Scope of Work Solicitation # USBE-AR27162-RFP

Technical Assistance for 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grantees

1. Introduction and/or Background The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Related State Initiatives team seeks an educational partner to develop and sustain a comprehensive professional development and learning system for 70-90 - 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) afterschool and summer programs. The partner will provide varied training and technical assistance to ensure programs are high quality and meet the needs of all youth, and 21st CCLC grant requirements.

USBE currently oversees 18 21st CCLC grantees operating 86 program sites. New cohorts are added every other year through a competitive process, and each grantee cycle lasts four to five years. 21st CCLC is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title IV-B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

2. Glossary

• USBE (USBE): Utah State Board of Education

• 21st CCLC: 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, which is Title IV-b of the Every

Student Succeeds Act

• 21st CCLC Specialist: The USBE employee who manages the 21st CCLC grant and programming.

This person will also coordinate contract efforts with the contracted organization.

• Professional Development (PD): Professional development that can be generalized to various afterschool programs

• Sub-grantee: A local education agency, community-based organization or faith-based organization who has been awarded a 21st CCLC grant through the USBE. A sub-grantee may have multiple program sites in multiple cohorts. The USBE currently has 18 sub-grantees with 85 program sites.

• Program Quality Assessment (PQA) Observations: Program Quality Assessment Observations using the tool from the Weikart Center Forum for Youth Investment

• Program Site: An individual location where an afterschool program runs.

• Technical Assistance (TA): Technical assistance that is based on a specific topic requested or needed by a sub-grantee.

3. Scope of Work The goal of this project is to have an educational partner develop and sustain a comprehensive professional development and learning system for 70-90 - 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) afterschool and summer programs. The partner will provide varied training and technical assistance to ensure programs are high-quality and meet the needs of all youth, and 21st CCLC grant requirements.

A. External Observations: The vendor will conduct external observations for every 21st CCLC program site twice during each site's grant cycle using both the Youth and School-aged Program Quality Assessment (PQA) tools through the Weikart Forum for Youth Investment (Weikart Forum). The number of observations each year will vary depending on the cohort sizes and will be determined by the vendor and 21st CCLC specialist based on need, risk, and availability, but will average 30-50 observations a year. The vendor will ensure their staff are certified to conduct the observations by the Weikart Center Forum and recertify as needed.

B. Quality Assessments and Goals: The vendor will provide an evidence-based self-assessment around program quality for sub-grantee sites to complete annually in the fall, which will inform the sub-grantees' goals for the year. The vendor staff will collect the self-assessments each fall and provide support and coaching as needed to sub-grantee and site staff in meeting their goals.

C. Local Site Visits: The vendor will conduct local site visits to sub-grantee program sites as needed based on PQA scores, training needs, risk, and goals.

D. Sub-grantee Requested TA: The vendor will provide both virtual and in-person training with sub-grantees. The vendor must be able to provide resources and information on requested topics from sub-grantees.

E. Annual Conference: The vendor will plan and execute at least one conference annually for 21st CCLC sub-grantees and should prepare for at least 100-300 people. It should be in-person and at least one 8-hour day. The vendor will secure a venue in Utah and facilitators for keynote and breakout sessions.

F. Contract Monthly Check-ins and Annual Reports: The vendor will meet monthly with the 21st CCLC Specialist to discuss progress on each deliverable and how they can work together to support grantees. The vendor will provide the 21st CCLC Specialist with written descriptions of any updates or concerns about the program sites. The vendor will provide the 21st CCLC Specialist with an annual summary of their work.

All deliverables and systems should support the USBE Strategic Plan Goals.

4. Tentative Project Timeline A. Year-1 Initial Deadlines:

i. No later than February 28, 2026: Kickoff meeting with vendor staff and the 21st CCLC grant specialist to review deliverables and plans

ii. March 1, 2026: Vendor will get their staff certified by the Weikart Forum to conduct both Youth and School-age Program Quality Assessments

iii. May 28, 2026: All PQA observations for the 2026-2027 school year will be complete

iv. May 31, 2026: Vendor will collect required data from sub-grantees

B. Recurring Monthly Deadlines:

https://www.schools.utah.gov/board/utah/resources/_strategicplan/2025Goals.pdf

i. The vendor and the 21st CCLC grant specialist will meet at least once a month to check in about the progress of contract deliverables and discuss the needs of the 21st CCLC sub-grantees

ii. Vendor staff will contact sub-grantees at least monthly to discuss deadlines, resources, and opportunities. This can be via email, but could require more individualized communication if a sub-grantee needs additional support

