PaceEducation.org, a Princeton-based organization that is bridging the education gap by providing free and reduced personalized tutoring services to students struggling or with a financial need, was recently awarded a Provident Bank Foundation grant. In support of the program's current and future mentees, PACE received a $2,000 Community Grant to further their services and efforts across Mercer County, NJ.

PACE Education, Personalized Academic Coaching for Everyone, empowers low-income students in the Central New Jersey area by providing them weekly professional tutoring and/or counseling services. PACE supports students within 400% of the poverty line.

Focusing on three primary areas in the learning process: academics, mental health, and social-emotional learning, PACE hires highly trained teachers and counselors. They are specifically trained to help students overcome their learning challenges by creating a safe and trusted learning environment and are qualified to understand the many challenges that students may face in any aspect of their lives.

Each student is matched with a mentor who they meet with once per week. PACE seeks to assist any learners who would identify as experiencing some barrier to their learning that they cannot overcome with the resources they currently have access to and whose family’s income is equal to or below 200% of the federal poverty line.

PACE also partners with charitable organizations in across the community that need highly qualified educators to improve the quality of their teacher training and classroom programming. Staff members hold numerous New Jersey teaching and Social Emotional learning certifications and are specifically qualified to assist these organizations in designing education and counseling services for their students.

PACE was founded this year by a team of teachers who wanted to make a difference in personalized student tutoring and mentoring. They plan to expand across New Jersey over the next year, offering their services to additional students and families.