says. “This widens our knowledge base and
helps us to de-escalate any situation that
might occur.”
Pace also offers partial hospitalization to
students enrolled in its approved private
school. This program provides intense
mental health support, including medication
management, daily therapy and classroom
monitoring, and serves as an alternative to
inpatient treatment.
“Our school districts have done a
remarkable job for students with special
needs, but sometimes a student has intensive,
complicated issues that need further care.
Many kids, for example, come from stressful
environments, whether it’s the result of a
chronic illness, violence or trauma,” notes
Shepherd.
Pace serves children in kindergarten
through 10th grade and partners with
more than 40 school districts throughout
Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Indiana,
Washington and Westmoreland counties. The
school teaches the same academic subjects
and same standards-aligned curriculum as
all public schools, and students must receive
a referral from their local school district to
attend.
As the school celebrates its fifth decade,
it has plans to extend the high school and
career readiness programs and enhance
opportunities in science, technology,
engineering and math. Right now, students
often transition back to a public high school
or to another school that’s similar to Pace to
graduate, which Shepherd says is disruptive to
student learning.
“Our immediate focus is on developing
our high school program, so that our
students graduate from here, ready to be
employed. Our goal is for them to have a
seamless transition from our high school into
adulthood,” she explains.
Shepherd hopes that Pace will see its first
graduating class within the next three years.
In the meantime, the school will continue
its 50th anniversary celebration. Pace
sponsored a fall festival in October as a
homecoming for past and current students
and staff. It also will host a prom at the end
of the school year to honor the founders and
former students, including one of the school’s
original students, Robert Gold, who is now
the school’s board president. In addition, Pace
is sponsoring a “50 for 50” fundraiser, a social
media campaign that hopes to raise $50,000
for the school in one year. n
Woodland Hills | Winter 2016 | icmags.com 13