RAFT Blog, News, and Events

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,…

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…

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…

Bringing Stories to Life: RAFT’s Intersession Program at Northwood Elementary

March 18, 2025

This winter, Northwood Elementary students in Berryessa School District embarked on a creative journey through RAFT’s three-day Intersession program. Designed to spark imagination and hands-on learning, the program engaged 66 students in grades K-5 in the art of puppet-making, storytelling, and performance, culminating in a special showcase for families. Student-made marionette puppets displayed with crafting…

RAFT Announces Cyber Security Learning Module and Design Challenge Kit

Jan 10, 2017 | Comments Off

San Jose, CA, January 10, 2017: There is a growing need for a digitally literate workforce that uses technology in a safe and secure way. Through a generous grant from Symantec Corporation, the global leader in cyber security, RAFT has developed a cyber security…

San Jose K-8 School Adopts RAFT Makerspace

Dec 15, 2016 | Comments Off

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – December 15, 2016 – RAFT (Resource Area For Teaching) and members from the Orchard School community together created a new makerspace. With the help of Project Ember, the group of students, parents, teachers, school administrators, and RAFT employees transformed an…

RAFT’s ‘Reason for the Seasons’ and ‘Time for Shadows’ Idea Sheets Help Students Understand What Causes Our Seasons

Nov 30, 2016 | Comments Off

Use Hands-On Activities to Teach Seasonal Variations SAN JOSE, CALIF. – November 30, 2016 – RAFT – Resource Area for Teaching, the leading solution center to help educators in transforming a child’s learning experience through hands-on education, announces the res 2016 is coming on December…

RAFT Activity Teaches Programming Without the Need for Devices in Preparation for Computer Science Education Week

Nov 29, 2016 | Comments Off

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – November 29, 2016 – RAFT – Computers are everywhere and success in the future will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works. Unfortunately fewer than half of all schools teach computer science. The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction,…

RAFT Celebrates Eric Welker’s 2016 Breakfast of Champions Award

Oct 27, 2016 | Comments Off

An Achievement Honoring Outstanding Expanded Learning Partners SAN JOSE, CALIF. – October 27, 2016 – RAFT – Resource Area For Teaching, the leading solution center to help educators in transforming a child’s learning experience through hands-on education, announces Master Teacher of Education R&D, Eric…

RAFT Launches Rock the Ravine Design Challenge Kit

Oct 19, 2016 | Comments Off

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – October 19, 2016 – RAFT – Resource Area for Teaching, the leading solution center to help educators transform a child’s learning experience through hands-on education, announces the launch of our Rock the Ravine Design Challenge kit. This design challenge is…