Many senior citizens in America struggle with feelings of loneliness and isolation, despite the efforts of various organizations to give seniors opportunities to interact socially. In a University of San Francisco study that included 1604 participants with an average 71 years old, 43% of seniors reported feeling lonely (Kim, 2012). Loneliness negatively impacts quality of life and can even have an effect on longevity, increasing mortality rates by up to 26% (Lilleston, 2017). The problem is simple: the elderly are lonely because they are often alone (Botek). This project will join older and younger generations together, building inter-generational relationships through the tradition of oral history of the recent past, and examine whether creating these bonds is enough to reduce feelingsof loneliness and the accompanying negative health effects.

This project is looking to see how the opinions of students in French Class on student participation in comparison to the effectiveness of student participation on Language apprehension. The data for this project comes from a survey that will be distributed throughout French Classes from grades 7 through 12.

Our project aims to assess teacher well-being at PALY. From research, teacher well-being affects not only teachers themselves, but it also affects the general climate of the school as well as the quality of students' education. We hope that by examining and bringing attention to the needs of the teachers at PALY, we can improve school, student, and teacher life all together.

This project aims to determine the impact that art classes have on the students. I have asked art teachers around the area to take a survey about their experience with under funding, and the impact that this has on their students.

The prison system in America is systemically flawed. Despite efforts to fight systemic racism and lower the black-to-white disparities in incarceration rates, a disproportionate number of black people are being incarcerated for crimes for which white people would not even be convicted. 1 in 3 black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetimes, as opposed to 1 in 17 white men (Knafo, 2013). This problem has negatively impacted the black communities in America because they are disproportionately criminalized and convicted. There are similar disparities when it comes to education, mental health, and socioeconomic status. Those who are less educated, have mental illnesses, and/or come from a poor background are more likely to end up in prison. Defy Ventures and the Young Women’s Freedom Center are working to lower the rates of incarceration and recidivism by addressing these disparities. This project focuses on the disparities in the prison system and within those being incarcerated through visits to the California State Prison at Solano and the Young Women's Freedom Center in San Francisco. Through the research at these two centers, my project will provide further information about these disparities and injustices within the system, to address the need for change in the prison systems in America.

The aim of this research project is to study the deliberate use of music to decrease stress and increase motivation among high school students in Palo Alto. While music therapy has been shown to be affective in increasing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, this practice requires the services of a trained music therapist. However, music can still benefit those who take deliberate action on their own. An initial survey searches for a problem among students in levels of stress and motivation, as well s knowledge about music’s health benefits. This project then utilizes an experiment in which participants will listen to specific types of music when they want to decrease stress or increase motivation.

A large part of whether an athlete can succeed in high school and beyond is how they respond to and view failure and errors made while playing in a game, such as a missed shot or turnover in basketball. Game time situations, meaning events that take place during time-sensitive moments while facing an opponent in an official match, can be stressful. This stress can lead athletes to browbeat and question themselves, making them more susceptible to simple mistakes and less likely to take risks, hindering their overall performance (Santas, 2015). By being able to refocus their actions positively, they will be able to see their mistakes as learning experiences. They are able to accomplish this with methods like talking kindly to themselves and taking deep breaths (Puff, 2017). This hypothetically enables them to rebound in a positive way, leading them to look to the next play to improve, like working extra hard on defense or taking more shots when open. This project will examine how the application of some of these techniques, specifically breathing techniques, changes athletes' mindsets in a positive way and coutneracts the negative effects of game time stress.

In an increasingly globalized society, foreign language education is a key factor in breaking barriers and immersing oneself in a culture different from one's own. Most high schools have a two year language requirement, but many students choose not to continue language studies after the graduation requirement is met. Working with students and teachers, new methods of teaching were brainstormed in order to engage students and encourage continuation beyond 2 or 3 years.

Over the course of the last few years, undocumented immigration has become more of a hot topic than ever. With all the discussion in recent months about DACA, deportation, and other issues, it has become increasingly difficult to separate facts from inaccurate rhetoric to understand how immigrants are actually integrated into American society. By understanding the policies set in place by individual states, one can begin to have a greater understanding of how immigration and public policy influence one another, and how that affects society as a whole. This project will look for a correlation between state-specific integration policies and the movement of undocumented immigrants between these states.

This research aims to determine which types of instructional technology teachers should use to drive student learning. Over 90% of schools provide access to computers and internet access, but many teachers either choose not to use instructional technology or use technology ineffectively. This study aims to produce results that can assist teachers in choosing the most effective and efficient types of instructional technology to modernize their classrooms to reflect the digital age.