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.

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.

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.

"Mainstream" musical artists are artists who can be heard on the radio and who are under contract to a record company. "Underground" artists are artist who do not appear on the radio and must either own their own record company or find alternative means of publishing their music.

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.

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.