CTE MS-DRAFT_PWS-122721.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Department of Defense Education Activity 4800 Mark Center Drive

Alexandria, VA 22350

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Career and Technical Education (CTE) Middle School Courseware

1. General Information and Scope of Work

1.1 Agency

1.1.1 For school year (SY) 2021-22, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) will provide PK-12 instruction to approximately 67,000 dependents of military and civilian employees.

Student enrollment is based primarily on deployment of military troops worldwide. In the Americas, DoDEA operates 50 schools located in seven states, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. In Europe and the Middle East, DoDEA operates 64 schools located in Germany, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Turkey, Bahrain and Italy. In the Pacific, DoDEA operates 45 schools located in Korea, Japan (mainland and Okinawa), and Guam. DoDEA's curriculum, resources and student achievement scores on standardized assessments compare favorably to those of high-performing US public school systems. DoDEA also operates a full time K-12 virtual school option with teaching hubs in each DoDEA region: Americas, Europe, and Pacific. Within that context, the virtual high school is fully accredited.

1.1.2 Fifty-two DoDEA schools serve approximately 9,000 students in grades 7-8. Note: Sixth grade students receive an entirely different CTE course of study.

1.1.3 DoDEA has adopted College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS) in mathematics, literacy, the arts, social studies, and science, which are rigorous, research-based, and reflect the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed for success in college and/or careers and are aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), National Core Art Standards (NCAS), Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, and Society for Health and Physical Education Standards (SHAPE AMERICA). DoDEA has also adopted the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Students.

1.2 Background: DoDEA serves our 7th and 8th grade students in 52 middle schools. The middle school CTE curriculum allows students to explore various careers and equips them with transferable skills to enhance their high school learning and achievement. The curriculum exposes them to real-world options and connects academics to career and college options.

1.3 Scope of Work: DoDEA requires CTE courseware for 7th and 8th grade students that provides the fundamental skills and understandings needed to pursue future college and/or career studies. Students will be able to elect neither, both, or one year of the 2-year curriculum, which will cover all 16 Career Clusters identified by the US Department of Education, which may be found at the following URL: https://www.exploring.org/activity-library-category/us-department-of-education-career-clusters/. The courseware shall possess the following features/characteristics:

1) Be fully digital—no student or teacher print resources.

2) Aligned to the 16 Career Clusters identified by the US Department of Education.

3) Use a realistic, hands-on, self-directed, project-oriented approach.

4) Incorporate reading, writing, mathematics, and career ready practices such as teamwork, collaboration, critical thinking skills, and work ethic to better prepare students for the workplace.

5) Include the fundamental skills and understandings needed to pursue future college and/or career studies.

DoDEA expects to award one contract for a period of a 5-year base period plus five one-year options. Based on our enrollment history in related middle school courses, DoDEA expects that each 7th and 8th grade student will take at least one middle school CTE course during their middle school experience—an estimated 4,500-5,500 “slots” each year, divided equally between the two courses. Note: Since this program is new, the Government cannot make a more precise estimate.

2 Requirements (Objectives)

2.1 (Objective 1) MS CTE Modules and Related Services: The objective is to provide age-appropriate modular CTE student materials and related equipment and/or supplies for 7th and 8th grade students and related instructional supports for teachers. The tasks below are to help the Contractor gain a better understanding of

04 Nov 21 2 the requirements to successfully meet the objective. The tasks are not all inclusive. The Contractor is expected to develop the total solution to meet all the requirements in accordance with a performance-based approach.

Supporting Tasks (Objective 1)

Task 1, Student Materials: The Contractor shall provide a modular-designed digital program that allows industry relevant hands-on experiences that simulates day-to-day workplace experiences. The modules shall have the following features/characteristics:

1) Organization based on the 16 Career Clusters.

2) Customizable to align with student’s interests and aptitudes of various careers.

3) Blended learning opportunities for students if the need for remote learning becomes necessary.

4) Hands-on manipulatives to include but not limited to equipment, supplies, and tools to assist in simulating a real-life working experience throughout each career exploratory module.

5) Emphasis on career-ready practices such as but not limited to teamwork, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.

6) Opportunities for students to participate in introductory activities, knowledge checks, assessments, and hands-on projects to ensure mastery of learning goals.

7) Contractor’s content delivery system can interface with DoDEA’s LMS (Schoology), ClassLink, or

Google Classroom to automate student rosters or a cost-effective workaround is provided.

Task 2, Teacher Materials: The Contractor shall provide teacher materials in a digital format such as (videos, asynchronous webinars, and tutorial files) to include such things as lesson plans, instructor resources, assessments, and project ideas.

