Rush City School Board looks to the future during August work session

The Rush City School Board met for a Work Session/Board Retreat on Wednesday, Aug. 5, focusing on thoughtful planning for the upcoming school year and the long-term success of the district.

A significant portion of the evening was dedicated to discussing the future of the district under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Jeff Horton, who shared what he has been hearing during his first weeks in Rush City and emphasized the importance of engaging students, staff, families and community members in shaping the district's future.

The board expressed enthusiasm for listening to our community and potentially revising our current strategic plan to ensure it reflects the voice of our community as well as evidence-based education practices. They discussed the Rush City Public Schools guiding theme for the year, "Listen. Reflect. Transform." as a framework for the work ahead. This will begin with listening to stakeholders, reflecting on district strengths and opportunities, and working together to transform learning and opportunities for students.

Board members also discussed expanding community engagement through listening sessions and the School Board Advisory Committee, encouraging broad participation from families and community members. To help guide this work, the board established a committee that will work as a board-superintendent team to develop recommendations for goals that align with the district's strategic priorities.

The work session reflected the board's shared commitment to continuous improvement, strong governance and working together with the community to ensure every Rush City student has the opportunity to succeed.

Rush City 'Pool Kid' dives in at Aquatic Center

When Abby Aagaard was growing up, summer had a familiar rhythm.

She spent countless hours at the Rush City Aquatic Center, splashing in the water, following the lifeguards around and dreaming about the day she would wear the whistle herself.

“I just loved it,” Aagaard said. “I loved being under the water!”

Her grandmother, Sandy Vaughn, made sure this passion could grow. Every summer she bought Abby and her brother season passes to the pool. Eventually, when Abby became a lifeguard, her grandmother joked she didn’t need to buy one anymore because she practically lived there.

“Everyone called me a fish or a mermaid,” Aagaard said with a laugh.

Vaughn’s connection to the aquatic center extends beyond her granddaughter. A longtime supporter of the facility, she helped fundraise for equipment and even sponsored the tiger slide in the children’s pool. Her family’s support is permanently recognized with one of the commemorative plaques at the facility.

Today, Aagaard’s connection to the pool has come full circle.

Now 20 years old, she is spending her sixth summer at the Rush City Aquatic Center, serving as assistant manager after five summers as a lifeguard and swim instructor.

It is a role that has given her a whole new appreciation for everything it takes to keep a community pool running.

“I love seeing everything that goes on behind the scenes,” she said. “I’ve done everything on the front end—guarding, training, first aid—but learning about the chemicals, the finances and how everything works together has been really cool.”

Listen. Reflect. Transform.

Setting out on a journey of excellence together

I am honored and excited to be the new Superintendent of Rush City Public Schools and to be joining this vibrant community. Stepping into this role, my primary goal is to ensure our district not only meets but exceeds the expectations of all of our students, families, and residents. To frame our work this year, we have adopted a unifying theme built around the powerful action words of Listen, Reflect, and Transform as we begin this journey.

As we begin this new school year, we do so with a plan in place. Excellent school districts are built on a framework of careful planning and a commitment to continuous improvement. This year, we are utilizing the principles of Implementation Science to ensure that educational best practices become part of our culture. Our thematic roadmap for the year gives our staff, families, and community members a clear preview of what to expect during each phase:

Phase I (Fall): "Listening" — We begin with a 100-Day Plan centered on Listening Tours and establishing two-way communication loops. Your voice matters. We will build trust by creating opportunities for every voice to be heard.

Phase II (Winter 1): "Reflecting" — As we get a bit into the school year, we will transition into holding Comprehensive Needs Assessments across all district departments. Reflection requires honesty and we will examine our systems and data together so we know where to strengthen our foundation and how to focus our attention going forward.

Phase III (Winter 2): "Setting Out" — We will bring together community voices to create a "Portrait of a Graduate" which is a shared vision of what student success looks and the direction we need to take.

Phase IV (Spring 1): "Our Journey" — This important community dialogue will inform a process of refreshing and reframing our Strategic Plan. Walking the path together, we create a clear, actionable district blueprint.

Phase V (Spring 2): "Excellence" — As we wrap up the 2026-27 school year, we will align our district budget strictly to the strategic goals established throughout the first four phases for Year 2 installation and implementation. Excellence is a continuous commitment!

While I am excited about the entire year ahead, my immediate focus is on Phase I (July – October). During these first 100 days, we have been holding and will continue to hold listening sessions, crowdsourcing community priorities, and making foundational adjustments to support our staff and students right now.

We are streamlining operations to elevate transparency, align organizational roles, and maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of our resources. We are also implementing "Linked Teams"—an interconnected structure linking our school board, cabinet, instructional leaders, and community committees. This way governance decisions are directly informed by realities on the ground.

Your Voice Matters on This Journey

The centerpiece of our "Listening" phase is engaging with everyone: students, staff, families, community members, local businesses, and government officials. Listening does not stop at the end of phase l; rather, it will become a constant in our journey together. 

At the end of October, feedback from these listening sessions will be synthesized into a Summary Report that will inform next steps, which we will share with the community. This will guide us into our "Reflecting" phase, where we examine our systems with honesty to strengthen our foundation while utilizing advanced communication tools, including Edlio for unified notifications, and ThoughtExchange—an interactive, AI-driven platform that allows everyone to collaborate through real-time, two-way communication.

I am thrilled to be part of Rush City, home of the Tigers. Excellence is a continuous commitment, and we will invest our resources where they make the greatest impact for our students in meeting the vision of our community. I look forward to meeting you, hearing your ideas, and walking this path together!

Dr. Jeff Horton

Superintendent of Rush City Public Schools

Connecting our Tiger community with Bound!

Rush City Public Schools are now partnering with Bound, an all-in-one platform for athletics, activities, and facilities management.

Bound brings everything into one place—schedules, ticketing, scores, standings, communication, and even fundraising—creating a more seamless experience for our entire Tiger community.

The Rush City Public Schools homepage on Bound will serve as your go-to hub for everything related to Rush City activities. To begin, visit and bookmark our Bound public homepage: https://www.gobound.com/mn/schools/rushcity

To register your student athlete for fall, or for more information and helpful resources, visit this link.