2 - Updated - Conditions for Bidding Developmental Software.pdf

Request for Proposals St. Bernard Parish School Board

Reading/Language Arts Skills Development Software, Grades K-12

The St. Bernard Parish School Board, 200 E. St. Bernard Hwy., Chalmette, LA 70043 hereby solicits proposals from qualified vendors to provide web-based Reading/Language Arts Skills Development Software for grades K-5 for 4,400 licenses and 750 licenses for students to use as intervention for Grades 5 and up for a period of one (1) year from the date of the contract. At the option of the St. Bernard Parish School Board and contingent upon appropriations, the contract may be renewed for two (2) additional one (1) year periods.

Complete proposals, including the original and five (5) copies, must be received by the St. Bernard Parish School Board at the address listed above by 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Proposals should be clearly marked “RFP – Reading/Language Arts Skills Development Software”. Proposals received after that time will not be accepted. Proposals shall be either hand delivered by the bidder or his agent in which instance the deliverer shall be handed a written receipt or such proposals shall be sent by registered or certified mail with a return receipt requested. Additionally, proposals may be submitted electronically via procedures established online at https://www.bidnetdirect.com/louisiana/stbernardparishpublicschools. Proposals submitted via fax or email will not be accepted.

The district’s 12 schools should be able to use the software in establishing an intervention program district-wide that addresses the content set forth in the Louisiana Student State Standards. Software lessons/modules should address all five reading progressions (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency). Materials for each grade level should include on-level content as well as guidance for remediation, enrichment, and practice. All proposals should include a plan for professional development. Software should include either on-site administrator management that allows for the complete transfer of student data among schools or on-going technical support with a rapid response to requests for assistance with such transfers. Proposals including two or more software titles as a package to meet specifications will be accepted.

The software offered for lower grades must devote its major work to grade-level foundational skills by providing instruction in concepts of phonological awareness and word awareness in a logical progression. The program offered must focus on foundational skills that are necessary and central components of an effective, comprehensive reading program designed to develop proficient readers with the capacity to comprehend complex texts across a range of types and disciplines.

The district will make the determination as to the number of software packages deemed necessary to complete its reading intervention program.

https://www.bidnetdirect.com/louisiana/stbernardparishpublicschools

Proposals will be judged on the vendor’s abilities to provide the following:

1. Software should allow for frequent practice of foundational skills as they are introduced, including but not limited to both oral and silent reading fluency, encoding, structural analysis (including pronunciations, roots, prefixes, suffixes and sound patterns) and decoding;

2. Software should be designed so there are opportunities for students to practice reading fluency and comprehension with appropriate texts of a wide variety of types and with a balance between literature and nonfiction works;

3. Software should guide students to read with purpose and understanding and to make frequent connections between acquiring foundation skills and making meaning from reading;

4. Software should provide a sequence or collection of texts that build knowledge systematically through reading, listening, and responding;

5. Software should begin student access with a pre-assessment and then automatically assign lessons for skill remediation or enhancement; additionally, teachers should have the ability to assign lessons independently based on student skill needs;

6. Software should provide opportunities for educators to monitor student progress on every aspect of foundational and comprehension skills. Monitoring must allow for students to receive regular feedback on their oral reading fluency/comprehension skills;

7. Software should provide all students, including those who read below grade level, with extensive opportunities and support to encounter and comprehend grade-level complex texts;

8. Software should focus on the development of early comprehension skills in a way that is connected, sequential, and logical in its progression;

9. Software must adequately address the Louisiana State Student Standards for the grade, including thorough unpacking of vocabulary and the syntax of texts;

10. The program offered should provide maximum support for teachers, for English language learners and for students with special needs.

11. Cost

A committee of teachers and administrators will review proposals, ranking responses to the above criteria on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being most responsive.

All software proposed must work with the following minimum software/hardware specifications:

Desktops:

8GB RAM, i5 Processor, 120 GB hard drive; Windows 11, Chrome Version 130 or higher.

Chromebooks:

2GB RAM; Intel Celeron N series processors; Chrome 130 or higher; 11” screen

It is anticipated that decisions regarding proposals will be made no later than June 1 for implementation for the start of the school year, August 8, 2025.

Questions concerning the RFP should be addressed to Laura Carlin Dorcey at the address noted above, faxed to 504-301-2010, or emailed to lcarlin@sbpsb.org, and should be clearly marked “RFP – Reading/Language Arts Skills Development Software”. All calls and written questions must be completed by 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

This announcement does not commit the St. Bernard Parish School Board to purchase or to pay any cost incurred in the preparation of proposals. The St. Bernard Parish School Board reserves the right to accept or reject, in whole or in part, all proposals submitted and/or to cancel this announcement. All purchases awarded shall be based upon the proposal most advantageous to the St. Bernard Parish School Board, price and other factors considered.

THIS NOTICE COMPRISES THE COMPLETE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.

Doris Voitier Superintendent