RAFT Blog, News, and Events

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…

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…

RAFT STEAM Teachers of the Year 2022

May 31, 2022 | Comments Off

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…

Sares Regis Supports Maker Mobile Visit to Costano Elementary

Mar 11, 2022 | Comments Off

RAFT would like to thank the Sares Regis Foundation for providing a grant to support the students and teachers at Costano Elementary. On February 15, RAFT worked with Costano makerspace teacher Bill Correll (Mr.Bill) to bring the Maker Mobile to Costano Elementary to serve…

Woman’s Club of Palo Alto supports East Palo Alto Academy STEAM Initiative

Jan 31, 2022 | Comments Off

RAFT would like to thank the Woman’s Club of Palo Alto for providing a grant to support the students and teachers at East Palo Alto Academy (EPAA) in their STEAM initiatives over the past year. During the early days of distance learning, RAFT provided…

Happy International Day of Education from RAFT!

Jan 24, 2022 | Comments Off

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…

RAFT Makerspace Build comes to San Lucas Union School District

Jan 19, 2022 | Comments Off

The rain of December took a brief hiatus to allow RAFT’s Education Team to bring the excitement of a makerspace build to San Lucas Union School District in southern Monterey County. With the support of all 75 students, they built new tool walls and…

RAFT’s Winter STEAM Lab Uses STEAM Activities to Take Students to the Stars

Jan 15, 2022 | Comments Off

We’ve said before that it’s a great idea to kick off the new year with some STEAM learning, and we’re so happy to say that the RAFT Education Team helped the students of Luther Burbank Elementary School in San Jose do just that. In…