C. Recurring Annual Deadlines:

i. October 31: Vendor will collect all program site self-assessments and annual goals

ii. November – March: Vendor staff will check in with sub-grantees about their self-assessments and goals. They will provide coaching as needed to support program site staff in meeting their annual goals

iii. October – May: Vendor will conduct PQA observations and meet with sub-grantee staff to provide feedback

iv. October – March: The vendor will host at least one in-person conference

v. May 31: Vendor will collect required data from sub-grantees

vi. June – August: Vendor will analyze the sub-grantee data and provide the 21st CCLC grant specialist with a report

vii. July 31: The vendor will provide the 21st CCLC grant specialist with a reporting detailing their contract work, deliverables, and outputs for the past fiscal year (July – June).

D. Ongoing Work:

i. Additional program site visits and technical assistance may be requested by the 21st

CCLC grant specialist, by the sub-grantee, or the vendor. These may be done at any time.

5. Data Privacy The vendor will collect program level data at the end of every school year for the school year and previous summer. Each program site will submit their data to the vendor for analysis. The vendor will provide the 21st CCLC Specialist with the analysis and summary of the data collected with intention of learning more about the afterschool field.

The vendor will not collect or handle student-level data. If data collected by the vendor contains student-level data, the vendor will:

• Immediately notify the USBE program manager

• Destroy the data

• Work with the program site to collect appropriate data

The data should include but is not limited to:

• Other funding sources that grantees use

• Updates on the sub-grantee’s goals from their self-assessments from earlier in the year

• Staff hours, wage ranges, and staff: student ratios

• Family and community services offered by sub-grantees

• What additional data the sub-grantees collect about their programs and their methods for collecting it

• Feedback from sub-grantees of their work with the vendor

6. Contract Award It is anticipated this RFP will result in a single contract award to the responsive and responsible vendor with the highest score justified by the Procurement Code.

The contract resulting from this RFP will be for five (5) years. However, USBE reserves the right to terminate the contract at any time in accordance with the provisions set forth in the State of Utah Standard Terms and Conditions.

7. Contract Budget The maximum contract budget is $260,000 per year, $1,300,000.00. However, this is NOT a guaranteed total amount for each year. You are not required to expend the entire amount of funds when calculating your cost proposal. Cost proposals exceeding these identified amounts will be considered non-responsive and ineligible for contract award.

Evaluation shall be based on the GRAND TOTAL of the contract.

NOTE: Costs MUST be all-inclusive. If travel for meetings, trainings, or other engagements is required, you must arrange and pay for your own transportation, meals, and lodging. Travel time and travel expenses shall NOT be included in any invoice to USBE.

8. Invoicing Contractor shall submit invoices electronically to the USBE email account at accountspayable@schools.utah.gov and the USBE program manager(s) identified in any contract resulting from the RFP for all goods and/or services provided in accordance with the terms on the agreement. Invoices will not be considered for payment if submitted by another method.

Invoices shall include the following:

a. Contractor Name

b. Uniquely identifiable invoice number

c. Invoice date

d. Contract Number

e. Recipient Entity’s contact information (phone number and email address)

f. Contractor’s authorized signature

g. Date(s) goods/services were provided

h. Description of goods and/or services for which payment is requested

i. Dollar amount requested.

Invoices submitted by Contractor to USBE without the required information will not be paid and shall be returned to the Contractor for completion.

mailto:accountspayable@schools.utah.gov

All payments made to the Contractor under the agreement shall be made in the name of the Contractor, as it appears in the agreement. All payments will be sent to the Contractor to the address for the Contractor as it appears in the agreement. Changes to the information identified in this section must be requested in writing.

To obtain payment for the goods and/or services authorized by this agreement, Contractor shall submit the itemized invoice together with supporting documentation of work performed.

USBE reserves the right to question or seek clarification for any cost invoiced if the invoice is not supported by proper documentation.

Contractor may be required to repay USBE if, during or after the contract period, an audit or other review determines that payments made by USBE to Contractor were incorrectly paid or were based on incorrect information received from the Contractor. USBE reserves the right to withhold any or all subsequent payments to the Contractor until the incorrect amounts paid have been fully recovered.