Penda_Learning_26149-SSD-EST_Science_Subscription_&_Assessments_Notice_042026.pdf

HillsboroughSchools.org • P.O. Box 3408 • Tampa, FL 33601-3408 • (813) 272-4374 Raymond O. Shelton School Administrative Center • 901 East Kennedy Blvd. • Tampa, FL 33602-3507

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

PROCUREMENT SERVICES

NOTICE OF INTENT

TO

PURCHASE SINGLE/SOLE SOURCE COMMODITIES AND SERVICES

The following commodities and services may be a “Single Source” or a “Sole Source” (only one (1) source from which to purchase the commodities and services).

Single/Sole Source No. & Vendor Name: 26149-SSD-EST: Penda Science Subscription & Assessments Single/Sole Source Posting Date (7 business days): From: Monday, April 20, 2026 To: Wednesday, April 29, 2026 Protest Period (3 business days) From: Wednesday, April 29, 2026 To: Monday, May 4, 2026 Commodities and Services: See Exhibit A. SINGLE/SOLE SOURCE COMMODITIES AND SERVICES

This NOTICE OF INTENT TO PURCHASE SINGLE/SOLE SOURCE shall serve as a notification that a recommendation will be made to The School Board of Hillsborough County, Florida (the “School Board”) to award this single or sole source procurement to the referenced vendor of the commodities and contractual services described in Exhibit A: SINGLE/SOLE SOURCE COMMODITIES AND SERVICES. The description of the commodities and contractual services intended for purchase from a single source is posted in accordance with Rule 6A-1.012(12)(d), Florida Administrative Code. It will remain posted for seven (7) business days.

This is not a request for proposals, and no competitive solicitation is available. HCPS will not consider any response to be a proposal. Any responses received because of this notice will be considered solely to determine whether competition exists.

Interested firms or individuals may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement by uploading EXHIBIT B: RESPONSE TO PURCHASE SINGLE/SOLE SOURCE COMMODITIES AND SERVICES and all relevant documents via www.vendorlink.com. “Like” shall mean equal, equivalent, or identical. Interested firms will be considered only if they provide clear and convincing documentation demonstrating they can meet or exceed the requirements. All responses received within seven (7) business days after the publication of this Notice of Intent to Purchase Single/Sole Source will be reviewed by HCPS.

A determination by the General Manager of Procurement Services, or designee, and the Procurement Officer not to publish a competitive solicitation for this proposed action based on the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the General Manager of Procurement Services.

Notice of Intent to Sole Source: If Procurement Services does not receive “like” commodities and services information during the Single/Sole Source posting period above, the purchase request shall be issued to the School Board or renewed as approved by the School Board. This section shall serve as notice of the intended decision to enter a single/sole source contract in the manner specified in § 120.57(3), Florida Statutes. It may negotiate the best terms and conditions with the single/sole source vendor. HCPS shall submit a recommendation to the School Board (www.hillsboroughschools.org/Page/3643) requesting approval to waive the solicitation process and proceed with the single/sole source purchase. Decisions concerning multiple-year sole sourcing are valid for one year after approval by the School Board and must be reposted and validated before the renewal period.

Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in § 120.57(3), Florida Statutes, or failure to post the bond or other security required by law within the time allowed for filing a bond shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. Any protest concerning HCPS’s decision must be received by the General Manager of Procurement Services at 901 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33602, within the prescribed time.

Superintendent of Schools Van Ayres http://www.vendorlink.com/ http://www.hillsboroughschools.org/Page/3643

Hillsborough County Public Schools Page 2 of 5 Notice of Sole Source Purchase: 26149-SSD-EST: Penda Science Subscription & Assessments

EXHIBIT A

SINGLE/SOLE SOURCE COMMODITIES AND SERVICES

1. Describe what the item is, a commodity or a service, and how it is to be used by HCPS.

Penda Science provides science intervention and supplemental support across all middle and high schools. Penda Science is a science intervention resource built for Grades 3-12 biology. Using Curriculum Planning and Learning Management System (CPALMS) and Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) item specs, Penda has hand-crafted three differentiated, scaffolded activities and a mini assessment to each of the Florida State Academic Standards for Science (SASS) standards. A suite of assessments coupled with standards-based line-item analysis reporting is also available, including course assessments, and Statewide Science Assessment (SSA) and End of Course Exam (EOC) prep assessments.

2. What feature or particular condition of this commodity and service is unique and cannot be obtained from any other source?

Penda activities and assessments have been hand-aligned to Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) science curriculum guides, enabling automated weekly student assignments and auto-grading, saving teacher’s valuable time and effort. The Penda platform is analyzing student work qualitatively and quantitively, to better understand and support student growth relative to school science goals and SSA/EOC preparedness – that’s where the standards-based reports and line-item analysis reports have been most impactful. In tandem with automated assignments and reporting, teachers are leveraging Penda to either remediate or accelerate students by assigning science activities to classes (for Tier 1), intervention groups (for Tier 2), or individual students (for Tier 3) based on needs.

3. Vendor-provided information.

Proposal includes access for 36,000 middle school students across 97 schools/sites (K-8, middle, high, alt. ed., exceptional centers). Specific course information is listed below.

