Request for Proposals for Professional Development, Implementation and Coaching for California Common Core State Standards
NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION AND COACHING
FOR CALIFORNIA COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS AND LEA PLAN MONITORING
NOTICE IS HEREBY PROVIDED that the Novato Unified School District ("District") is accepting proposals from CA State-Approved providers to assist with the District's development and implementation of CA Common Core State Standards and with monitoring of the District's LEA
Plan.
It is the intention and desire of the District to ensure fair and open competition with respect to this RFP and to provide timely and complete information to all potential respondents. A pre-proposal conference will be held at the District office, 1015 Seventh St. Novato, CA 94945 on Friday Oct. 25 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Interested respondents are strongly encouraged to attend this conference to better understand and ask questions about the District's needs. Questions may also be submitted to the District by email only (no telephone calls, please) to Gladys Batz, Executive Assistant to Superintendent. Emailed questions must be received no later than Tuesday, October 29th, 2013. A summary of answers to questions submitted at the pre-proposal conference and by email (omitting the senders' names) will then be compiled into one document and posted on the District website by end of business Friday, November 1, 2013.
In the event that errors or omissions in this RFP document are discovered after release, corrections will be posted to the District website. The District may also publish updates or notices within the timeline provided herein. If you wish to receive email notification of any corrections or updates to this RFP, please email the District, Attention: Gladys Batz, to be included on the notification list.
Respondents must adhere to all guidelines and instructions herein; and, where indicated, to use the District's supplied forms to respond. The District reserves the right to reject any or all responses which contain errors, arrive after the due date/time, fail to furnish information in the format requested, are incomplete or are submitted by unqualified vendors. Proposals received after the due date/time will be returned to the respondent unopened. PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL AND, WHERE REQUIRED, USE THE DISTRICT SUPPLIED FORMS. The District reserves the right to waive any irregularities or informalities not affected by law, to evaluate the proposals submitted, and to award a contract, if any, according to the proposal which best serves the interests of the District at a reasonable cost to the District.
Respondents are to bear their own costs, and will not be reimbursed for any travel, mileage, documentation, mailing or messenger costs, or time incurred in the preparation of proposals.
A District Committee will review and score all proposals based on the evaluation criteria provided herein.
This RFP should not be construed as an obligation on the part of the District to enter into a contract with any particular respondent. The awarding of a contract, if at all, is at the sole discretion of the District.
For the period beginning on the date of the issuance of this RFP and ending on the date of the award of a contract, if any, no person or entity submitting in response to this RFP, nor any officer, employee, representative, agent, or consultant representing such a person or entity, shall contact through any means or engage in any discussion regarding this RFP, the evaluation or selection process/or the award of a contract with any member of the District’s Governing Board, selection members, or with any employee of the District except for clarifications and questions as described herein. Any such contact shall be grounds for the disqualification of the entity submitting that proposal.
The District will accept proposals from any and all qualified professional development providers who meet the needs and specifications of the District identified in this RFP. Selection of vendors will be on the basis of qualifications regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, sex, marital status, medical condition, or physical handicap.
The District thanks you in advance for your time and welcomes your proposal.
ALL PROPOSALS IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFP ARE DUE AT
3:00 P.M. ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2013
SUBMIT 6 (SIX) COPIES OF YOUR SIGNED PROPOSAL IN A SEALED ENVELOPE TO:
RFP TIMELINE
Wed. Oct. 16 RFP Released
Posted on District Website
Friday Oct. 25 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Pre-Proposal Conference at District Office
1015 Seventh Street, Novato 94945
Tuesday, Oct. 29 Deadline to email questions re: RFP
Emails to:
Friday, November 1 Summary of questions posted on District website
Friday, November 15 PROPOSALS DUE – 3:00 p.m.
