This project will be a multi-variable analysis of the root cause of gang-related gun violence in Chicago. It will examine how Chicago and neighboring states such as Indiana and Wisconsin view firearms and how that translates to their state legislature. In addition, the project will look at how and why gangs still operate in a city where firearm laws are stronger than surrounding areas.

My research project focuses on how the SAT and ACT are heavily skewed to benefit students whose families can afford extra preparation for these tests. In order to look further into potential solutions for this problem, this project seeks to set up complimentary SAT prep courses that would be provided at Paly during tutorial and monitor its impact.

Although there has been extensive research on the detrimental impacts of not maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm on physical wellbeing and academic excellence, many are unaware of the prevalence of such issues. Especially during an unprecedented time like this, it is important to prioritize our health and wellbeing. Through extensive data gathering, I was able to obtain results that show the drastic and unhealthy change in sleep health among local high schoolers during this time.

This project will be trying to find a way to change the criteria for battered woman syndrome so that it encompasses the whole experience of battered women. The narrow definition limits the amount of people who can use it in court to claim self-defense when killing an abuser preemptively. As a result, woman are being charged for murder. This project will focus on how to increase awareness for battered woman syndrome.

Child marriage, or “any formal marriage or informal union where one or both of the parties are under 18 years of age,” is a human rights violation and must be stopped. What strategies to end child marriage have been the most impactful thus far? Moving forward, how can/should organizations dedicated to ending child marriage refocus their efforts? Is there opportunity for them to work more collaboratively?

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.

While the discussion of mental health is becoming increasingly normalized, it can still be a sensitive topic. Gunn High School offers many resources and programs that promote mental health awareness. However, according to the Wellness Center at school, many students still refrain from discussing their mental health issues, such as anxiety, stress, or depression, with professionals. But why? The purpose of this project is to find the main reasons why students choose not to talk to professionals through an anonymous survey. Based on the survey results, possible solutions or new programs can be developed to encourage more students to open up about their mental health.

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.

Numerous studies have shown that students who learn musical instruments perform better at certain executive functioning tests. At the same time, schools in low-income neighborhoods are cutting their art and music programs due to a lack of funding. This research project aims to answer whether the disparity in access to music education between low-income and wealthy students affects the achievement gap.

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.