RAFT Blog, News, and Events

Featured Articles and News

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…

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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…

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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…

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DreamBox Impact Series: Oak Grove School District

February 27, 2025

Empowering Newcomers Through Hands-On STEAM Learning In Summer 2024, students at Oak Grove School District‘s Newcomer Summer Academy embarked on an innovative hands-on STEAM adventure. Through RAFT’s creative reuse materials and engaging activity kits, 75 students explored the mysteries of space while strengthening their English language skills, guided by 3 dedicated teachers. Hands-on learning is…

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RAFT Teams Up with Ross Stores Foundation to Enhance STEAM Education

Sep 4, 2024 | Comments Off on RAFT Teams Up with Ross Stores Foundation to Enhance STEAM Education

At RAFT (Resource Area For Teaching), we are committed to ensuring that every student has the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning that ignites curiosity and fosters creativity. We are excited to share that, thanks to a substantial grant from the Ross Stores Foundation,…

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Empowering Girls in STEM

Jul 31, 2024 | Comments Off on Empowering Girls in STEM

Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT) is excited to announce a partnership with High-Tech High Heels Silicon Valley (HTHH-SV) and Scientific Adventures for Girls (SAfG). As all three organizations are committed to more accessible STEAM learning for underrepresented groups, this project will help increase accessibility…

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Thank You, Teachers: KLA Foundation Partners with RAFT to Support Educators

Apr 30, 2024 | Comments Off on Thank You, Teachers: KLA Foundation Partners with RAFT to Support Educators

In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, the KLA Foundation and Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT) will provide all TK-8 teachers at Santa Clara Unified School District and Milpitas Unified School District with a year of RAFT membership and $50 in-store credit to support their…

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From Screens to Hands-on STEAM

Feb 28, 2024 | Comments Off on From Screens to Hands-on STEAM

In the wake of a global pandemic that required students to do much of their learning from home in front of a screen, hands-on experiences that spark joy and discovery are more relevant-and needed-than ever.  Long before 2020, however, RAFT (Resource Area for Teaching)…

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RAFT Puts “Science in Motion” and Launches Course on Infosys Foundation USA’s Pathfinders Online Institute

Feb 7, 2024 | Comments Off on RAFT Puts “Science in Motion” and Launches Course on Infosys Foundation USA’s Pathfinders Online Institute

Thanks to a generous donation from the Infosys Foundation USA, RAFT has launched our Science in Motion course on the Pathfinders Online Institute.  RAFT’s Science in Motion course explores 10 of our STEAM Project Kits to better understand the concept of motion. Each lesson…

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Watch out 2024! RAFT’s Education Team Leadership is expanding with 2 exciting additions 

Nov 10, 2023 | Comments Off on Watch out 2024! RAFT’s Education Team Leadership is expanding with 2 exciting additions 

If you’ve heard of RAFT before, odds are it’s been in connection with our STEAM Dream Camp or Maker Mobile programming, both of which have been favorites among the SF Bay Area’s student and educator community alike.  This year, we’ve seen enormous success in…

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