As COO, Karen Shepherd has systematically introduced data driven decision making into the educational process at Pace School to improve performance analysis and ultimately student outcomes. Under her leadership, the Sanctuary® Model of trauma informed care is being embraced as the School’s guiding treatment philosophy.

In addition to her extensive personal experience using curriculum-based measurement (CBM), she has taught CBM procedures as an adjunct faculty member at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and at numerous conferences at the state and national level. Ms. Shepherd introduced AIMSweb Progress Monitoring and Benchmarking at Pace School in 2004 to monitor the achievement and response to intervention of at-risk learners and to assist teachers with instructional decision-making. She is also a certified Aimsweb Trainer.

Ms. Shepherd holds a Masters Degree in Education from Vanderbilt University and has three decades of cumulative experience in special education in the states of Florida, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. She served as President of the Alliance of Approved Private Schools and chairperson of their Trends, Results and Issues (TRI) Committee.