This paper explores the causes, impacts, and attempted solutions of literacy development and the literacy achievement gap between students from historically underrepresented ethnic groups and students from other ethnic groups. It details the plan for a study that would research features in literacy programs and how they affect this achievement gap, as well as how effective these features are in addressing the literacy achievement gap. This research aimed to discover reading programs that can help decrease this achievement gap in the Palo Alto Unified School District. It found that the best feature of a reading program is the student being able to choose their own books, and reading with an older mentor is also a beneficial feature, while having students read a digital book on their own is not beneficial to decreasing this achievement gap.

This project aims to investigate behavioral tactics and best practices for peer relationships between students in general education and students in special education at Palo Alto High School. Through action and needs-assessment research, a resource packet will be compiled of best practices discovered by conducting co-teacher and special education professional interviews. This resource will then be sent to students at Paly and evaluated through a survey. The overarching goal is for students to read this resource and feel more comfortable/prepared to interact with any peer they might have in a future classroom.

This research project answers the question: To what extent is there a gender gap in sports leadership (coaches) and athletic participation (student-athletes) in Palo Alto, and how do the reasons that girls start and stop playing organized sports differ from boys? In this study of Palo Alto high school students, quantitative and qualitative data was collected through a survey to determine how long they participated in sports, the reasons they started/stopped participating, the gender of their coaches, and whether they had a conscious preference for the gender of their coaches. According to the data collected from the sample, it was generally found that (1) girls participate in sports for less seasons than boys, (2) girls start playing sports later than boys, (3) the reasons that girls start/stop playing sports are similar to those of boys, (4) girls and boys had significantly more male coaches than female coaches, and this difference was more pronounced for boys coaches than girls coaches, and (5) girls and boys had no conscious preference for the gender of their coach–but those who did generally preferred a coach of the same gender.

There is a problem in Native American Reservations and their living conditions. Despite the Indian Housing Authority’s efforts, there are 90,000 under housed or homeless Native Americans. The Pine Ridge Reservation is 2,000,000 acres. Pine Ridge is the site of many events, they mark history between the Sioux and The United States. The project will include having a donation drive. Anyone can donate clothes (new or gently used) and school supplies.

Over the past few decades, the shoe market has become one of the hardest markets to break through. Mega-companies such as Adidas and Nike have become so large that they crush out any new opposition, resulting in a monopoly. Many times, these top brands don’t necessarily have the highest quality or best looking shoe, but still manage to make the most profit, raising the question of why the top brands remain at the top? This project aims to answer this question and help other shoe companies.

This research study is aiming to determine whether social media has any negative effects on teenagers' perceptions of what healthy relationships are. It is important that teenagers understand what healthy and unhealthy relationships are so they can keep themselves and their peers safe. By hosting workshops and administering pre- and post-workshop surveys, the study will collect qualitative data about student social media usage and their understanding of healthy relationships.

Many students from Latin and African American backgrounds will become first-generation students once they reach a four-year university. The first generation group is defined as a group of students who will be the first in their families to go to college. While they make up 30% of a college class, many families lack the resources to be educated on what they need to make it to a four-year college (PNPI, 2018) — connecting this data to socioeconomic differences in the PAUSD and achievement gap.

One in 5 women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted in college but over 90% of college sexual assault victims do not report the assault (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2018). Despite protocols put in place by universities to make reporting sexual assaults more efficient and effective, a lack of reporting is occurring. This will be researched using action research, a needs based assessment, and evaluation research to collect data. Interviews with employees of University X will be conducted and the data retrieved will be analyzed using coding and descriptive statistics. Additionally, databases will be used to retrieve more information about the reporting procedures at this university.

As the internet develops and becomes the primary information source for most people, the functions of public libraries tend to be overlooked. However, public libraries have its importance to the communities, as it encourages literacy and provides an academic environment for studying. This research aims to gather opinions of librarians from different public libraries, from whom we are able to learn about the evolution of public libraries over the recent years and how the visitors have changed.

For many high school students, it feels as if the options for what to do after high school are limited, especially for students who do not graduate with the A-G requirements; so this project will discover other available options for a student interested in careers out of high school.