RFP 2017-0500-3553
Call for Responses for a Special Education Administrative Coach
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is accepting proposals for a Special Education Administrative Coach. The SPED Administrative Coach provides on-site and distance delivery technical assistance to support schools and districts in their efforts to improve systems and structures that increase special education student achievement. The SPED Administrative Coach works collaboratively with Alaska’s new directors and coordinators to assess district and school needs and design interventions based on educational research.
Contractors will be selected by a multiple step procurement process. Responses to the initial call will be scored and ranked comparatively. Top scoring responses will move on to the interview portion, with the top scoring offeror being selected to act as a coach. Offeror selected for award will be required to submit further documentation to comply with Alaska’s Procurement Code and administrative requirements for contracts.
Minimum Experience Requirements
Offerors must demonstrate these minimum experience and qualification requirements:
- Alaska residency;
- At least five years of experience as a Special Education Director or Coordinator;
- The ability to offer courses (presentations to groups) for university credit; and
- Experience as a public speaker.
Submission Requirements
To submit a response, submit the following documents no later than 4:00 PM on Wednesday, October 19, 2016.
- A cover letter that is no longer than three pages single sided that describes relevant education experience, teaching experience (with emphasis on Alaska based teaching experience), content areas the offeror is qualified or endorsed to teach, other content areas the offeror has taught, technology and software the offeror has used, and address the minimum experience requirements listed above.
- A current curriculum vitae or resume that is no longer than two pages single sided that highlights the dates, positions, and capacity of all Alaska school district(s) where the offeror has worked.
- Attach copies of all Alaska education certificates held.
- A completed List of Professional References form (in the attachments to this public notice).
Submission Instructions
Offerors may either submit a hard copy of their documents or may submit PDF copies of the documents via email.
If submitting a hard copy, send one hard copy of each of the required documents to the procurement officer in a sealed package. The sealed proposal package(s) must be addressed as follows:
If using U.S. mail, please use the following address:
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
ATTENTION: ROB ROYS
RFP 2017-0500-3553
PO BOX 110500
JUNEAU, ALASKA 99811-0500
If using a delivery service, please use the following address:
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
ATTENTION: ROB ROYS
RFP 2017-0500-3553
801 W TENTH STREET SUITE 200
JUNEAU, ALASKA 99801
Emailed proposals are acceptable but not encouraged. If submitting a proposal via email, the documents must be saved as separate PDF documents and emailed to EED.Procurement@alaska.gov as separate, clearly labeled attachments, such as “Vendor A – Cover Letter.pdf” and “Vendor A – Resume.pdf” (Vendor A is the name of the offeror). The email must contain the RFP number in the subject line.
The maximum size of a single email (including all text and attachments) that can be received by the state is 20mb (megabytes). If the email containing the proposal exceeds this size, the proposal must be sent in multiple emails that are each less than 20 megabytes and each email must comply with the requirements described above. It is the offeror’s responsibility to contact the issuing agency at (907) 465-8654 to confirm that the proposal has been received. There will be no emailed acknowledgment of receipt of an emailed proposal. Only receipt of an email may be confirmed: the email will not be opened until the deadline for receipt of proposals. The state is not responsible for unreadable, corrupt, or missing attachments. An emailed proposal received after the deadline shall be treated as if the offeror’s failed to submit a proposal prior to the deadline and will cause the proposal to be disqualified. Late emailed proposals or amendments will not be opened or accepted for evaluation.
NOTE: A complete proposal must be received by the deadline. Incomplete or proposals received after the deadline shall be rejected as late proposals. The time an offeror sends a proposal is not the time of receipt. A proposal sent prior to the deadline, but received after the deadline shall be rejected as a late proposal.
Background Information
The mission of the Special Education Administrative Coach is to collaborate with districts and school’s special education leadership as they build their capacity to implement effective structures and systems. The Administrative Coach works with district and school staff to promote improvement of the special education leadership of the school district. The Special Education (SPED) Administrative Coach works under the supervision of the Department of Education and Early development’s special education administrator. The SPED Administrative Coach’s work includes, but is not limited to:
- Develop, implement and sustain school improvement efforts in relation to special education
- Assist alignment of district procedures with Alaska State Regulations
- Increase data systems literacy and the use of data to inform district procedures
- Develop structures that support quality education and effective interventions for all students
- Promote student access to meaningful exposure in all content areas
- Foster a positive school climate and learning environment that is attentive to local culture
- Foster staff collaboration
- Align professional development policies and practices with resources and academic goals
- Develop special education administrators as instructional leaders through the use of tools, goal setting, and school-wide initiatives
Additionally, the SPED Administrative Coach works directly with the state special education team. Concerning this SPED Administrative Coach position, three goals of the special education team are: (1) to support the special education retention and recruitment needs of Alaskan school districts, (2) improve the Alaskan system of special education personnel preparation through mentoring, coaching, and evidence based professional development, and (3) to sustain the special education system of support for personnel preparation and retention. The Special Education Administrative Coach primarily focuses on goal 3 (to sustain the special education system of support for personnel preparation and retention) by providing training and technical assistance to assigned special education directors and coordinators.
