OEV27007095 Solicitation Specifications.pdf

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OEV27007095 – AGENCY SOLICITATION SPECIFICATIONS

TITLE: MPA 603 LITERACY AND DYSLEXIA ENDORSEMENT PROVIDERS

SECTION A. BACKGROUND

National reading achievement data continue to underscore the need for strong, evidence-based literacy instruction. While Rhode Island has made significant progress in building educator knowledge and capacity, ensuring that all students develop the foundational reading skills necessary for long-term academic success remains a critical priority. It is essential that students are able to accurately decode, fluently read, and deeply comprehend grade-level text by the end of third grade and continue to strengthen these skills throughout their educational journey. A key lever in achieving this goal is ensuring that educators possess a deep understanding of the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy and can effectively apply this knowledge in practice.

Recognizing the importance of educator expertise in evidence-based literacy instruction, Rhode Island enacted the Right to Read Act in 2019. The law requires educators to demonstrate proficiency in, or awareness of the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy based on their role and responsibilities. To support implementation of these requirements, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) established a process for reviewing and approving professional learning providers whose offerings align with the competencies outlined in Rhode Island's Literacy/Dyslexia Endorsement and the requirements of the Right to Read Act. Applications are reviewed by a cross-office team at RIDE, and approved providers are listed on the RIDE Right to Read Act webpage. These approved professional learning opportunities serve as an important pathway for educators to build the knowledge and skills necessary to meet statutory requirements while strengthening literacy outcomes for students statewide.

Through this solicitation, approved providers may be considered for inclusion on RIDE's Master Price Agreement (MPA) for literacy professional learning services. This solicitation will be used to establish an MPA with qualified service providers to support statewide implementation of evidence-based literacy practices.

SECTION B: SCOPE OF WORK AND REQUIREMENTS

General Scope of Work

These professional learning providers offer robust training to develop educators’ knowledge of the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy. Upon successful completion of these trainings, educators will be eligible for the RIDE Literacy-Dyslexia Endorsement, thereby fulfilling their proficiency requirements of the Right to Read Act. This includes any educator group and/or grade band as outlined in the RI Right to Read Act.

https://ride.ri.gov/instruction-assessment/literacy/rhode-island-right-read-act

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Structured Literacy is an approach to teaching that integrates speaking, listening, reading, and writing by providing explicit, systematic, diagnostic-prescriptive instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness, sound-symbol correspondence (phonics), syllables, morphology, semantics, and syntax.

The Science of Reading (also known as Scientific Reading Instruction) is empirically based instruction that is grounded in the study of the relationship between cognitive science and educational outcomes.

Specific Activities / Tasks

In order to qualify for this solicitation, vendors must have been pre-approved by RIDE as a provider of the Literacy/Dyslexia Endorsement, with no significant updates to the originally approved proficiency course or apply for approval in the December 15-January 31 timeline. The program offered must be the specific training approved by RIDE as listed in the Information Sheet posted in the "Approved Providers for Proficiency" section on the RIDE Right to Read Act webpage.

Other interested providers may submit an application to be a Literacy/Dyslexia Endorsement provider in December and then submit a response to this OEV. The application period occurs on a yearly basis. The standard window for all endorsement provider applications is December 15 - January 31 each year.

A copy of the current application has been included in this solicitation as Appendix A.

All professional learning must align with the Rhode Island Professional Learning Standards, and must include instruction in the following components/concepts as evidenced within the professional learning provider’s original Literacy / Dyslexia Endorsement application:

Knowledge and Skills Related to Phonology Phonology Phonological Awareness Phonemic Awareness Articulation of Sounds Knowledge of Skills Related to Phonics, Decoding, and Encoding Alphabetic Principle Decoding Correspondence of letters and sounds Encoding Syllable types Syllable division rules Schwa Morphology supports word composition and spelling (e.g., Latin bases, prefixes, assimilated prefixes, inflectional and derivational suffixes, Greek combining forms) Spelling rules and generalizations Student text selection including decodable text Assistive technology supports Knowledge of Skills Related to Fluency

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Rate Accuracy Prosody Instruction and practice Knowledge of Skills Related to Vocabulary Taught directly and indirectly Developing vocabulary through oral language Morphology supports word comprehension and vocabulary building (e.g., Latin bases, prefixes, assimilated prefixes, inflectional and derivational suffixes, Greek combining forms) Multiple meaning contexts Choosing and leveling words for explicit instruction Knowledge of Skills Related to Comprehension Listening and reading comprehension Background knowledge Assistive technology accommodations including audiobooks to build background knowledge Grammar Text Structures Pre-Reading, During Reading, and After Reading: Metacognitive Strategies to support Executive Functioning Connecting writing to reading to further comprehension (e.g., explicit instruction in pronoun referents, cohesive ties, and syntax elements including sentence types and sentence combination activities)

Eligible Providers:

The list of all currently eligible Proficiency providers can be found on the RIDE Right to Read Act webpage.

Deliverables:

Professional learning providers must:

• Work with the hiring agency (e.g., RIDE, Rhode Island Local Education Agencies) to schedule and coordinate training

• Gather participant information to distribute all necessary training materials

• Facilitate all professional learning as outlined in their approved Literacy / Dyslexia

Endorsement training

• Effectively communicate with hiring agency regarding training and participant completion status

• Provide proof of completion to all participants who have successfully completed training

Cost:

Any cost provided within a RIDE approved provider of the Literacy/Dyslexia Endorsement’s program as listed on the RIDE website do not pertain to work provided through this solicitation/MPA. Pricing shall be determined between the vendor and the user agency at the time of engagement.

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SECTION C: PROPOSAL

1. Proposal - Vendor Qualification Assessment

Narrative and format: Vendor responses must address specifically each of the following elements:

A. RIDE Application Approval – Submission of the RIDE letter provided at time of approval as evidence of pre-approval by RIDE’s cross-office Literacy/Dyslexia Endorsement review team as a provider of the Literacy/Dyslexia Endorsement.

B. Services Offered – Submission of program offered as confirmation that it is the same as the specific training referenced in the aforementioned approval letter and matches the descriptions (barring updated pricing) listed in the Information Sheet posted on the RIDE Right to Read Act webpage.

SECTION D: EVALUATION AND SELECTION - SOLICITATION SPECIFIC

Proposals shall be reviewed by the Division of Purchases on a “Pass/Fail” basis. All criteria must receive a “Pass” determination for a vendor’s potential inclusion on the resulting OE MPA’s qualified vendor list. Any criteria with a “Fail” determination will not be reviewed further and the vendor will be dropped from consideration.

Proposals shall be reviewed and scored based upon the following criteria:

Criteria

Pass/Fail

RIDE Application Approval Pass/Fail

Services Offered Pass/Fail

Overall Pass/Fail Pass/Fail

NOTE: See the “Requirements” tab of this solicitation for additional information on the evaluation and selection process in the “OE Standard Specifications- Vendor Qualification Assessment” section.

SECTION D: EVALUATION AND SELECTION - SOLICITATION SPECIFIC