Drive to support girls' futures
Since 1985, Pace has been on a mission to find the great in every girl. Discover what drives us to carry this work forward.
Values & Guiding Principles
Pace Center for Girls is built on nine core principles that guide our work:
- Honor the Female Spirit
- Focus on Strengths
- Act with integrity and positive intent
- Embrace growth and change
- Value the Wisdom of Time
- Exhibit Courage
- Seek Excellence
- Create Partnerships
- Invest in the Future
Our Mission
Pace provides girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy.
Our Three Pillars
Our three pillars lay the foundation for our approach to supporting and equipping girls throughout their journeys.
Gender-Responsive
The way that girls learn and develop is unique. We create an environment that responds to the needs of the girls so they can feel safe to develop meaningful and trusting relationships and embrace their capability, strength and autonomy
How we do it
- Provide healthy communities for girls and young women
- Build environments for girls to build healthy relationships with peers
- Champion unique skills
Strength-Based
Every girl brings something unique to the table. We focus on developing these unique characteristics, fostering a girl's talents and positive attributes to help her achieve her goals.
How we do it
- Day-to-day engagement with Pace counselors and staff
- The Pace Growth & Change program encourages action and measures success
- Counselors take a strengths-based approach in their one-on-one sessions with girls
Trauma-Informed
Trauma can alter the course of a girl's life. Trauma-informed means acknowledging that trauma may be driving unhealthy behaviors, and working to help heal and empower girls.
How we do it
- Team members are trained to recognize the symptoms of trauma and to understand how trauma can affect a girl’s behavior
- We build long-term relationships with girls.
- Knowledge of a girls’ past experiences, goals and challenges all inform care. We focus on safety and transparency at all times, with awareness of cultural, historical, and gender issues
Pace has 23 Centers throughout the state of Florida, and partners with additional communities and school districts in Georgia and South Carolina to provide counseling services through our Reach program. Pace’s National Office is located in Jacksonville, FL. Find a location near you.
Pace is a non-profit organization that provides academic classes, counseling and social services to middle and high school girls. Our programs work in alignment with local school districts’ standards to ensure each girl’s personalized achievement plan meets all academic requirements.
If you are interested in enrolling at Pace please complete our Program Inquiry Form to be in contact with the Pace location nearest you to see if Pace is right for you.
Pace provides programs and services at no cost to our girls and their families.
We do not offer any residential programs. Pace offers day programs at our 21 centers and provides our Reach programs within the local community.
Each girl’s time with Pace depends on their needs. Pace works with each girl to build an individualized plan based around their personal goals and academic requirements. Pace helps younger girls progress to transition back to their home school or a similar situation. Pace works with older high school girls to progress toward graduation and create a plan for continued education or career.
Transportation options vary between Centers, with some centers providing bussing options and public transportation vouchers for girls. Please contact your nearest location for Center-specific transportation options.
The number of girls served by Pace varies depending on location. Pace focuses on maintaining small class sizes in order to provide individualized attention to each girl.
Pace offers a variety of ways for the community to support Pace. Volunteer and internship opportunities vary depending upon location.
Some Pace locations accept donations of gift cards, clothing, and other household items to help support our girls and their families. Please contact your nearest location for more information. Pace also accepts monetary donations online.
All current job openings are posted on Pace’s career portal. For additional information on the status of any openings please contact our recruiting team.