Special Education Administrative Coach Expectations
The Special Education Administrative Coach provides on-site technical assistance to support schools and districts in their efforts to improve systems and structures that increase special education student achievement. The SPED Administrative Coach works collaboratively with directors and coordinators to assess district and school needs and design interventions based on data and educational research.
The SPED Administrative Coach will be assigned to specific districts, depending on the identified areas of need. The Coach will visit each site at least once per school year, spending time on-site with the Special Education Administrator or Coordinator. Site visit activities will be based on district need, and may include training on special education data collection requirements, Alaska’s SPED Handbook, and federal and state compliance requirements. The logistics of coaching in rural Alaska may necessitate that the coach travels on the weekend, sleep in classrooms, and pack his or her own food and bedding. Phone, email, and other distance communication tools will be used to offer technical assistance for each district.
Additionally, the SPED Administrative Coach will be responsible for participating in training to Special Education Directors/Coordinators at the Directors’ Training at ASSEC, and at various times throughout the year, to include webinars and/or other online systems. Additionally, the Coach, in collaboration with EED, will work on creating a manual to train future new special education directors/coordinators.
Annual Events and Requirements
- Attend designated professional development meetings and/or trainings;
- Attend and present at the Alaska State Special Education Conference (ASSEC);
- Attend and present at the Special Education Director Training;
- Visit each assigned district at least 1 time (travel may be substituted or supplanted by teleconferences/video conferencing);
- Make regular contact with assigned district via telephone, email, or Skype (or similar system) at least monthly and provide timely support services;
- Submit monthly activity and travel log/report on the 1st day of each month detailing professional services provided to each assigned district;
- Meet quarterly with state special education staff;
- Provide technical assistance to districts in collecting and reporting required data to EED;
- Help directors/coordinators interpret district determinations, improvement plans and other data provided by the State Education Agency;
- Observe a code of ethics which respects confidentiality, the integrity of the EED/coach relationship, the integrity of the coach/district relationship and the integrity of the EED/district relationship; and
- Notify the Special Education Staff of any planned or unplanned absences.
Contract Types and Amounts
Contract will be Firm Fixed Price contract The Department of Education and Early Development, Division of Teaching and Learning Support, estimates a budget of $100,000 dollars annually for completion of this project. This budget includes all travel costs. Travel is not expected to exceed $30,000.
Pre-Submission Teleconference
There will be a pre-proposal teleconference held at 1:30 on Friday, October 7, 2016. This will be a teleconference and potential offerors are invited to attend the teleconference by calling (800) 315-6338, code 58654. The purpose of the teleconference is to discuss the work to be performed with the prospective offerors and allow them to ask questions concerning this call for submissions. Participants should read this call and call into the teleconference prepared to discuss any concerns. Questions submitted in writing to robert.roys@alaska.gov more than 24 hours in advance will be answered in this conference. Questions that arise during the conference may or may not be answered during the conference. Questions and answers will be transcribed and sent to prospective offerors as soon as possible after the meeting.
Offerors with a disability needing accommodation should contact the procurement officer prior to the date set for the pre-proposal conference so that reasonable accommodation can be made.
Schedule
The approximate contract schedule is as follows:
- Issue call for submissions September 26, 2016,
- Pre-Submission Teleconference at 1:30 PM on Friday, October 7, 2016;
- Deadline for Questions 5:00 PM on Wednesday, October 12, 2016;
- Deadline for Receipt of Submissions 4:00 PM on Wednesday, October 19, 2016;
- Deadline to contact references 5:00 PM on Wednesday, October 26, 2016;
- Interviews October 28 through November 2, 2016;
- Proposal Evaluation Committee completes evaluations by Friday, November 4, 2016;
- State of Alaska issues Notice of Intent to Award Contract November 7, 2016;
- State of Alaska issues contract November 18, 2016;
- Contract start Friday, November 18, 2016
- First contractor work period November 19, 2016 to June 30, 2017,
- If exercised: renewal option work period July 1, 2017 to June 29, 2018.
Important Notice: If you received this solicitation from the State of Alaska’s “Online Public Notice” web site or other notification service, you must register with the procurement officer listed in this document to receive subsequent amendments. Failure to contact the procurement officer may result in the rejection of your offer.
Rob Roys
EED Procurement Officer
rob.roys@alaska.govA
(907) 465-8654
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