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 Presents Award at San Mateo County STEM Fair

Mar 22, 2016 |

On March 29th, the SMCOE STEM fair was held at the Hiller Aviation Museum. Every year, RAFT is allowed to pick a special winner who has demonstrated an exceptional skills in science. The RAFT special award winner this year is Maya Ellis, a fifth…

RAFT Prepares for Pi Day Event on March 5th

Mar 3, 2016 | Comments Off

RAFT San Jose gets its teachers in gear for International Pi Day. Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) the San Jose-based nonprofit organization committed to hands-on learning, will host a Pi Day event on March 5th in honor of International Pi Day on March 14th.…

Juggling the Work/Life Balance

Feb 25, 2016 |

By Michael Rosenberg, Teacher, Stratford School There are few professions outside of teaching that can empathize with the struggle of being an educator. As a teacher, our days in the classroom can be a physical and mental roller coaster. Then at day’s end, stacks…

RAFT Idea Sheets Link Math and Culture – Making Student Engagement Come Alive

Feb 23, 2016 | Comments Off

New RAFT Idea Sheets explore geometric models, helping students explore math concepts and their relation to culture. February 23, 2016 – Since 1994, central to RAFT’s (Resource Area for Teaching) mission is its belief that hands-on teaching builds and reinforces a deeper level of…

RAFT Launches Controlled Flight Design Challenge

Feb 9, 2016 | Comments Off

Kit for educators helps students solve real-world flight problems using hands-on learning. San Jose, California, February 9, 2016 – Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) has launched a new tool for educators that puts students in the flight engineer’s seat. The Controlled Flight Design Challenge is…

RAFT Hires Director of Learning

Jan 26, 2016 | Comments Off

Resource Area for Teaching hires award winning educator Jason Pittman Jason Pittman is Resource Area for Teaching’s (RAFT) new Director of Learning. As a key member of the RAFT leadership team, the Director of Learning position embodies RAFT’s passion for hands-on learning and models…