Regarding California's current educational system, educators, legislators and parents express concern about state standards and what happens when students do not meet the standards. Schools are implementing state- and district-mandated curricula to assist the students in meeting the state standards, but not all students are achieving this learning goal. Many districts are turning to after-school programs to help meet the needs of the students. Programs have spread throughout the country because of the federal and state grants, such as the 21 st Century Grant. One district that received money was the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD), which serves students in Watsonville and Aptos, California. This study focused on a curriculum model for the after-school program in PVUSD. The curriculum incorporated theories of language learning and acquisition, appropriate curriculum models for English Learners, and research-based effective teaching strategies. The study is a mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative data. Twenty-four students from three schools in PVUSD participated in interviews, classroom observations and analysis of classroom work. Sixty students took a pre-and-post IPT Reading Tests and the QIA Oral Reading Test. Thirty of the sixty students were in classes using the content based ELD curriculum in an after-school program and the other thirty were also in the after-school program using the district adopted Hampton Brown program. The data from the total scores on both the reading and the oral language tests showed that the group that used the district created ELD curriculum scored significantly higher than the group that used Hampton Brown. The group that used the district created ELD curriculum also scored significantly higher on three of the four subtests on the IDEA Reading Test. From the interviews, classroom observations and analyzing student work, four themes emerged. These themes were enjoyment in learning English, feeling safe at school and getting help, lower anxiety and engaging activities. The curriculum was proven to be successful to some degree and the students were able to give the researcher and the district input as to the effect that the curriculum and the after-school program has had on their learning and their lives.

The rate of overweight and obesity among adolescents aged 12-19 years has more than tripled since 1980, and disproportionately impacts low-income and marginalized populations. Reduction in adolescent obesity rates may result in decreased health risks, decrease healthcare costs, and increased quality of life. Effective intervention methods for adolescent participants have incorporated nutrition knowledge and culinary skill building into afterschool programs. This study examines whether building knowledge, skills, and confidence through a culinary intervention can improve adolescent participants’ choices of healthful foods through increased fruit and vegetable intake. Pink and Dude Chefs (PDC) is an afterschool nutrition education and culinary skills program for middle-school adolescents aged 11-14 years. This project aimed to improve eating behavior in participants by increasing culinary and nutrition self-efficacy. PDC was implemented in Shandon, California from Spring 2014 to Fall 2014, and in Santa Maria, Guadalupe, and New Cuyama, California from Fall 2015 to Summer 2016. Eighty-three middle school students participated and completed surveys in the 12-lesson program that covered food safety, micro- and macronutrients, meal planning, and USDA MyPlate guidelines. Participant fruit and vegetable consumption improved following participation. Girls’ frequency of overall fruit consumption increased from a mean of 1.8 (SD 0.9) to 2.0 (SD 1.0). Girls’ vegetable consumption increased from 1.2 (SD 0.8) to 1.5 (SD 0.9). Boys’ fruit consumption increased from 1.9 (SD 1.0) to 2.2 (SD 1.0), and boys’ vegetable consumption increased from 1.1 (SD 0.9) to 1.3 (SD 0.8). More research is needed to evaluate the long-term effect of participation in nutrition education and culinary skills programs. If obesity prevention programs that incorporate a skill-based culinary approach continue to show promising outcomes for adolescents, larger scale efforts may contribute to decreasing the public health and economic burdens associated with obesity.