therapist

substitute teacher

teacher

mathematics teacher

substitute

Pace Center for Girls

If you worked in public schools but decided you needed a much, much bigger challenge, Pace is definitely the place for you. 

Pros: 
-You feel like your presence there is meaningful and that you're enriching the lives of kids who need you. 
-The staff is fun-loving and sweet. 
-Because of the high turnover rates, you have to REALLY mess up to get fired, so there's decent job security. It's a great place for new teachers to test their mettle. 
-Usually, testing is performed by support staff. 
-If you can keep your sanity, you'll grow as a person and an educator. 
-The benefits are great. Ample amount of vacation, sick, personal leave; health benefits are fantastic, etc. 
-Management is very flexible with time off in most cases. 
-Management is compassionate. 
-I can't say enough positive things about the personalities of the staff. Everyone really puts their heart into their work, and it's obvious.
-Management responds promptly if there is a student altercation in the classroom. 

Cons: 
-Management, though supportive, is disorganized, flighty, and forgetful; sometimes, a bit incompetent. 
-Corporate creates new mandates without understanding what it's really like to be at a center. 
-Near-daily meetings are redundant and often painfully time-wasting; most would have been better as well-written emails. 
-Classes are multi-level, so there is no opportunity for whole group teaching or group-based teaching. 
-Student work is never evaluated for quality, but for completion; most students are many grades below-level and are unable to complete the independent work assigned to them without cheating. 
-Students don't have any type of growth/competency mentality. 
-Teachers are regularly pressured to push students through a class, even if they complete barely any of their coursework, so the center looks better on paper. 
-Nothing done on the educational side has any basis in educational research. 
-Some trainings don't take into consideration what existing employees already know and whether their time would be better spent in a different training. Scaffolded trainings would be a better approach here. 
-This job WILL age you if you can't keep yourself from caring too deeply. 
-Because of gaps in staff employment, it is rare for teachers to get planning periods. Sometimes, they also have responsibilities during the lunch period as well. 
-Lesson planning feels very much like busywork. 
-Teachers are unhappy, but unwilling to speak up because they feel like nothing would change and all they would end up doing is rocking the boat. 

Overall, there is a lot of heart at this company, and the mission is a great one. However, many of its accolades are on paper only. Very few students end up being able to rise above from their circumstances and turn things around. Expectations for students are not nearly high enough; it is accepted that when it comes to their learning, the train has long left the station. Doing the minimum is celebrated. When exam scores repeatedly reveal a lack of learning, little is done to address or revolutionize approaches. While there are talented teachers, they are crippled by the poorly designed educational structure. 


I want to share my experience to help others understand what really goes on behind the scenes here. Not everything is what it seems from the outside, and this ended up being one of the most toxic work environments I have experienced.

I also do not feel that the girls are truly learning in a way that will set them up for success after graduation. Test scores are low, and it often feels like academics are an afterthought, despite what is presented to the public.

Many staff are not treated with respect unless they say yes to everything or happen to be one of the favorites. There is no moving up if you are not considered a favorite even if you have the credentials. If you speak up about concerns or advocate for what is best for the girls, you risk being targeted or pushed out instead of being heard. There is a culture of fear, gossip, and favoritism that overshadows genuine teamwork, and it leads to constant burnout rather than the support needed to truly help the girls.

There is also very high turnover among staff, which says a lot about the environment. Good people come in hoping to make a difference but quickly leave once they see how things are really run. This instability impacts the girls, who deserve consistent, caring adults in their lives, not a revolving door of staff.

It was especially disheartening to hear leadership and some staff talk negatively about students behind closed doors, despite the organization’s public claims of empowerment and support for young people.

I share this because I hope the organization will one day reflect on how the culture they have created hurts both the staff and the girls they claim to care about. If you are considering working here, please go in with your eyes open. If you are a parent, I encourage you to ask deeper questions about how staff and students are treated day to day. Pay close attention to what your children tell you about the environment. Listen to your children.

Honestly feel like I've wasted years of my life. If you are outspoken or challenge leadership for not behaving in alignment with the values, then you are alienated and forced out. The leadership of the HR/OD department virtue signals and is steeped in favoritism. There is a reason the turnover for the organization has been hovering around 50% or higher since that induvial has been onboarded. When you are coaching managers how to behave but you are very clearly not behaving that way yourself, you are being disingenuous, and every team member that interacts with the leader of the HR department feels it. When folks making 55k are PIPed for even breathing, but folks that make 130k are promoted whilst causing irreparable damage to the organization, it tells you exactly what you need to know about what Pace believes versus what they preach.
The workload and pay do not match and they have a very disgusting saying of "the pace at pace is unlike any other." What that means is that they don't allow work/life balance or boundaries and will not promote you if you do not work on nights and weekends. If you are truly wanting to do the work the organization's mission highlights, go elsewhere. I promise Pace will only disappoint you.