Submit 6 (six) copies in a sealed envelope to:
1015 North Seventh St
Novato, CA 94945
Friday, November 22 Evaluation/scoring of Proposals Complete
Tuesday, December 3 Selection/Award of Contract at District's discretion
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR ASSISTANCE IN
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION
AND COACHING FOR CALIFORNIA COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
Novato Unified School District ("District") is a K-12 public school district in Marin County just north of San Francisco. The District served approx. 8,000 students and families in 2012-13. Over 2,000 District students qualify for the federal Free/Reduced school lunch program and the student demographics break-down as follows: 54.3% White students, 30.4% Hispanic or Latino, 4.9% Asian, 3.5% Black, 1% Filipino, 1% two or more races, and 0.4% Native American and Alaskan Native. The district serves 1,388 English Learners (ELs), approximately 17.2% of the student population. This is a 43% increase in the number of English Learners from ten years ago when the enrollment of EL students was 695 or 8.8%. A substantial majority of English Learners speaks Spanish as their native language, approximately 88%. Within the District there are two comprehensive high schools, two continuation high schools, two middle schools, one K-8 school, eight elementary schools, and an independent study program. There is also one Waldorf inspired charter school in Novato with approximately 243 students and a very low English Learners population (0.8%).
As many other districts in California, the District has dealt with enormous fiscal challenges posed by the economic recession. As a way to account for these fiscal challenges, the District reduced its central Curriculum and Instruction staff by one and half full administrators and one administrative secretary.
With this more limited staff and the advent of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the District recognizes the need to elicit additional support in the implementation of the CCSS and the necessary training of teachers on these standards. Therefore, the District seeking highly-qualified Professional Development provider to support the District in training teachers to develop a working and complete knowledge and understanding of the main concepts of the State Board of Education adopted CCSS, effective ways to integrate the concepts and skills associated with CCSS into their practice and the tools to develop effective instructional strategies to prepare students to meet these standards. Additionally, this organization should provide teachers with an understanding of the implications for improved rigor in effective instruction, student engagement, and depth of knowledge. (SBE, 2012)
The following provides information about what we have already implemented and completed as a district.
What we have done:
· Overview of the standards with all high school teachers, an hour of overview
· Work with K-12 English Language teachers for year-long collaborative with representatives from each site
· Some individual presentations of overview of the CCSS to all elementary teachers at particular sites.
· Math collaborative in K-5 and 6-12 groups with site representatives that
o K-5- worked on aligning current curriculum to CCSS
o 6-12- cross-walk with current standards and the CCSS, discussion about instructional strategies,
· Individual workshops (1 ½ hours) with all elementary teachers, teachers choose interest (science and writing, SS and writing, Connect the Dots, curriculum mapping and Icons of Depth & complexity)
· Various teachers from K-12 participated in a variety of Professional Development opportunities offered through County office or other organizations
· Pilot math materials- Math Excel and Algebra 1 & 2
· Supplemental Purchase of Reading Street
· 29 teachers developed CCSS aligned projects (PBL-BIE)
· Technology integration- BYOD, 1 -1 iPad program
· SIOP- for ELD teachers
Our plan for October 2013 through January 2014:
· 6-12: Work with ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies departments individually and conducted a needs assessment and share plan.
· K-5: Work with each of the elementary schools to conduct a needs assessment and share CCSS PD plan.
· K-8 Math professional development
· High School Math work- 3 hour review of pilot materials.
· ELA- K -12 PD- ELD writing sample.
· Elementary ELA planning and training on CCSS: 3 days with Kathy Glass
· Math training on CCSS: 1 day with in-house math specialist
The District’s specific needs are addressed within this RFP. Your proposal should address time and costs for a commitment of up to two years. Any contract issued pursuant to this RFP will commence December 3, 2013.
Notwithstanding the objectives of the District in seeking proposals, respondents are advised that the District may ultimately decide not to select and enter into a contract pursuant to this RFP. This RFP should not be construed as an obligation to enter into a contract on the part of the District with any respondent.
The District thanks you for your time and welcomes your proposal.