Task 3, Professional Learning—The Contractor shall:

1) Product Training:

a. CTE Teachers: Provide at least 18 hours of asynchronous professional learning to address the following topics:

i. Learning Management System: Teachers will be provided training on how to navigate the learning management system by creating courses, enrolling students, developing student schedules, accessing learning, and viewing grades. Training should be made available to any new teacher for the life of the contract at no cost to the agency.

ii. Instructional Practices: Teachers will be provided training on instructional best practices to incorporate products into classroom. Teachers will be provided with the opportunity to complete activities from the perspective of students. Training should be made available to any new teacher for the life of the contract at no cost to the agency.

b. Support Personnel: Provide at least (1) 90-minute asynchronous webinar and/or digital module for school-level administrators and education technologists providing an overview of modules/course materials and instructional best practices. Note: DoDEA administrators need to understand the program and gain insight into evaluating teacher effectiveness and program effectiveness. Education technologists need to understand how to support the CTE teachers in program delivery and instructional best practices.

2) On-going Instructional Support: Provide at least (4) three-hour asynchronous training sessions in years 2-5 of the contract. Topics such as: instructional practices, troubleshooting, and modular content exploration, to be determined by the COR in collaboration with the vendor.

Task 4, General Requirements—The Contractor shall:

1) Delivery of Physical and Digital Resources—The Contractor shall:

a. Deliver web-based materials (such as access codes) three days after receipt of delivery order.

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b. Ship all physical/print materials and manipulatives to the Americas by commercial carrier or USPS and to Europe and the Pacific only by commercial carrier. Note: Delivery orders will include door-to-door addresses.

c. Provide, upon shipment of materials, a digital shipment notification that includes the following:

Contract number and delivery order number Contract line item number indicating materials and quantities shipped Destination and date of shipment Shipping carrier name and tracking number(s) Estimated date of arrival of shipment and, if applicable, shipping slip(s), and proof of delivery

2) Technical Support and Upgrades

a. Technical Support: Provide industry-standard technical support for its digital resources for the life of the contract via telephone or by email within one business day or less from the initial contact to include but not limited to assisting with service problems, product setup, and troubleshooting.

b. Upgrades: Submit detailed information of system requirements for subsequent software upgrades for each option year to DoDEA HQ and provide DoDEA HQ with complete copies of any upgrades for testing prior to dissemination to schools should be provided to DoDEA at no cost.

c. Warranty: Provide a five year industry standard warranty for products at no fault of DoDEA.

3) Meetings: Attend virtual meetings at no additional cost to the Government. Provide the medium through which each meeting occurs, record each meeting’s minutes. Submit the draft minutes to the COR within two business days of the event and finalize the minutes two business days after receipt of written feedback, if any, from the COR. Note: Costs associated with attendance at face-to-face meetings, if any, shall be handled/paid for as stated in the contract.

a. Post-Award Conference: Participate in a video- or teleconference with the COR five business days after award IAW FAR Subpart 42.5.

b. IT Meeting: Convene a video- or teleconference with DoDEA Information Technology staff ten business days after award, per Technical Exhibit #1.

c. Other Post-Award Meetings: Meet with the Contracting Officer (KO), COR, and/or other Agency personnel, as appropriate, to review Contractor performance, as required by DoDEA.

The KO may discuss the Agency’s view of Contractor performance, and the Contractor shall apprise the Agency of any problems being experienced. The Contractor shall take appropriate action to resolve any outstanding issues the Agency raises.

2.2 Performance Standards and Acceptable Quality Levels

2.2.1 Performance Standard: Tasks shall be completed by the required completion date.

2.2.2 Acceptable Quality Level: Ninety-five percent of tasks shall be completed by the required completion date. The remaining five percent shall be completed no later than ten business days after their due date.

3 CONSTRAINTS

3.1 Place of Performance: Work performed at the Contractor’s facilities.

3.2 Liaison and Alternate Liaison—The Contractor shall:

1) Provide a liaison and alternate liaison to be responsible for the performance of work. Their names shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer. They shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to the daily operation of this contract. Each shall have at least one year of experience working in a similar role.

2) Notify the COR in writing regarding any change in either the liaison’s role ten business days in advance of the change If the liaison or liaison alternate is changed post-award, the replacement shall meet or exceed the qualifications and experience of the person assigned upon contract award.

