Project Overview

The goal of Project PISCES was to learn about how schools influence young people’s healthy development. We were interested in the positive aspects of schools, such as academic and emotional support, as well as negative aspects such as experiences of discrimination. We were also interested in how support from family and positive neighborhoods can promote positive school outcomes and mental health. We hope that this study will advance the scientific understanding of students and their schools in order to improve young people’s well-being.

We surveyed 8th grade students in the 2016-2017 and 2017- 2018 school years. All Project PISCES participants had parental permission to participate, as well as agreeing themselves to participate in the study. We conducted two follow-up surveys when students were in 9th grade (2017-2018 and 2018-2019) and in 10th grade (2018-2019 and 2019-2020). Students received monetary compensation for completing those surveys.

Our research team has worked very hard on Project PISCES, and we are now in the stage of the project where we are analyzing our data. We look forward to continuing to learn important information from the student participants in our central Texas schools!