Attachment A - Performance Work Statement.docx

RFP# ED-ESE-11-R-0040 May 18, 2011 U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

ATTACHMENT A: PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Technical Assistance for Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) Grants Funded Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA)

Abbreviations

Purpose of Contract

The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) within the U.S. Department of Education (ED) requires the services of a contractor to provide technical support and other services to Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) formula and discretionary grantees. The contractor shall provide technical assistance for SRCL grantees; specified administrative support for ED’s SRCL program staff; and logistical support for annual grantee meetings and Webinars. The contractor shall also collect and analyze Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) and Annual Performance Report (APR) data for the SRCL grant program and provide ED staff with information that can be used to respond to Congressional, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and other Departmental inquiries about the program.

The contractor shall provide services beginning with the effective date of the contract for a 12-month base period. The contract includes a 12-month base period and three possible 12-month option periods.

Background/Legislative Authority

The Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant program is authorized as part of the FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 111-117) under the Title I demonstration authority (Part E, Section 1502 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)). The FY 2010 Appropriations Act provides $200 million under Section 1502 of the ESEA for a comprehensive literacy development and education program to advance literacy skills for students from birth through grade 12. The Act reserves $10 million for formula grants to assist States in creating or maintaining a State Literacy Team with expertise in literacy development and education for children from birth through grade 12 that will assist States in developing a comprehensive literacy plan.

SRCL formula grants were awarded to 46 State Educational Agencies (SEAs) to establish and support a State Literacy Team with expertise in literacy development and education for children from birth to grade 12 to assist the State in developing a comprehensive literacy plan. Formula grants to States depended upon their share of funds under Title I Part A, with no State having received less than $150,000.

SRCL discretionary grants will be awarded competitively to approximately 3-18 State Educational Agencies (SEAs) that must subgrant at least 95 percent of the funds to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and early childhood providers[footnoteRef:1]. Entities eligible for SRCL discretionary subgrants are LEAs or other nonprofit providers of early childhood education that partner with a public or private nonprofit organization or agency with a demonstrated record of effectiveness in improving the early literacy development of children from birth through kindergarten entry and in providing professional development in early literacy. States must give priority to agencies and entities serving greater numbers or percentages of disadvantaged children. LEAs will use these funds for services and activities that have characteristics of effective literacy instruction through professional development, screening and assessment, targeted interventions for students reading below grade level, and other research based methods of improving classroom instruction and practice for all students. SEA grantees must ensure that: 15% of subgranted funds shall be used to serve children from birth through age 5; 40% of subgranted funds shall be used to serve children in kindergarten through grade 5; and 40% of subgranted funds shall be used to serve students in middle and high school including an equitable distribution of funds between middle and high schools. [1: The range of possible grantees is 3-18. In the event that fewer than 18 discretionary grants are issued, the price of the Option year(s) will be reduced. The program office estimates that ten grants will be awarded through the SRCL grant competition (based on an average of the number of awards possible). Offerors should price their budgets to reflect 10 possible grantees. In the event that fewer or more than 10 discretionary grants are issued, the price of the Option year(s) will be adjusted. In such an event, ED will request a change proposal and an equitable adjustment will be performed.

Scope of Work

The scope of this contract will encompass planning and implementation activities related to SRCL grants. In the event that the contractor does not have sufficient expertise and/or personnel to carry out all of the tasks outlined, the contractor should propose subcontractors with other expert organizations and/or consultant arrangements with expert individuals. The scope of work for this contract includes:

· Provide logistical support for all grantee meetings

· Plan and support Webinars

· Provide technical assistance to discretionary grantees

· Provide technical assistance to State Literacy Teams

· Provide consultative assistance to States and districts

· Propose expert speakers for conferences and meetings

· Identify and disseminate resource materials

· Create Monthly News Bulletin

· Administer all tasks in the contract

· Create and implement a plan for professional development

· Submit expenditure/progress reports

· Collect and analyze GPRA/APR data

· Conduct an analysis of data collected and submitted through annual reports and other data sources

Role of the Project Director

The Project Director (PD) shall have a Ph.D. or equivalent experience in education or other relevant field. The PD shall be capable of representing ED in substantive conferences and meetings. The PD shall be familiar with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), the SRCL grant programs, and current administrative, research, and policy issues related to birth to pre-K and pre-K-12 education issues. The PD shall be the supervisor of all staff and responsible for budget issues.