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3.3 Holidays and Hours of Operation

1) The liaison or alternate liaison shall be available during the hours of 9AM to 3PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), except for Federal holidays and Federal government closures/shutdowns. The following list shows recognized Federal holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

2) Although there are different time zones within Europe and the Pacific and different hours for specific schools throughout DoDEA, the normal business hours for the regions roughly correspond to the following: Americas, 0700-1500 EST; Europe, 1300-2100 EST; and Pacific, 2000-0400 EST.

3.4 Availability: The Contractor shall make all resources available for the life of the contract.

3.5 Anti-Bias: The Contractor shall ensure all resources are free of racial, color, age, national origin, disabling conditions, sexual, gender, religious, and ethnic bias and wherever appropriate, present balanced coverage of multi-cultural contributions and representation.

3.6 Privacy—The Contractor shall:

3.6.1 User Accounts: Require, wherever applicable, that individual accounts possess unique usernames and passwords that do not require personally identifiable information (PII) to access online content, i.e., first & last name and any other unique personal information.

3.6.2 Contractor Personnel: Ensure personnel assigned to this contract take proper precautions to protect information from disclosure. Collect and/or store all agency-owned or agency-controlled personally identifiable information in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C— http://www.archives.gov/about/laws/privacy-act-1974.html.

3.6.3 Privacy Training: Ensure Contractor staff who have access to DoDEA’s student, teacher and/or staff personally identifiable information take the DoD Privacy Act/Personally Identifiable Information (PA and PPI/PII) training before gaining access to the data and yearly thereafter. Providing copies of the certificates of completion to the COR which can be audited at any time by the CISO or his/her designee.

3.7 Section 508 Compliance—Ensure Contractor resources, wherever applicable, meet the following requirements:

3.7.1 IT Requirement: Ensure that all electronic hardware and software that is procured under this contract/purchase order comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, (29 U.S.C. 794d) and the Architectural & Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Electronic Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards (36 CFR part 1194). More information may be found at http://www.section508.gov.

3.7.2 Deliverable Requirement: Ensure the following occur:

Outputs/deliverables do not adversely affect accessibility features of existing EIT technologies.

EIT related to the requirements of the contract are accessible to people with disabilities, per 29 U.S.C 794(d).

Outputs/deliverables to include the functional performance, information, documentation, and support requirements are considered. Standards from 36 CFR Part 1194 Subpart B, C and D apply to this acquisition.

3.8 Optical Character Resolution (OCR): The Contractor shall provide, upon request, two digital OCR copies of print materials in one or more of the following formats:

Digital Accessible Information System/National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) with cascading style sheet HyperText Markup Language (HTML) Portable Document Format (PDF), (unlocked, embedded fonts, single page) Rich Text Format (RTF)/Word document

3.9 Data: All data developed as a result of any work awarded under this contract is and shall remain the property of the Government.

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3.10 Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI): The Contractor (including any subcontractor) personnel performing work under this contract may receive, have access to, or participate in the development of, proprietary or Privacy Act information (e.g., personal information, education, etc.) may create a current or subsequent OCI as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. Whenever the Contractor becomes aware that such access or participation may result in actual or potential OCI, the Contractor shall (1) immediately notify the Contracting Officer (KO) in writing and (2) promptly submit a plan to the KO to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. Note:

The KO will unilaterally determine if the Contractor’s plan is acceptable. If the KO determines the plan cannot satisfactorily avoid or mitigate an OCI, s/he may implement other remedies to include prohibiting the Contractor’s further participation in contracted requirements.

4 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED INFORMATION/RESOURCES

4.1 If required, the Government will assist the Contractor in posting files on our LMS.

4.2 If required, the Government in consultation with the Contractor will schedule dates and times for synchronous webinars.

5 DELIVERABLES

Deliverables Frequency Medium/Format Submit To

Task 1-2, Student Materials, Teacher Materials

Ongoing except for scheduled shutdowns beginning three business days after receipt of initial delivery order

Software --

Task 3, Product Training

Ongoing except for scheduled shutdowns beginning three business days after receipt of initial delivery order

Digital / Virtual --

Task 4 (1), Access Ongoing beginning three business days after receipt of delivery order

Email as MS Word/ Excel attachment COR

Task 4 (2) Correlation to Standards

Ten business days after post-award conference

Email as MS Word/ Excel attachment COR

Task 4 (3a), Technical Support

Ongoing after receipt of initial delivery order

Email as MS Word/ Excel attachment

COR and those who requested assistance

Task 4 (3b), Upgrades Within five business days of the upgrade’s availability to the public Software COR

Task 6 (4), Meetings

Initial Conference: Participate in a post-award video- or teleconference within five business days after award.

Provide minutes in writing in a format acceptable to the COR within two business days after the conference.

IT Meeting: Convene ten business days after award. Provide minutes and medium as stated above.

