The purpose of this study was to determine if the students in the 5th grade class at Granite Hill Elementary were overweight or obese. The research questions included: (a) Does the Granite Hill Elementary School population mirror the world wide trend of increasing childhood overweight and childhood obesity, and (b) how does the Granite Hill Elementary School population compare to the International Obesity Task Force standards?

The purpose of the study was to examine Mexican-Americans values and attitudes toward education and further explore some of the reasons Mexican-Americans drop out of school at such high rates.

The State of California has for some time been con- fronted with the great number of school districts, each an independent political division. In the past, several attempts have been made to enlarge these existing districts through consolidation or unionization, and provisions have been made in the school code whereby districts may consolidate. So far, little progress has been made. California, like many other states, has inherited the Now England tradition of the district school. This is the chief reason why she has to many school districts.

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This study evaluated through an analysis of baseline data whether Stockton Unified School District's board decision to transition from middle school settings to K-8 settings result in: increased student achievement as measured by performance on the California Standards Tests (CSTs) in English language arts and Mathematics, and decreased problem behaviors as measured through the number of suspensions at the 7th grade level in its first year of implementation for the 2006-2007 school year. Four former middle schools and thirty nine K-8 elementary school's achievement and suspension data comprised the purposeful sample for this one shot case study. Former middle school populations averaged 684 to 747 students per school while the average number of 7th grade students attending the newly formed K-8s averaged 85 students per site. Categorical variables were controlled for ethnicity, gender, second language learner, socioeconomically deprived and school wide. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to create a time analysis of 7th grade student performance and behavior as measured by number of suspensions through the use of time trend analysis over a four year period 2002-2003 through 2005-2006. In order to find performance and suspension levels for each categorical variable, scores were derived as the difference between each categorical variable and the growth rate of White (the omitted category). Chow Test (1960) was applied to test for change in setting from the middle school to K-8. Results determined no significant growth in academic achievement in English language arts or mathematics for any subgroup following the move to a K-8 setting. Second language learners demonstrated a statistically significant drop at -6.8 percent from Far Below Basic in English language arts over the four year period of attending a middle school setting. No other subgroup showed any statistical significance in performance over time when compared to the growth of their White constituents. Statistical significant findings were found for number of suspensions for all subgroups over time and with the move to a K-8 setting for Hispanic, Black and Asian males and females. Implications for educators and future research are discussed.

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 study of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) within a social and emotional learning (SEL) program is timely as it supports the increasing body of literature on narrowing the educational gaps prevalent among Black students. Current research is lacking regarding if and how educators utilize CRP to support the learning of SEL competencies with Black students. For this study, the tenets of cultural relevance, SEL competencies, and the leadership practices of one urban district seeking to increase its overall accountability rating as deemed by the state of Texas were examined. The purpose of this study was to determine the adequacy of the district's response to the needs of Black students in terms of cultural relevance when selecting a SEL program and developing a support plan for the program's implementation at the campus level. A secondary purpose was to examine the extent to which the district embedded CRP practices into their adopted SEL program. A qualitative exploratory research design and case study research approach were utilized. Documents related to the SEL program chosen by the district were analyzed. In addition, semi-structured interviews with district leaders and a focus group with campus administrators were conducted. It was found that there were no direct actions by the district toward ensuring that district's SEL program was culturally relevant nor was there support provided to ensure that SEL was implemented in a way that would be meaningful to Black students. Implications for future practice, recommendations for future research, and a researcher reflection serve as the conclusion.

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