The PD of the contract shall be responsible for overall management of the work of the contract. In addition to managing the contract on a day-to-day basis, the PD shall coordinate the work to ensure that there is a cohesive scope of work and that each task is aligned with others. The purpose of this position is to ensure that the contract as a whole is greater than its individual tasks. The PD shall possess strong management skills. The PD shall be proactive in identifying grantee needs and capable of responding to and meeting those needs.

In addition to managing the work of the contract, the PD shall also be responsible for working closely with the ED program contact and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The PD will provide technical assistance services to SRCL grantees and assist in planning annual conferences and Webinars for the grantees.

TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

Task 1: Meet and Communicate with ED

The contractor's Project Director and key personnel shall, within ten working days after the effective date of the contract, attend a one-day meeting in Washington, D.C., with the COR, the Contracting Officer (CO), the Contract Specialist (CS), or other duly authorized representative(s). The purpose of the meeting is to review the goals and objectives of the contract and the contractor’s approach and schedule coordinating tasks as specified in the contractor’s proposal. The meeting will also enable the contractor’s staff to ask questions and to seek clarification of any potential issues related to the implementation of the contract.

Deliverable 1.1: The contractor shall, within ten working days after the effective date of the contract, attend a meeting with ED staff to clarify work requirements and procedures and review the contractor’s activities and plans.

Deliverable 1.2: The contractor shall, within ten working days after the meeting with ED, submit to the CO and the COR a written summary of the one-day meeting, as well as a schedule of deliverables and reports for the duration of the contract with actual calendar dates for deliverables. In the option periods, the contractor shall submit an updated schedule within ten days of the effective date of the option period.

Deliverable 1.3: The contractor’s Project Director shall, during each month of the contract, conduct a phone conference with the COR to report on and discuss activities and plans, and shall provide supporting materials as needed for this report and discussion.

Deliverable 1.4: The contractor shall develop a detailed work plan within 30 working days after the effective date of the contract (and subsequently, 30 working days into the beginning of each option period, if the options are exercised). The work plan shall include all tasks described in the PWS and shall include specific objectives, timelines, and persons responsible.

Task 2: Provide Logistical Support for all Meetings

The contractor is responsible for logistics for SRCL meetings. For SRCL formula grantees — the contractor shall provide logistical support for an annual grantee meeting for 150-275 people. Attendees will include 7-10 participants from each grant, speakers, contractor staff, ED staff, etc. For SRCL discretionary grantees — the contractor shall provide logistical support for an annual grantee meeting for 150-275 people. Participants will include 7-10 participants from each grant, speakers, contractor staff, ED staff, etc. The contractor shall also provide logistical pre- and post-conference support for a SRCL birth through 12th grade Summer Literacy Institute for 1,000 people. Attendees will include a variety of participants, including SRCL formula and discretionary grantees, speakers, contractor staff, ED staff, etc. Dates for the annual grantee meetings and Summer Literacy Institute to be held will be determined by ED in coordination with the contractor.

Food will not be provided under this contract except in cases where working meals are reasonable and necessary. The contractor shall pay travel expenses for conference speakers and presenters (3-10 people). The contractor will adhere to Federal Travel Regulations whenever possible for necessary travel under this contract. The contractor shall be responsible for pre-meeting planning, logistical support for the meeting, and post-meeting follow-up.

At a minimum, the contractor shall provide the following pre-meeting services:

· Planning and arranging the meeting agenda and activities

· Identifying and confirming hotel space

· Inviting and registering participants

· Contacting and vetting speakers/experts

· Completing conflict of interest

· Arranging travel needs

· Identifying and coordinating workshop materials

· Arranging for audio/visual needs

· Arranging for related logistical support

At a minimum, the contractor shall provide the following support at each meeting:

· Welcoming and registering participants

· Ensuring that audio/visual needs are met

· Coordinating workshop flow and break-out sessions

· Creating, distributing, and collecting workshop evaluations

· Preparing and processing papers and proceedings from meetings

· Arranging for related logistical support

At a minimum, the contractor shall provide the following post-meeting support:

· Thank you notes to presenters and speakers

· Providing an analysis of surveys and evaluations of events

· Identifying and preparing materials and notes for posting on ED’s Website

· Processing travel reimbursement for speakers/experts

· Meeting minutes

Deliverable 2.1: The contractor shall provide, at least one month before each meeting, an overview of meting activities for ED approval.

