PS9 PACE
PS9 PACE: Setting A Collaborative Rhythm in Our Hive
PS9 PACE is a framework developed and supported by the PTO for building on who we are as engaged parents to enhance our school partnership. It is centered on four cornerstone values:- PATIENCE creates space for collaboration. When we take a breath before responding and allow reasonable time for communications, we enable thoughtful work.
- AWARENESS builds understanding. School decisions involve multiple stakeholders—students, teachers, families, the NYC Public Schools system, and third-party programs to name a few. When we expand our perspective, we better understand why some decisions may not meet all of our individual needs.
- CURIOSITY opens doors. When a decision doesn't make sense to us, we assume best intentions and start conversations by asking for context.
- EMPATHY strengthens our community. We're all juggling competing priorities under different constraints—public school resources, family schedules, personal circumstances—which means that information may not always reach us immediately or perfectly. When we're feeling confused or out of the loop, we assume positive intent and extend grace to one another for honest mistakes.
Like a thriving beehive, our school works best when every member—families, teachers, staff, and students—works together.
Why PACE Matters
PS9 families are engaged. We show up. We volunteer. We care deeply about our children and this school. Family engagement is a strength and a core part of what makes PS9 special.
We want to make sure our engagement strengthens our partnership with our school rather than unintentionally creating stress. The way families communicate their care—the timing, the tone, the channel they choose—can either open doors for collaboration or put pressure on the people we're trying to work with to support our students. How does our community maintain strong engagement while making sure everyone—families, students, and staff—can thrive?
The four PACE values aren’t a magic wand that will fix every interaction. They don’t guarantee we'll always get the outcomes we want. Sometimes the answer will still be no, or the timeline will stay what it is. PACE isn't about judging each other or policing how we each communicate. It doesn't mean never addressing problems or just accepting everything.
PACE is about caring so much that we want to make sure our engagement actually helps our children and supports the people who show up for them at school every day. It's about making sure our conversations are productive and our partnerships are strong.
Why PACE? Why Now?
We’re parenting and partnering in a time that feels particularly challenging. All kinds of systems that used to feel more predictable now feel uncertain. Many of us are carrying anxiety about our children’s opportunities and futures—for understandable reasons.
We’re also living in a broader cultural moment where empathy is sometimes dismissed as weakness, where compromise can feel like losing, where we’re encouraged to dig in rather than reach across. When we’re anxious and when the world around us is divisive, it becomes harder to pause. Harder to be curious. Harder to extend grace. It becomes easier to react quickly, to assume the worst, to protect fiercely.
We’re doing our best in challenging times.
But we can create a culture at PS9—one that’s built on patience, awareness, curiosity, and empathy — and the many other positive values our diverse backgrounds and cultures have embedded in us.
Our teachers, administrators, and staff have dedicated their careers to supporting our students. Through the pandemic and beyond, they've shown up—navigating impossible situations, holding our anxieties alongside their own, and doing their best for our children day after day. When we build on who we are as engaged parents to enhance our partnership with them, our hive can thrive and our children can flourish.
Like runners who pace themselves for a marathon rather than sprinting at the start, PACE helps us set a sustainable rhythm that supports our community from September through June—and beyond!
Join us at PTO meetings to explore what these values can look like in practice at PS9. Together, we can create the kind of school community our children deserve—one where they see adults working together with respect, curiosity, and grace. We're excited to have conversations, share experiences, and learn from each other.
PACE is a framework for building collaborative partnerships. It doesn't take precedence if legal requirements are involved (IEPs, 504s, Title IX, etc.), mandated services are not being provided, your child's safety is at risk, or you're experiencing discrimination or bias. In these situations, advocacy and formal processes take priority. PACE supports how we communicate, but never asks anyone to compromise on their child's rights or safety.