RAFT Blog, News, and Events

Featured Articles and News

🏆 RAFT Wins Double Gold in Bay Area Parent’s 2025 Best of the Best Awards!

July 29, 2025

RAFT is proud to announce that our STEAM Dream Summer Camp has been awarded Gold in two categories in Bay Area Parent Magazine’s 2025 Best of the Best Awards: 🥇 Best Day Camp – Silicon Valley 🥇 Best Science & Technology Camp – Silicon Valley This exciting recognition reflects the strength and impact of RAFT’s…

Read More

Bringing Hands-On STEAM Learning to San Diego Educators

May 18, 2025

RAFT recently had the pleasure of participating in the San Diego STEAM Educators Conference at the University of San Diego from May 16-17. The event brought together hundreds of teachers from across the state committed to advancing STEAM education across Southern California. Nancy McIntyre, RAFT’s new Community Engagement Manager, represented our team at the conference,…

Read More

From Honoree to Advocate: A STEAM Award’s Ripple Effect

May 14, 2025

At RAFT, we believe in celebrating educators who bring STEAM to life through hands-on learning. Our STEAM Teachers and Administrators of the Year Awards honor those who go above and beyond-and sometimes, that recognition inspires something even bigger. Just ask Bryan Williams, a past STEAM Teacher of the Year award recipient who later nominated another…

Read More

DreamBox Impact Series: Milpitas Unified School District

April 1, 2025

Engaging EL and SPED Learners Through Hands-On STEAM For the past two summers, RAFT has partnered with Milpitas Unified School District to bring hands-on STEAM learning to the district’s Extended School Year (ESY) summer program. This past summer, 230 fourth- through sixth-grade Special Education (SPED) and English Learner (EL) students became environmental engineers-designing water filtration…

Read More

STUDENT IMPACT STUDY

May 10, 2017 |

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.106″ background_layout=”light”] RAFT Hands-on Learning Model Promotes Achievement in Bay Area Schools Independent Research Study Shows that RAFT Hands-on Learning Activities Engage Students and Improve Academic Performance Rockman Et Al, a respected education research firm, has just concluded a study demonstrating…

Read More

CASE FOR HANDS-ON LEARNING

May 9, 2017 |

Bridging the Engagement Gap with Hands-On Teaching Overview The ongoing debate over the achievement gap in American schools has largely overlooked its underlying cause: the engagement gap. Somewhere between kindergarten and the senior year of high school, many students lose their natural love of…

Read More

Why Do We Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Mar 17, 2017 |

By Sandra Woodard, RAFT Membership & Green Room Associate St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in Ireland for over 1,000 years, but it was mostly a religious celebration of the Saint’s life and deeds. Today, many people of Irish ancestry in the U.S., and…

Read More

RAFT Prepares for New Leadership

Mar 9, 2017 | Comments Off on RAFT Prepares for New Leadership

Grainger Marburg, CEO, Resigns SAN JOSE, CA, March 09, 2017 — The Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT) Board of Directors announced that Grainger Marburg is resigning from his position as CEO effective April 14, 2017. During his tenure, he has successfully led RAFT in…

Read More

RAFT Partners with Lockheed Martin Space Systems during National Engineers Week

Feb 28, 2017 | Comments Off on RAFT Partners with Lockheed Martin Space Systems during National Engineers Week

Lockheed Martin Space Systems volunteers assemble 500 STEM kits that will help inspire 4,600 future engineers SAN JOSE, CALIF. – February 27, 2017 – RAFT, Resource Area for Teaching, is the leading solution center helping educators to transform a child’s learning experience through hands-on education.…

Read More

RAFT Again Earns 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator

Feb 13, 2017 | Comments Off on RAFT Again Earns 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – February 13, 2017 – RAFT – Resource Area for Teaching, the leading solution center helping educators to transform a child’s learning experience through hands-on education, is proud to announce earning the coveted 4-star rating for demonstrating strong financial health and…

Read More