Deliverable 2.2: The contractor shall provide, within ten working days after each meeting, a summary of the meeting and a summary of the meeting evaluations.

Deliverable 2.3: The contractor shall complete other post-meeting services within 20 working days after each meeting.

Task 3: Technical Assistance to SRCL Discretionary Grantees

The contractor shall provide and coordinate ongoing technical assistance to between 3-18 SRCL discretionary grantees (States and subgrantees)[footnoteRef:2]. The program office estimates approximately ten awards will be made. The contractor shall provide group and one-on-one technical assistance to grantees. These services shall be provided through site visits, phone calls, videoconferences, or other suitable methods. [2: The range of possible grantees is 3-18. In the event that fewer than 18 discretionary grants are issued, the price of the Option year(s) will be reduced. The program office estimates a possibility of ten grants will be awarded through the SRCL grant competition (based on an average of the number of awards possible). Offerors should price their budgets to reflect 10 possible grantees. In the event that fewer or more than 10 discretionary grants are issued, the price of the Option year(s) will be adjusted. In such an event, ED will request a change proposal and an equitable adjustment will be performed.]

In addition to planning and providing ongoing technical assistance to all grantees, the contractor shall work with grantees that require additional assistance in implementing the grant award. This may include, for example, coordinating grant activities with other State or local reading initiatives, or addressing issues connected to a specific population of students, or addressing compliance concerns identified through monitoring. These services may be provided through site visits, phone calls, videoconferences, or other suitable methods.

The contractor will cover all costs and arrangements associated with the development, implementation, and ongoing assessment of activities related to this subtask.

The contractor shall not provide technical assistance without prior notification by the COR.

At a minimum, the contractor shall provide the following technical assistance in key areas that determine project success:

· Development of school-wide strategies for providing evidence-based literacy instruction and interventions for students reading below grade level.

· Development of strategies to coordinate literacy services in order to create comprehensive literacy support for children birth to pre-kindergarten, kindergarten to fifth grade, and grades six to twelve.

· Development of strategies targeted to improve pre-literacy, reading, and writing skills of limited-English proficient students and students with disabilities.

· Use of valid, reliable assessments by which projects can measure student achievement that are aligned with each State’s literacy standards.

· Collection and use of data, including collecting, assembling, tabulating, and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data provided by subgrantees, and reporting of data.

· Development of a State evaluation system and the use of subgrantee evaluation systems for both formative and summative data, for reporting on GPRA measures, and for program improvement.

· Development of professional development systems aligned with State content standards, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of professional development provided through this grant.

Deliverable 3.1: The contractor shall conduct a needs assessment to determine which grantees require assistance and the nature of the support required. The needs assessment shall serve as the basis for the contractor’s technical assistance plan. It shall be submitted within 30 working days of the effective date of the contract and updated annually.

Deliverable 3.2: Based on the needs assessment, the contractor shall, within 30 working days after submitting the needs assessment, prepare a technical assistance plan. This plan shall include:

· A list of contractor staff that will provide general technical assistance to grantees, including their specific areas of expertise and responsibilities.

· A list of staff that will provide direct focused consultative technical assistance to grantees, including their specific areas of expertise and responsibilities.

· A description of methods used for providing the general technical assistance or direct, focused consultative technical assistance including the following: one-on-one or small-group interactions to address specific problems unique to a State or region; remote TA opportunities (via Webcasts, tele-meetings, teleconferences, or other technologies) that will provide training on topics of interest to SRCL grantees, such as collecting annual performance data or other program management topics, delivering scientifically based reading instruction to children of all ages, what high-quality literacy programs for children age 0-5 look like, resources for teaching writing, quality instruction for special groups of students such as limited-English proficient students and disabled students.

Deliverable 3.3: For each State that seeks consultative assistance, the contractor shall prepare and implement an action plan for the COR that identifies what the State requested, what help will be given, and who will provide the assistance. This memorandum shall be provided to the COR within ten working days of the State’s request. The COR must approve the memorandum within ten working days of receipt.

Deliverable 3.4: The contractor shall include in each Monthly Progress Report (MPR) a report on its technical assistance efforts during the preceding month, problems encountered, and plans for the subsequent month. Each MPR shall contain the following attribution sentence: “This document was developed by the U.S. Department of Education/Office of Elementary and Secondary Education under Contract No. [to be completed at time of contract award].”

Task 4: Technical Assistance to SRCL Formula Grantees, BIE, and Outlying Areas

The contractor shall provide and coordinate ongoing technical assistance to SRCL formula grantees, BIE, and outlying areas. The contractor shall provide group and one-on-one technical assistance to grantees. These services shall be provided through site visits, phone calls, videoconferences, or other suitable methods.

In addition to planning and providing ongoing technical assistance to all grantees, the contractor shall work with grantees that require additional assistance in implementing the grant award. These services may be provided through site visits, phone calls, videoconferences, or other suitable methods.

The contractor will cover all costs and arrangements associated with the development, implementation, and ongoing assessment of activities related to this subtask.

The contractor shall not provide technical assistance without prior notification by the COR.

At a minimum, the contractor shall provide technical assistance in the following areas related to the development and implementation of a comprehensive literacy plan:

· Development and management of the State Literacy Team;

· Development of comprehensive literacy plan aligned with State literacy standards and evidence-based literacy instructional practices; and

· Development of strategies to coordinate literacy services provided to children birth to pre-kindergarten, kindergarten to fifth grade, and grades six to twelve.

Deliverable 4.1: The contractor shall conduct a needs assessment to determine which grantees require assistance and the nature of the support required. The needs assessment shall serve as the basis for the contractor’s technical assistance plan. It shall be submitted within 30 working days of the effective date of the contract and updated annually.

Deliverable 4.2: Based on the needs assessment, the contractor shall, within 30 working days after submitting the needs assessment, prepare a technical assistance plan. This plan shall include:

· A list of contractor staff that will provide general technical assistance to grantees, including their specific areas of expertise and responsibilities.

· A list of staff that will provide direct focused consultative technical assistance to grantees, including their specific areas of expertise and responsibilities.

· A description of methods used for providing the general technical assistance or direct, focused consultative technical assistance including the following: one-on-one or small-group interactions to address specific problems unique to a State or region; remote TA opportunities (via Webcasts, tele-meetings, teleconferences, or other technologies) that will provide training on topics of interest to SRCL grantees, such as collecting annual performance data or other program management topics, delivering scientifically based reading instruction to children of all ages, what high-quality literacy programs for children age 0-5 look like, resources for teaching writing, quality instruction for special groups of students such as limited-English proficient students and disabled students.

Deliverable 4.3: For each State that seeks consultative assistance, the contractor shall prepare and implement an action plan for the COR that identifies what the State requested, what help will be given, and who will provide the assistance. This memorandum shall be provided to the COR within ten working days of the State’s request. The COR must approve the memorandum within ten working days of receipt.

Deliverable 4.4: The contractor shall include in each Monthly Progress Report (MPR) a report on its technical assistance efforts during the preceding month, problems encountered, and plans for the subsequent month. Each MPR shall contain the following attribution sentence: “This document was developed by the U.S. Department of Education/Office of Elementary and Secondary Education under Contract No. [to be completed at time of contract award].”

Task 5: Develop a Monthly News Bulletin

The contractor shall develop a format for a monthly news bulletin updating SRCL funded grantees about laws, guidance, funding, research, best practices, and other topics of interest to the SRCL community.

Deliverable 5.1: Within 30 days of the award, the contractor shall develop a format for and the first issue of a monthly news bulletin updating SRCL project staff about laws, guidance, funding, research, or other topics impacting the SRCL community.

Deliverable 5.2: At the first meeting with the contractor, ED will provide current topics of importance. Each month thereafter, ED will provide topics on the first of each month, for a bulletin to be disseminated on or before the last weekday of that month.

Deliverable 5.3: Ten business days prior to dissemination, the contractor shall submit a draft to ED for final editing, additions, deletions, and approval.

