About PACE Pasco PDF Print

PACE Pasco opened in 1998, and currently serves 40-42 Pasco County girls in our day program, with 197 girls receiving follow-up services through our transition program.  PACE Pasco’s target population is at-risk girls in Pasco County ages 12 to 18 who have experienced minimal success in the public school system and have either dropped out or have been identified as potential dropouts.  At PACE Pasco, girls work to become productive citizens, who value their education, repair family relationships, celebrate their achievements and build self-confidence.  At PACE Pasco, girls turn their lives around every day.  For example, of girls enrolled in PACE Pasco in 2008-2009:

  • 96% improved their academic functioning, with 75% advancing by at least one grade level.  This outcome illustrates the success of PACE’s individualized academic program.
  • 85% did not enter or re-enter the Juvenile Justice system, with 84% remaining crime-free one year after transitioning from PACE.  This outcome shows the impact that the PACE program has on the girls’ positive decision making skills.
  • 94% of girls leaving PACE were successfully mainstreamed back to public school or other appropriate educational setting.  This outcome demonstrates PACE’s success in ensuring that each girl is placed in an appropriate setting based on her individualized treatment plan.

A place of security and a place of love
A place that's like a guardian angel sent from above
Born into a world with little direction
A girl grasped into healing hands to guide her with correction
I felt all alone in the world
But PACE told me I can make a difference, I'm not just a girl

I let go of my hopes and dreams
Without warning, everything went downstream
I let go of myself
I had nowhere to turn, I had no help

Walking in the door
A feeling rushed through my body, a feeling never felt before
Teachers with arms wide open
Reminding me I don't ever have to give up again

The cheerful laughs, the warm smiles
Welcoming me to stay a while
Bettering my future and my life
Learning to take risks and make the sacrifice
Taking one step at a time
These angels never leaving my side

June 9, 2008 I walked into the doors of what I can now call home
A place that believes in girls
A place that believes in me
A place called PACE.

-  Danielle E.