PACE Volusia is a toxic workplace. It is a center that is all about a facades and how management looks to corporate and potential new students. The teachers and assistants are overworked as administrators are rarely seen. A lot of time spent with students is joyful and rewarding though extremely demanding, stressful and exhausting. You are not trained on how to handle situations. If you do not conform politically/ideologically or dare to point out any of their faults or areas of opportunity, if you have experience in education that contradicts their lack of pedagogy, if you are religious, or question their ideology-they will retaliate and suddenly find fault in you even if they’ve never watched you teach as they must be in control. It’s not about your teaching ability. It’s about your willingness to conform. A lot of time spent with students is time you will never be prepared enough to handle no matter how much experience you have unless you have worked in this population for years. The administration doesn’t like it if you strive to do something other than babysit with packet work. My advice would be to run far away from this toxic workplace and to not be fooled by their facade.

Incompetent and unprofessional center leadership - display discontent for company and their job every day.  Inexperienced teaching staff, inexperienced department managers, dissession amongst management team trickled to teaching and counseling team and had a negative impact on day-to-day operations.  Because center staff is so small there is no way to avoid it.   Teacher team has seriously negative members who are under par and are self-serving, back stabbing people.  Teachers constantly complain and are critical about every one and if you don't join them, you are ostricized. Sadly, the students recognize how unorganized this center is daily.  Counselor and teachers are never fully staffed and no support or minimal support from manager.   Both counselor and teaching managers do not help get the work done for their team and are egocentric.  If you are a professional, you will not like this workplace culture.  This company's purpose looks good on paper but the company does not operate the way it claims it does. 

What is happening at this center is really disturbing. They cannot keep staff because of the leadership at the center, particularly the executive director. Therefore, the place is usually understaffed. The leadership takes a long time to rehire people, if they replace the position at all. Everyone is expected to perform more than one job and even step into roles they are not fully qualified to perform. Corporate knows about the situation and does nothing, at least from what the employees can tell. Most employees are constantly looking for another job and it's basically an open secret that everyone plans to leave. 

The kids are wonderful, but working with them is a challenge. Staff is not supported the way they should be for the type of work that needs to be done with and for the girls. PACE is a great organization, but this location is not the best example of what a PACE center is supposed to be. I would not recommend working here unless serious changes are made.

It is undeniable that everyone comes for the mission but most people leave because of the mission. There is a strong lacking of leadership which starts at the National Office. There is no consistency and constant change without focusing on the main thing which is 1. the girls and 2. team members. Team members are not recognized for their strengths/assets and there is no real room for growth if you aren't liked or push against the powers that be. 

The benefits are great and the PTO is better than many other non-profits. Depending on the center, you may have a relationship with peers that feels like family and other centers feel like a load of toxicity. The National Office picks and chooses who to hold accountable in their leadership roles and seems to genuinely care very little about improving the workplace climate. Feels more like going through the motions to look good than to do good. 

Pace center can be a rewarding place to work when working with the girls.  Work culture takes away from all that due to incompetent leadership and overall hostile work environment. Reach Director provides limited to no support and no training. Director of Reach program poor work ethics yet employees are suppose to perform. The staff turnover rate is very high. The stress level is high and you are given no support. Those in leadership are constantly absent and unavailable yet when something goes wrong they are quick to point finger especially Director of Reach. Every staff member secretly are looking for other employment. Director is not consistent with procedures as she provides one answer and it changes weekly yet when something goes wrong quick to blame employee corporate is aware and does nothing. No support whatsoever. I wouldn't recommend working at PACE. My experience was awful.

I worked for them for 8 months found the students to be mainly cooperative and I had no negative interactions (other than one or two). My issues were the inconsistency with management. There was a change in the teaching process so I spent hours updating my lessons. The next week the process changed again and I spent hours preparing. The next week it changed again. When we were told one thing and did it that way we were then reprimanded for doing it the wrong way. 
The school is affiliated with other entities so there is a lot of paperwork involved. I would spend hours working nights and weekends. I have taught for over 20 years and never experienced so much work, inconsistencies, or disrespect from the administration. 
It was very clear that certain teachers were spoken to and treated well were the ones that the administration favored. The ones that weren't favored were spoken to in ways that were inappropriate.

A typical day has structure in that a schedule is set for classes and activities. Beyond that, anything is possible, depending on staff outages and additional activities such as testing, field trips, pep rallies, student ceremonies, etc. Additionally, since we care for at-risk girls, all staff needs to be able to handle any day-to-day crisis that might occur.
I have learned a great deal of patience and also resolve when dealing with the students in my care. The management team is very supportive and the whole staff works as a team. It is more of a family atmosphere and someone is always there to help out as needed.
The hardest part of the job is dealing with the constant change of requirements from the Departments of Education and Juvenile Justice. One must be very flexible in this job. I like doing my part to help change lives and watch our students grow and develop into mature young women. I also like being part of a great team.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Therapist 22 salaries reported	$58,500 per year
Substitute teacher 51 salaries reported	$19.88 per hour
Teacher 5 salaries reported	$55,000 per year
Mathematics teacher 4 salaries reported	$23.22 per hour
Substitute 1 salary reported	$18.31 per hour

Working at Pace Center for Girls: Company Overview and Reviews

Pace Center for Girls

Pace Center for Girls Ratings

Popular jobs at Pace Center for Girls

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected