RAFT Blog, News, and Events

RAFT is Bay Area Parent’s Best of the Best (Again!)

September 5, 2023

RAFT is pleased to have been selected as a Bay Area Parent Magazine 2023 Best of the Best Tutoring or Education Support Program. This is the fourth consecutive year RAFT has finished at the top of the list thanks to our comprehensive in-person and online educational offerings, including STEAM Project Kits, Maker Mobile van visits, makerspace builds, tailored educator workshops and more.

From Camper to Camp Counselor: Yiesha R.’s STEAM Dream Story

May 24, 2023

For brand new campers, the first day of camp is filled with curiosity, a few stomach butterflies and a ton of anticipation for the exciting adventures to come. But what about the first day of camp for a new camp counselor? And what if that camp counselor used to be a camper herself? We caught…

RAFT STEAM Teachers of the Year 2022

May 31, 2022

Congratulations to our 2022 STEAM Teachers of the Year! RAFT’s STEAM Teacher of the Year Awards recognize outstanding pre-K-12 teachers in the Bay Area who incorporate effective hands-on learning and/or maker education into their curriculum. Each awardee demonstrates excellence in teaching in at least one of the following areas: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, or Math. RAFT…

Happy International Day of Education from RAFT!

January 24, 2022

Today the world celebrates International Day of Education! Not only do we recognize the contributions of teachers, the personal development of students, and the hard work of everyone in the education field, but we also take today to recognize the role of education for the world. Education can unlock every individual’s potential and pave the…

RAFT Delivers 3 New STEAM Kits to Walden West

Jun 21, 2021 | Comments Off

Two weeks ago, the Walden West Team was able to play with three new STEAM Project Kits: The Electric-wind Generator, Bread Bag Parachute, The Articulated Leg. Each person was able to design, prototype and test their designs in preparation for their summer camps. Over 300…

TK-2 STEAM Kits for Hands-On Early Childhood Education

Jun 21, 2021 | Comments Off

RAFT has been fortunate to work with the very talented Jennifer Hunau, STEM Coordinator for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, in developing a series of 9 STEAM kits for over 6,000 TK-2 students. Pictured below are materials for 12,870 kits that were…

San Antonio Makerspace Build

Jun 15, 2021 | Comments Off

June 7th – 8th were busy days for the students at San Antonio Elementary School in San Jose. Nearly 50 students in grades K-5 built furniture for their school makerspace with RAFT! The makerspace build is a project from RAFT’s Education department where we…

50 Teachers from the Salinas City Elementary School District Build Car On A Roll Kits

Jun 15, 2021 | Comments Off

It was a fun-packed, fast-paced day at Boronda Meadows Elementary School in Salinas on Wednesday, June 9th! Nearly 50 teachers from the Salinas City Elementary School District participated in a professional learning opportunity (PLO) arranged by Julie Stephens-Carrillo from Hartnell College. This PLO serves…

Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7, 2021 | Comments Off

Saturday, May 8: Do teachers ever fully retire? If you were to ask these teachers they would say no! RAFT relies heavily on volunteers to help make our resources accessible to the education community at low cost. On average around 6,000 volunteers support RAFT…

Thanking RAFT Volunteers: Jean and Wayne

Apr 27, 2021 | Comments Off

For 27 years, volunteers have played an important role at RAFT. Because of our volunteers, RAFT is able to make our resources available to the education community for affordable prices. An example of volunteers playing an important role at RAFT is Jean and Wayne…