II. PROPOSAL FORMAT
1) SCOPE OF WORK/NEEDS OF THE DISTRICT- PLEASE LIMIT YOUR RESPONSE TO THE SECTION TO 10 PAGES
a) Common Core State Standards
The District is seeking proposals from qualified Professional Development service providers to assist with the implementation of Common Core State Standards and plan for the implementation at all grade levels. The chosen vendor will deliver professional development training, system recommendations that support CCSS, coaching and technical assistance to district and site instructional leader teachers and support staff.
Currently, the District has a K-12 teaching staff of approximately 350 spread over 13 school sites.
Program rollout will begin in early 2014 for approximately 100 teachers. Teachers not involved in the initial training will began the program during the summer of 2014. A minimum of 30 days of on-site (district or site level) is expected for the 2 year implementation of CCSS. The District desires to meet the following objectives, at completion: to be a leader in CCSS instruction; students will be prepared for Smarter Balance Assessments; and instructional leaders, including teachers and administration will be providing CCSS instruction cohesively and consistently across all grade levels. Ongoing district studies; need assessments and feedback will provide this level of implementation.
Your proposal should contain both a “big picture” approach of how to implement the new CCSS in an instructional coherent and systemic manner, based on your experience, and the following District needs. Please provide specific information, explaining how your company will meet the needs of District on each point. Please also indicate what specifics skills and knowledge District employees will acquire at each phase.
Year 1- December 2013-August 2014:
v Conduct a Needs assessment/District Study
v Provide 3 days of professional development for Secondary English Language Arts (ELA), science, social studies and math teachers and Elementary school teachers on:
o Instructional techniques and project/lesson design aligned to CCSS
o Preparing for Smarter Balance Assessment
v Provide at least 1 visit to each site observe and provide feedback the use of CCSS practices
v Provide written and/or on-site monthly feedback to the District on effectiveness of user training and ongoing recommendations
v Organize the development of a district wide writing assessment aligned to the CCSS in collaboration with Elementary and Secondary Teachers
v For Secondary, provide training and implementation in Comprehensive School- wide Literacy, i.e., rigors and writing across curriculum
v Include any additional project elements that you believe are essential to program rollout the first year, and provide supporting documentation, including system supports critical to successful implementation
Year 2: August 2014- August 2015:
v Develop teacher leaders through a coaching model
v Implement district wide writing assessment
v Continue Year 1 professional development and implementation, based on Needs Assessment, program implementation and results
v Additional, specific scope of work/project plan to be determined.
2) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT - PLEASE LIMIT YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS SECTION TO ONE PAGE.
a) Please indicate how your company provides support and assistance to answer questions, as needed, by phone and email
b) Provide the name(s) of consultants/ managers who will be assigned to the Novato Unified account and provide a brief resume/bio of each person
c) Please indicate how your company will support The District in using the rollout of CCSS to build cohesive systems, promote trust and begin a foundation of defined autonomy.
d) Communication between the chosen vendor and District management is key. Please indicate how you will keep all stakeholders fully informed throughout the project.
3) VENDOR PROFILE AND QUALIFICATIONS – PLEASE LIMIT YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS SECTION TO ONE PAGE.
Please describe how your company meets or exceeds the following qualification requirements:
v Provide current authorization of your company as a DAIT provider in CA
v Experience working with public school districts in CA of similar size and needs
v Experience creating differentiated CCSS implementation programs based on the needs of the LEA
v Effectiveness/results of your CCSS implementation programs including phase of implementation and feedback from clients
v Effectiveness in creating successful collaboration with all stakeholders in the planning and implementation of CCSS Knowledge of “Defined Autonomy” and how to implement it in a way that builds trust
v Efficiency of rollout – explain how your company keeps projects on track.
v Experience in monitoring LEA plans and successful results of the same
v Experience with Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)
v Relationship with key stakeholders including CDE, SCOE and State Board of Education