By Shirley Hall, Framework Specialist at The Danielson Group
About Pace Center for Girls
For almost forty years, Pace Center for Girls has been transforming the lives of girls and young women. Founded in 1985 by Vicki Burke, the first Pace Center launched with ten girls in Jacksonville, Florida. Vicki had an idea, rooted in facts, that girls were entering the juvenile justice system as a response to delinquent behavior often caused by trauma. Pace has successfully grown to annually serve more than 3,000 girls in 23 locations in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Through a successful and proven evidence-based model, focused on the development of critical life, health, and academic skills, Pace has changed the life trajectory of more than 40,000 girls and is recognized as one of the nation’s leading advocates for girls in need.
The Danielson Group (DG) & Pace Center for Girls
Working together for many years and through multiple iterations, the Danielson Group (DG) team is honored to have supported educators at Pace Center for Girls in using the common language of the Framework for Teaching (FFT) to inform teacher practice within their unique context.
At the beginning of 2020, Pace was at a pivotal point. The leadership team was facing the reality and challenge that there was a limited number of school community members on their support team to implement meaningful professional learning initiatives for their various partners in addition to limited access to resources. They were ready to partner with the DG in an exciting new way. Leveraging past experiences with the FFT, Pace leaders developed a plan to build new tools and structures for observation that intentionally focused on teacher learning, growth, and development.
Thanks to game-changing ESSER funding in 2022, Pace now had the resources to support a coaching team and shift the conversation to one of deeper growth and development to help every teacher and student thrive. As the DG Framework Specialist, I collaborated with site leaders and teachers to help organize work groups and a process for deep analysis and selection of Framework Components most related to teacher and instructional development at Pace Center for Girls. Additionally, funding made it possible to shift focus to training coaches in a way that carefully and purposely supported their individual learning to develop and mentor educators in a supportive culture of teacher development. Our continued collaborative and cooperative relationship involves working with teachers to apply the structure and benefits of the Framework in a learning environment. With the help of facilitated trainings, teachers are able to perceive the elements of effective teaching in a positive light.
"Additionally, funding made it possible to shift focus to training coaches in a way that carefully and purposely supported their individual learning to develop and mentor educators in a supportive culture of teacher development."
What has been the main impact of this partnership? What are the key benefits that Center educators have experienced since the partnership began?
Laura Hernandez, M.Ed., Lead Academic Coach and one of the key support staff supervisors for Pace Center for Girls, put it best: “One of the main and lasting impacts of partnering with Shirley and the Danielson Group is that we created a space for dialogue across centers around effective teaching and how to grow as Center leaders.” Through this collaboration, leaders and coaches were able to effectively employ the tools and recommendations within the Framework to better support students academically, socially, and emotionally. One of the key achievements that resulted from the hard work of Pace educators was a guide and process for observation. It was important to develop a coherent approach to teacher growth that closely aligns with the values, guiding principles, and foundational pillars of the organization. “The focus of the process is on teacher development. It provides a strategy to create a feedback loop where teachers receive information to understand and reflect on their practice, enhance their skills, and improve the processes of teaching and learning.” A clear path and strategy was uncovered to incorporate leadership preparation that ensured Center leaders felt supported to carry out effective implementation prioritizing teacher guidance and support. In addition to creating a space, guidelines, and process for leaders to grow, a direct result of this collective work and commitment was a new space for students to grow and thrive.
“One of the main and lasting impacts of partnering with Shirley and the Danielson Group is that we created a space for dialogue across centers around effective teaching and how to grow as Center leaders.”
What has the Pace team achieved since partnering with the DG?
Pace Center for Girls has made tremendous strides and improvements that elevate educators’ roles at each center location. Beginning with the expansion of practices and resources thanks to ESSER funding, Pace has been able to recruit and develop a coaching team to nurture the observation process. Following this, work groups were able to collaborate as PLCs to dive into deeper analysis of FFT Components and develop a comprehensive observation guide to fit Pace’s priorities and guiding pillars. This enabled and empowered Center leaders and teachers to carry out teacher-led observations to highlight deliberate practice growth targets with the goal to shift how feedback is utilized and focus on expanding opportunities centered on teacher growth and conversation.
How can others learn from this partnership?
When a district or school community opens up the conversation to a diverse group of staff and faculty within their own school, including non-academic staff who bring a different lens and perspective, widespread buy-in, commitment, and motivation is the result. In the case of Pace, it created a better process and document for the guide’s creation. Because of this commitment to inclusion, development, and the students they serve, Pace Center for Girls has positively impacted school community members at every level.
“Because of this commitment to inclusion, development, and the students they serve, Pace Center for Girls has positively impacted school community members at every level.”