Other Meetings: As required by the COR. Provide minutes and medium as stated above.

Email as MS Word/ Excel attachment COR

6 ACRONYMS & DEFINITIONS

CCRS College and Career Ready Standards DoD/DOD Department of Defense

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DFARS Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement EIT Electronic Information Technology FAR Federal Acquisition Regulations IAW In Accordance With PA/PII Privacy Act/Personally Identifiable Information

Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) - Basic structural element in a procurement instrument describing and organizing the required product or service for pricing, delivery, inspection, acceptance, invoicing, and payment.

The use of the term “line item” includes “subcontract line number”, (SLIN), as applicable.

Contracting Officer (KO) - The only individual with expressed authority to obligate (bind) the Government by means of entering, administering, and terminating contracts within the limits of the authority delegated via a Contracting Officer’s warrant.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - Qualified and trained Government employee, nominated by the requiring activity (RA) and appointed in writing by a KO primarily to perform specific technical or administrative functions on a specific contract(s); serves as the ‘eyes and ears’ of a KO to assure the Government’s best interests are protected via the terms and conditions of the contract(s) appointed. COR’s do not have authority to obligate (i.e., bind) the Government.

Contractor - Supplier or vendor having a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the Government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Deliverable - Usually physically delivered items but may include such items as digital documents/reports.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) - Tabular listing of performance objectives and standards that provides the basis for a meaningful QASP.

Performance Work Statement (PWS) - A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions describing the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

Performance Work Statement (PWS) - A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions describing the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

7 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

Performance Objective

Performance Standard AQL Inspection

Method Tasks 1, 2, 4 (1), Student Materials, Teacher Materials, Access

100% compliance with the

PWS

No more than one day per year of scheduled downtimes of task shall be submitted later than the required completion date

COR inspection

Task 3, Product Training

100% compliance with the

PWS

No more than one day per year of scheduled downtimes of task shall be submitted later than the required completion date

COR inspection

Task 4 (2), Correlation to Standards

100% compliance with the

PWS

Document 100% correct except for grammar or formatting errors COR inspection

Task 4 (3a), Technical Support

100% compliance with the

PWS

Respond to all inquiries within one business day. Solve 90% of issues in one business day and remaining 10% within five business days.

COR inspection and stakeholder feedback

Task 4 (b) Upgrades

100% compliance with the

PWS

Upgrades are integrated without disruption to classroom activities.

COR inspection and stakeholder feedback

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TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1 - Technical Requirements

The Contractor shall comply with the applicable technical requirements detailed below.

1.1 Software and Cloud Security Requirements—The Contractor shall:

1.1.1 Ensure all online resources, cloud-based services and instructional software meet the Department of Defense (DoD) and DoDEA Cybersecurity requirements as defined below. Note: Software, cloud services and associated websites are rigorously tested to ensure no security risks are posed to DoDEA infrastructure and its users.

1.1.2 Complete the Cloud Services questionnaire that was submitted as part of the proposal submission and provide copies of and/or access to any software listed in the proposed solution.

1.1.3 Ensure on-premises software support post-installation integration of the necessary Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG) for applicable systems and applications, including Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Microsoft Windows IIS, Apache, Oracle databases, and Microsoft SQL Server databases. Note: The application to obtain the STIG Viewer is found at https://public.cyber.mil/stigs/srg-stig-tools/, and the STIGs themselves may be downloaded from https://public.cyber.mil/stigs/downloads/.

1.1.4 Ensure its content accessible from the web is compatible with the following browser platforms: Internet Explorer 11, Google Chrome and Edge. Ensure that any applicable STIGs are implemented.

1.1.5 Ensure on-premises software, which is subject to static and dynamic analysis testing, imposes no risk to DoDEA systems, users and/or data. Note: DoDEA assesses software products to ensure compatibility with existing system configurations and software, testing may also include reverse engineering analysis.

1.1.6 Provide a plan of actions and milestones (POA&M) to mitigate any cybersecurity findings resulting from non-compliant and/or vulnerable components within 30 calendar days of written notification from DoDEA.

1.1.7 Participate, as needed, in interviews and deep system architecture inspections. Note: Per DoD policy for cloud-based services, DoDEA conducts a supplemental series of validations, which closely mirror the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Internet Cloud vetting processes.

Contractor participation/cooperation is normally required to complete this process.

1.2 System Requirements—The Contractor shall:

1.2.1 Provide, per Section 1.1 (above), any software installed and/or accessed in or by a DoDEA system, network whether stand-alone or web-based, is compatible with the standards cited herein.