Courses include:

• Grade 6 Comprehensive Science 1 (all levels)

• Grade 7 Comprehensive Science 2 (all levels)

• Grade 8 Comprehensive Science 3 (all levels)

• Grade 8 Physical Science Honors

• High School Environmental Science (all levels)

• High School Biology (all levels)

Schools to include:

Adum K-8 Magnet School Alonso High School Apollo Beach K-8 School Armwood High School Barrington Middle School Benito Middle School Blake High School Bloomingdale High School Brandon High School Brandon Success Center Buchanan Middle School Burnett Middle School Burns Middle School Caminiti Exceptional Center Carrollwood K-8 School Carver Exceptional Center Chamberlain High School Coleman Middle School Collins PK-8 School Davidsen Middle School Dorothy Thomas Center Dowdell Middle Magnet School Durant High School East Bay High School Eisenhower Exceptional Center Eisenhower Middle School Farnell Middle School Ferrell Middle Magnet School Franklin Middle Magnet School Freedom High School Gaither High School Giunta Middle School Greco Middle School Hill Middle School Hillsborough High School Hospital/Homebound/Homebased

Programs Jefferson High School Jennings Middle School King High School LaVoy Exceptional Center Lennard High School Leto High School

Hillsborough County Public Schools Page 3 of 5

Liberty Middle School Lopez Exceptional Center Lutz K-8 School Madison Middle School Maniscalco K-8 School Mann Middle School Marshall Middle School Martinez Middle School Medical Academy at D.W. Waters Memorial Middle School Middleton High School Morgan High School Mulrennan Middle School Newsome High School Orange Grove Middle Magnet School Pierce Middle School Pizzo K-8 School Plant City High School Plant High School Progress Village Middle Magnet Rampello K-8 Magnet School Randall Middle School Riverview High School Robinson High School Rodgers Middle School Roland Park K-8 Magnet School Sergeant Paul R Smith Middle School Shields Middle School Sickles High School Simmons Career Center Simmons Exceptional Center Sligh Middle School South County Career Center Spoto High School Steinbrenner High School Stewart Middle Magnet School Strawberry Crest High School Sulphur Springs K-8 School Sumner High School Tampa Bay Tech High School Tampa Heights Elementary Magnet Tinker K-8 School Tomlin Middle School Turkey Creek Middle School Turner/Bartels K-8 School Walker Middle Magnet School Webb Middle School Wharton High School Williams Middle Magnet School Willis Peters Exceptional Center Wilson Middle School Woodson K-8 School York PK-8 Magnet School Young Middle Magnet School

Penda Science Intervention Solution:

• Science activities custom-designed for every Florida SASS standard for grades 3 - biology.

o Phenomena-based, interactive activities, inclusive of the FL SASS, nature of science/scientific and engineering practices o Two reading levels designed for every activity - emerging and achieving.

o Engaging activities, complete with multimedia, simulations, and data sets, that support nature of science/scientific and engineering practices, 5E instruction, and inquiry-based learning.

• "Cosmos" - Penda's AI-powered student companion that provides students with structured 'just-in-time' academic support to promote learning

• Exclusive access to former Scantron science assessment items - mini assessments hand-curated for every FL

SASS standard, in addition to course assessments, and high-stakes assessment prep (Grade 5 SSA Prep, Grade 8 SSA Prep, Biology EOC Prep assessment) activities.

• Efficiently differentiate instruction for class, small group, or individual student needs (RTI Tiers 1-3) with Penda activities, intervention groups, and assignment wizard.

• Immersive reader (with read-aloud capability) and language translator (100+ languages supported) accommodations for all students.

• Auto-grading of student activities and assessments with instant feedback, including AI-powered grading of short-answer responses

• Gamification-based student experience, including activity points, experience points, leaderboards, weekly/monthly challenges, streaks, digital badges, an avatar store, a customizable avatar, and SpaceCRAFT collaborative class mission.

• Comprehensive Report Builder tool for data analysis from district/organization-level data to teacher-specific needs, including download and sharing capabilities.

Penda Services:

Customer Success & Professional Development Services:

• With Penda's Pacing Assistance Service (PAS), Penda activities are hand-aligned to your district/organization's instructional progression calendars/curriculum guides.

• Automated student assignments.

• Webinar and/or in-person professional development, as outlined in the quote above, valid for 1 year from purchase date.

Hillsborough County Public Schools Page 4 of 5

Ongoing Support Services:

• A Customer Success Manager will be assigned to your school, that is dedicated to helping your science PLC get the most of Penda Science - available by email, phone, or Zoom.

• Regular check-ins, meetings, and updates of new features and enhancements.

• Customer support via live telephone (M-F from 7:30 am - 5:30 pm ET), email via support@pendalearning.com, or Penda’s 24/7 Online Help Center.

Technical Services

• Single sign-on (SSO) via Clever, ClassLink, or Google.

• Auto-data rostering via Clever, ClassLink, Infinite Campus, or OneRoster SFTP.

• LMS integration via Canvas or Schoology, including grade pass-back.[intentionally blank.]

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Hillsborough County Public Schools Page 5 of 5

EXHIBIT B

RESPONSE TO PURCHASE SINGLE/SOLE SOURCE

COMMODITIES AND SERVICES

The following must be completed, signed, and returned as part of your response. Your response will not be accepted without this form, signed by a supplier’s authorized agent.

Respondents who believe they have “like” commodities and services must:

• upload this EXHIBIT B: RESPONSE TO PURCHASE SINGLE/SOLE SOURCE COMMODITIES AND SERVICES; and

• provide sufficient information regarding their ability to supply the described commodities and services to allow for an evaluation to determine “like” commodities or “like” services.

Responses received after the Response Due Date and Time (see page one) will not be accepted.

Company Name:

Mailing Address:

City, State, Zip:

Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN):

Telephone Number:

Email:

Signature

Title Date