Task 6: Analyze and Report Project Information for GPRA and APR’s

The contractor shall design an Annual Performance Report (APR) for use by SRCL grantees. The contractor shall facilitate the collection of APR data, verify the data for internal consistency and completeness, and generate descriptive statistics suitable for use by ED. The contractor, in consultation with ED, shall conduct analyses of these data to address Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) indicators, including descriptive data on projects. The contractor shall also review other data sources, including those from site visits and project evaluations, as needed by ED.

Deliverable 6.1: The contractor shall design and develop an annual performance report to be used by SRCL grantees. The draft report is due within 60 calendar days of the effective date of contract.

Deliverable 6.2: The contractor shall provide required annual and GPRA reports as needed. The COR shall review and approve each report within 20 working days. If necessary, the contractor shall submit a final report within 20 working days of receiving the COR’s comments.

Deliverable 6.3: The contractor shall use the data analyses to identify potential problems in SRCL projects. As data is submitted via the appropriate data procedure, the contractor shall compile the data in the form requested by ED. Within one month of compiling all the data for the GPRA measures and APRs, the contractor shall analyze and submit a summary and analysis report to ED.

Task 7: Periodic Progress and Expenditure Reports

Deliverable 7.1: Monthly Progress Reports (MPR) — The contractor shall submit monthly progress reports to the COR and CS for the duration of the contract. The contractor shall summarize the major activities and accomplishments during the reporting period and provide information for each project task regarding significant findings and events, problems encountered, suggested solutions, staff utilized, and future plans. The contractor shall specify in the reports the extent to which the project is on schedule. The contractor shall submit the final reports within 20 calendar days after the end of each calendar month.

Deliverable 7.2: Evaluations of Services – The contractor shall provide ED with copies or summaries of participant evaluations for all trainings and meetings, within 30 days after each event.

Deliverable 7.3: The contractor shall, in each monthly progress report (MPR), report on its efforts to coordinate activities with SRCL grantees and staff during the preceding month, problems encountered, and plans for the subsequent month. The contractor shall submit this report within 20 calendar days after the end of each calendar month.

Reporting Requirements

The contractor shall submit all deliverables via e-mail to the COR and/or the CS. All reports shall show the project title and contract number on the cover or first page. They shall state that the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Elementary and Secondary Education are funding the project.

The basic format for deliverables shall be Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access, as appropriate.

The contractor shall prepare disabled-accessible HTML versions of final documents for publication on ED’s Website. The contractor shall also prepare text descriptions of charts, theory of action models, and other graphics with content in final documents destined for the Web and public distribution.

The contract number shall be clearly identified on each deliverable.

Requirements for Option Periods 1-3

In option periods 1-3, if exercised, all tasks shall be repeated as in the base period. In the option periods, if deemed sufficient by the COR, the opening meeting (1.1) may be held by teleconference within the first five working days after exercise of the option period.

Schedule of Deliverables: Base Period

1.2 Submit meeting summary and schedule of deliverables with specific calendar due dates

1.3 Monthly conference call

1.4 Develop a detailed work plan

10 days after effective date of contract

10 days after first meeting

Monthly

Within 30 days after the effective date of contract (and at the beginning of each option period if exercised)

2.2 Summary of meeting and meeting evaluations

2.3 Post meeting services

One month before each meeting

Within 10 working days after meeting

20 working days after meeting

3.2 Prepare technical assistance plan

3.3 Prepare and Implement an Action Plan to COR when consultative assistance is requested

3.4 Report on TA activities

Within 30 working days of the effective date of contract

Within 30 working days after submitting the needs assessment

Within 10 working days if State’s request

Monthly (include in MPR)

4.2 Prepare a technical assistance plan

4.3 Prepare and Implement an action plan for the COR when consultative assistance is requested

4.4 Report on its technical assistance efforts

Within 30 working days of the effective date of contract

Within 30 working days after submitting needs assessment

Within 10 working days of State’s request

5.2 Bulletin to be disseminated

5.3 Submit a draft to ED for final editing, additions, deletions, and approval Within 30 days of award and monthly thereafter

On or before the last weekday of the month.

10 business days before the last weekday of the month

6.2 Provide Annual and GPRA reports

6.3 Compile data

Within 60 calendar days of contract award

Within 20 working days of receiving COR’s comments

Within one month of receiving data

7.2 Evaluation of Services

7.3 Coordination of Activities

Within 20 calendar days after the end of each calendar month

Within 30 days of each event