Minority Presence in Journalism

There is a lack of minority representation in journalism. Despite organizations working to bring more minorities into journalism, all minority groups combined account for only 22.4% of television journalists and 13.34% of journalists at daily newspapers (White, 2015). This problem has negatively impacted the voice of minorities because they are not represented in mainstream media. According to the Center for Media Literacy, “currently only about 40% of the nation's 1,600 daily newspapers employ any minorities in editorial staff positions” (Cort, 2017). A possible cause of this problem is the lack of minority participation in high school journalism programs. Perhaps a study which investigates minority presence in high school journalism by collecting data to determine the effectiveness of a project encouraging minority students to get involved in high school journalism could remedy this situation and increase the number of minority students in the journalism program at Palo Alto High School.

The Ideal Sexual Education for Middle and High School, and How It Compares to PAUSD's Sexual Education

Through researching United States laws, California laws, and studies on sexual education, I am attempting to find the ideal sexual education curriculum that results in the least amount of teenage STIs and pregnancies, as well as an increase in knowledge about consent. By finding the most affective and comprehensive sexual education methods, I will use this tool to compare the sexual education programs within the PAUSD community. Through personal experience with sexual education and interviews with many teachers and members of administration, I hope to gain an understanding of PAUSD's sexual education strategy. The final goal is to document the ways in which PAUSD has progressed as well as what needs improvement in order to benefit all students within the PAUSD community.

Analyzing the Achievement Gap in the Bay Area

In the Bay Area, there is a significant achievement gap between students of different races and socioeconomic statuses. I will visit two different local schools (one affluent, one struggling economically) develop and test curriculum to see if it makes a difference in students and their respective achievements. I will be using action research, specifically interviews and focus groups, to collect data on the economic achievement gap and the impact of strategic adjustments to curriculum.

Racial Disparity in Standardized Testing

The city of Palo Alto embodies an environment where a lot of privilege exists. Palo Alto is a place where there are a plethora of tutors offered, education is a priority for all, and everyone has the chance to take standardized tests, like the ACT and SAT. However, there is a problem with standardized testing, specifically the racial disparity that occurs within it. My project explores the different factors that cause this disparity, and the efforts that have been implemented to close the gap today.

How Use of a Teen Mentoring Program Impacts Third Graders' Continued Participation in a Study Group

This research project will pilot a mentorship program within the context of a youth support and religious studies program within my church. In 5th grade, there has been a decline in enrollment and a drop-off in the number of students attending the program, and this project will study whether a mentorship program can be effective in sustaining and increasing participation. High school students from the church will be recruited and trained to serve as mentors. This is a critical age because this is the time kids stop being involved in the program. Mentors will be interviewed about the experience to determine the effectiveness of the mentorship program and to identify areas for future improvement. The results will also be examined: if next year’s enrollment goes up, then the mentorship program may have positively impacted the program for 3rd and 4th graders.

Water Filtration and Purification

This summer, while visiting a poor village in rural China, we saw the severe problems that a lack of clean drinking water created for the villagers who lived there. These problems include a variety of waterborne diseases that may greatly harm work productivity. We are working on bringing accessible, clean drinking water to the village through designing and implementing a water filtration system that meets the specific filtration needs of the environment there.

Clothing Waste

Clothing waste seems to be an increasing problem. With new and very successful business tactics deployed by the fashion industry, more and more clothing is being created and thrown away. I will be looking into the process that clothing goes through to be created and discarded, then identify possible solutions to the problem.

Effectiveness of Safety Technology on Military Aviation over the Past 100 Years: How Technologically Driven Reductions in Pilot Error Reduce the Number of Incidents

Pilot training is intense, especially for those who participate in the military, which is why there are so many ranks. Military pilots are officers, which is the highest rank. The second highest is a warrant officer, with a non-commander officer third. All military officers have a four-year college degree, except for army pilots, who can obtain a license by becoming warrant officers. Despite how much education is required to become a pilot, the rate of crashes is surprisingly high, which is why this case study is studying the effects of technology. A study of the Naval Aviation Training and Operations Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) shows the history of accident rates within the military.

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