[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3298-3299]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING MARY SIMON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 25, 2014

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of myself and 
Representatives Honda, Eshoo, and Speier to recognize the service of 
Ms. Mary Simon to San Jose and the Bay Area community.
  Ms. Simon, the founder and executive director of Resource Area for 
Teaching (RAFT), will retire in the spring of 2014 after 20 years at 
its helm. She will greatly be missed.
  After 12 years of teaching math and science to second and third 
graders, Ms. Simon founded RAFT in 1994 with a mission to help teachers 
transform children's learning experience

[[Page 3299]]

through hands-on education. RAFT is a nonprofit organization that 
provides educators with prepared teaching kits and idea sheets for 
activities in mathematics, science, and art. Additionally, RAFT helps 
teachers access education specialists who can assist with planning 
lessons and projects as well as locate affordable teaching supplies.
  Ms. Simon's remarkable vision had been to create a place that 
celebrates and supports great teaching. Through her hard work, Ms. 
Simon was able to bring together countless volunteers, donors, and 
companies to collaborate in this effort. Under her leadership, 
thousands of teachers joined RAFT to improve the quality of education 
in the Bay Area.
  Under Ms. Simon's guidance, RAFT became an important resource for 
educators and continues to foster community involvement. With Ms. 
Simon's effort and unwavering commitment, RAFT grew into a 10,000-
member organization and continues to enrich the education experience of 
hundreds of thousands of students. RAFT's products, services, and 
teaching supplies improve the educational experience of over 825,000 
kids per year.
  We wish to congratulate Ms. Mary Simon on her impressive and 
impactful career and commend her years of service to the San Jose and 
the Bay Area community generally. Continued efforts and innovation in 
education of generations to come must be one of our top priorities as a 
nation, and Ms. Simon's efforts in this area are invaluable.
  Ms. Simon worked to create a place where teachers could come together 
for the support and respect for the important, essential work that they 
do for our children. Because of Ms. Simon's vision, creativity, and 
dedication, RAFT will continue to make a positive impact on our 
educators and students. Ms. Simon's service has made our community a 
better place, and she will be dearly missed.

                          ____________________