’s exciting. It was a great place to grow up. The school system was amazing, the teachers that I had inspired me to enter the field,” said Erickson. “I had not been in this building for over 40 years, so seeing all this stuff in the front, to see this classroom and the football field that I played on, that’s all the same to me.”

Erickson decided to establish a DECA career and technical club at RHS for the 2023-2024 school year.

Erickson said DECA has similarities to the Future Business Leaders of America chapter Rugby High had for many years, although DECA has more involvement in marketing.

“It doesn’t matter what you do in your job, you’re going to use the skills that you gain in our program,” Erickson said.

New to Little Flower Elementary School are fourth grade teacher Maria Rice, teaching math and Jenessa Fritel, who will teach technology and Spanish to K-6 students.

“Interacting with the staff thus far has been awesome,” said Rice. “Working in an environment where everybody’s cheering for you is really encouraging. It’s a great place to be where you feel like everybody has your back. It’s like one big family.”

Fritel brings a unique curriculum to Little Flower, offering Spanish to elementary students. Spanish is normally not offered until high school. The Spanish lessons begin with kindergarteners, who learn with hands-on activities and progress to writing. Fritel graduated from Rugby High School in 2007, welcomes the opportunity to teach elementary students in the town where she grew up.

“It will be my first-time teaching technology,” said Fritel. “I’m just getting them ready for basic computer skills in junior high and high school.”

Rice, a 2019 Rugby High School graduate is glad to come back to her hometown to teach.

“It’s a little different than I had thought back then,” Rice said. “Now, we’re adding simple numbers, but it’s just as much fun. Math is kind of a hard one to make everyone’s favorite, because a lot of times it either clicks or it doesn’t. So, I’m hoping that by implementing more hands-on, tangible interactive learning experiences for them, maybe they’ll come to grasp it and then it can click for them and it’ll be fun.”