Benefits of Spanish Dual Immersion Programs on Elementary School Students

Dual immersion has become increasingly popular as a form of bilingual education nationwide, particularly in California. It offers students an educational experience that fosters bilingualism, biliteracy, and multicultural appreciation. This Senior Capstone project seeks to uncover the benefits of Spanish dual immersion programs for elementary school students. Upon completing a literature review and conducting field research involving surveys and interviews with Spanish dual immersion teachers and a district administrator from the Salinas area, the results indicate that Spanish dual immersion is beneficial to Hispanic elementary school students because it prepares them for academic success, high levels of second language proficiency, and sociocultural growth. The findings further reveal that these programs foster a sense of validation for Hispanic students, which is essential for their identity and self-esteem. Finally, the research examines the challenges faced by Spanish dual immersion teachers concerning resources and support, proposing potential improvements to equip them with the necessary tools to support students more effectively. By highlighting the benefits of Spanish dual immersion programs for elementary school students and addressing the crucial resources and support needed by teachers in this program, this research aims to encourage districts, parents, and community members to advocate for the continuation of Spanish dual immersion programs and motivate both current and future educators to pursue careers as Spanish dual immersion teachers

Effects of Teen Parents on Elementary School Students’ Academic Performance and Well-Being

This capstone research project examines the academic achievement and general welfare of elementary school children who have teenage parents. With the help of literature review, original qualitative research, anonymous surveys were sent to teachers and teen parents. The result findings uncover the difficulties faced by children of adolescent parents in terms of educational attainment. Highlighted findings revealed the complex interplay of socio-economic disadvantage, inadequate parental self-efficacy, emotional distress, and heightened learning environment barriers that these students face. These in turn affect their trajectory of development. In addition, responses from teachers indicated the chronic underachieving academically, exhibiting behavioral problems of the children, while teen parents described overwhelming feelings of judgment, insufficient support, and barriers to engagement with school. A number of parents, in spite of these obstacles, reported that they were strongly invested in their children’s success. This culturally informed framework demonstrates the need for intervention, while this research, in relation to other literature, advances discussions around educational inequity where specific action is needed to address intergenerational adversity

Breaking the Stigma: Connecting the Community to Mental Health Resources

United Way Santa Cruz County is a nonprofit organization which serves in various counties across the nation. The Jóvenes Sanos (JS) program, helps support youth in providing support and mental well being to the community. In supporting the cause of reducing the stigma of mental health. This project, Cultivating Community, was a resource fair which was aimed to support low income individuals of the community to learn about the different resources surrounding mental health, and increase knowledge of the importance of self care and mental wellbeing. In collaboration with other non-profit organizations, several workshops were implemented to demonstrate different forms of self care and resources to community members of Watsonville. A post survey was conducted in which over 50 participants shared which self care tool one will utilize in the future. This project met the expectations of being able to have over 30 partners within the county, share their resources to the community in which created a safe environment for the families, youth and children to be able to feel more informed about community resources. In the future, when hosting more resource fairs such as Cultivating Community. It is extremely important to be able to connect the communities to more valuable resources, in providing a safe space, for community members to come together and become informed in taking care of one’s own mental health

Memory Matters: Cognitive Screenings for Dementia Detection in Monterey County

The rates of Alzheimer’s disease in Monterey County are increasing. The Healthy Aging program from the Monterey County Health Department strives to promote the well-being and health of older adults and caregivers in Monterey County by offering education on brain health, support in adopting healthy lifestyles, and connecting to community services. Memory Matters is an example of a training or educational intervention. The purpose of Memory Matters is to bridge the gap of insufficient access to early detection of dementia by bringing awareness to brain health, and facilitating the conversation of cognitive exams with older adults, their caregivers, and their primary care providers. The implementation method consisted of gaining approval, developing and delivering a training curriculum, connecting with senior sites for location use, conducting the screenings, and interviewing participants. The final result was 25 seniors screened with 4 seniors showing signs of memory change. Of the 4 with signs of memory change, 2 were connected to a physician. It is suggested that the screening implementation continue beyond the Healthy Aging presentations

Understanding Student Behavior Through Positive Behavior Internventions and Supports

There are too many behavioral issues in the classroom. The Salinas Union High School District implements positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) for students from middle school through high school. These behavioral issues usually disrupt students\u27 learning which impacts their academic success and chances of graduating. The purpose of the PBIS understanding behavior powerpoint is a five lesson plan for staff and students to understand behaviors and how to apply a positive intervention in order to have a positive school climate where students feel welcomed and supported. An email was sent to all staff with instructions to review the presentation with their students. At the end of the presentation a survey is available for teachers to complete. The expected outcome to have is an overall improvement in student behavior and a reduction in disciplinary behaviors. The results of the survey showed that 12 of teachers completed the survey with 70 % providing positive remarks and experience. Recommendations for the school district is to continue doing yearly check-ins and training with staff to ensure the presentation remains effective for them as well as the students. Additionally, gathering feedback from the staff and parents about the presentation would allow for future improvements and insights

Impacts of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy on College Students\u27 Self-Esteem and Mental Health

The purpose of this senior capstone research project is to examine the potential impacts of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) on the self-esteem and mental health of college students. CRP is an approach which connects students’ cultures, experiences, and identities to what is taught in the classroom. Through the use of literature review and anonymous surveys to college students, faculty, and professors, the results suggest that students indeed benefit from the caring relationships which CRP creates at the university level. By assessing the methods of CRP implementation within higher education, this senior capstone also evaluates how educators could optimize their students’ learning when implementing this pedagogy in the classroom. Further research is needed to ascertain how the approach impacts college students’ self-esteem and mental health on a broader scale

Increasing Adolescents\u27 Awareness of the Impact of Sleep and the Importance of Healthy Sleep Habits

Middle school students often do not get the recommended amount of sleep each night and are unaware of the importance of sleep, negatively affecting their development. Poor sleep can affect their emotional well-being, academic performance, and physical health. When middle school students learn about better sleep hygiene, they can build better habits. To address this problem, I created a two-day lesson for eighth graders at the Dual Language Academy of the Monterey Peninsula in Seaside, California