Original Research by School Decision on Pace Center for Girls Treasure Coast
PACE Center for Girls Treasure Coast is an alternative school serving middle and high school grades in Fort Pierce, on Virginia Avenue near Indian River State College's main campus. It operates under the St. Lucie County school district and is designed specifically for girls, serving a deliberately small student body. The school's size is notably small even for an alternative setting, and that intimacy is a defining feature of the environment rather than a limitation.
Because PACE is an alternative school serving a specialized population, several metrics that appear on most school profiles simply do not apply here in the usual way. State assessment proficiency data, graduation rate comparisons, and chronic absenteeism figures were not available in the data for this school. This is common for alternative programs of this type, where enrollment circumstances and program goals differ from those of a traditional comprehensive school, so the absence of those figures should not be read as a performance signal in either direction. A parent considering PACE would want to speak directly with the school about student outcomes, program completion, and post-graduation planning.
What the enrollment data does show is a student body that concentrates most heavily in the upper grades, with the largest clusters in tenth and eleventh grade. The racial and ethnic composition reflects a mix of Black, Hispanic, and white students. A relatively modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, lower than one might expect for an alternative school in this community, though data on English learner status and students with IEPs was not reported. The program serves girls in grades six through twelve, though the current enrollment skews toward the upper end of that range.
Academically, PACE programs nationally are publicly reported to center on individualized, trauma-informed learning designed for girls who face barriers that make a traditional school setting difficult. The Fort Pierce location sits within a district that has made recent investments in teacher retention, mental health services, and school security through a renewed operating property tax, all of which flow to district-affiliated programs. The district is also in an active growth phase, having opened its first new high school in nearly two decades and with another school planned.
Fort Pierce itself is the county seat, a coastal city with an older, walkable downtown centered on the Indian River Lagoon waterfront. The downtown has a working waterfront character, with fishing, a marina, a Saturday farmers market, and a walkable arts and dining strip. The city is in an active redevelopment period: a large mixed-use project on the former power plant site downtown has been under development for years and, after developer changes in 2025, received an updated site plan, though some phases are now projected toward the end of the decade. Publicly reported accounts note that longtime residents have raised concerns about affordability as this investment moves forward.
Housing in the Fort Pierce zip code is priced roughly in line with the national median, and modestly below the Florida state benchmark, though values have softened slightly year over year. Carrying costs at current mortgage rates would require a meaningful income to service comfortably, and the price-to-income ratio sits above four, which is consistent with housing stress at middle-income levels. Rental cost data was not available for this zip code specifically.
For families specifically seeking an alternative pathway for a daughter who needs a different academic environment from what a conventional middle or high school provides, PACE is worth a direct conversation with the school. Program offerings, staffing, counseling resources, and what the individualized model looks like in practice are all things the data here cannot fully answer.
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