1.2.2 Provide minimum desktop/server system technical specifications, available reference architectures, networking specifications and diagrams, and applicable systems configuration documentation for the proposed product solution.

1.2.3 Provide software that is compatible with the following minimum baseline:

Specifications Minimum Memory 4 GB

Hard Drive 100 GB

Processor Intel® Core™ i5-8365U Processor 8th Generation (up to 4.1GHz, 6MB cache) equivalent or better (Must show benchmark/passmark scores)

Video Graphics Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 (1920x1080) equivalent or better Operating System Windows 10

Browser Environment Chrome; Edge; Edge Chromium, IE 11 or higher

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1.2.4 Provide software that is completely functional on a standard DoDEA desktop without the need or requirement for administrative-level user rights and/or permissions or the requirement to use or insert external media to execute the software.

1.2.5 Provide software that does not require modifications to folder permissions while executing.

1.2.6 Provide, if applicable, software packages that support unattended installation methods used by enterprise software packaging and deployment systems. Note: DoDEA currently distributes software packages via Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). Older 16-bit software are automatically denied.

1.3 Data Management Requirements—The Contractor shall:

1.3.1 Provide a mechanism for batch administration and automation of routine data management tasks via flat file import, or representational state transfer (REST) based web service application programming interfaces (APIs). The mechanism shall provision and manage data objects within the Contractor’s system, including but not limited to organizational structures, student accounts, staff accounts, courses, and class rosters.

1.3.2 Provide all necessary documentation and assets to facilitate batch administration and automation of routine data management tasks, including but not limited to roster template files (i.e., comma separated value templates); data element/field definitions documentation; data interchange formats and schemas (XML/JSON); and/or data dictionaries for the purpose of mapping organizational student information system (SIS) data to the Contractor’s required input formats.

1.3.3 Provide a single point of contact to support DoDEA in performing the required data integration activities within the Contractor’s system.

1.3.4 Configure DoDEA enterprise within its system and/or databases as the appropriate organizational entity (i.e., region, district, school) upon a request in writing from the contracting officer’s representative (COR). Note: DoDEA’s organization hierarchy consists of the following: one system, three regions, eight districts, 62 communities, and 160 schools, including the K-12 virtual school programs.

1.3.5 Participate in a technical meeting with DoDEA within ten business days after award for the purposes of preparing for onboarding of new services and initial configuration of administrator-level accounts.

1.3.6 Ensure the transfer of any Sensitive, Confidential data including but not limited to PII data be transferred in a secure means meeting any requirements set by DoDEA’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

1.4 DoDEA Software License Keys: The Contractor shall provide (1) license keys and electronic downloads for software required under this Contract to the COR and (2) software directly to DoDEA schools, districts, or regions only if explicitly required to do so in the contract or in writing by the COR.

1.5 Cybersecurity Supporting Elements/Requirements and Scalability—The Contractor shall:

1.5.1 Comply with the same Federal law and DoD policies and guidance to which DoDEA is subject. These requirements include but are not limited to the cybersecurity requirements defined in the following documentation:

DoD Directive (DoDD) 8500.01E, Information Assurance, be found at the following URL:

https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/850001_2014.pdf.

DoD Security Technical Implementation Guidance (STIG), found at the following URL:

https://public.cyber.mil/stigs/downloads/.

DoD Risk Management Framework (DODRMF) per DoD Instruction 8510.01 found at https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/851001p.pdf?ver=2019-02- 26-101520-3004.5.2.

1.5.2 Provide security patches/upgrades to include third-party applications in response to public-released security vulnerabilities associated with its software solution. Provide a POA&M for any security vulnerabilities within five business days of discovery. Software upgrades/patches shall be included in the licensing cost and be performed at the least disruptive times as determined by DoDEA in writing.

Note: Any exception to this requirement must be approved in advance and in writing by DoDEA’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) or designated official.

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1.5.3 Ensure any portion of its solution that involves Internet access by DoDEA students complies with the relevant requirements of the Children's Internet Protection Act, Public Law 106-554, § 1(a)(4) [Div. B, Title XVII, § 1701], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-335.

1.5.4 Provide a solution robust enough to serve the needs of a large community of learners dispersed across the world using a variety of bandwidths and scalable to meet future growth, both in terms of instruction and the number of users.

1.5.5 Ensure Contractor staff who have access to DoDEA’s student, teacher and/or staff personally identifiable information take the DoD Privacy Act/Personally Identifiable Information (PA and PPI/PII) training before gaining access to the data and yearly thereafter. Provide copies of the certificates of completion to the COR which can be audited at any time by the CISO or his/her designee.

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT