Q&A Addendum

Addendum No. 1

PROJECT: On-Demand Student Tutoring

014-PUR-2023

OWNER: Dougherty County School System

601 Flint Avenue

Albany, Georgia 31701

CONTACT: Sharonda Thompson

Dougherty County School System

601 Flint Avenue

Albany, Georgia 31701

Phone: (229) 431-1270 Fax: (229) 431-1814 sharonda.thompson@docoschools.org

DATE ISSUED: July 23, 2022

DUE DATE: August 2, 2022

PAGE TOTAL: Six (6)

Bid 014-PUR-2023, dated July 1, 2022, is hereby amended and shall be interpreted as noted herein. Vendor-submitted questions are quoted. Responses are bold and underlined.

CLARIFICATION(S) THRU Q&A

Q1 “Do you currently have an online tutoring provider, and if so: how many students have used the service?”

A1 Yes. Nine Hundred Seventy-Three (973) students.

Q2 “How many hours were used in the last year (or six months)?”

A2 Approximately 15,000 hours in the last six months.

Q3 “What is the price of that service?”

A3 $25 per hour

Q4 “Who is (are) the provider(s) of that service?”

A4 FEV Tutor mailto:sharonda.thompson@docoschools.org

Q5 “Does the district desire the use of audio and video between students and tutors?”

A5 The district requires only chat-based tutoring but will consider audio and video tutoring as additional options.

Q6 “Does the district have a method for collaborating on research? For example, will we (or a third-party research firm engaged on our behalf) be given access to student grades to measure impact and examine efficacy?”

A6 We are willing to discuss providing certain academic data in order to measure impact and examine efficacy, if providing such information can be done in compliance with privacy laws.

Q7 “What is the LMS (or student portal) into which you would like online tutoring to integrate?”

A7 Google Classroom

Q8 “We noted the expectation of supporting students with live tutoring and paper/writing review. Would an option for a student to drop off a question and return later for feedback from a tutor be of interest? (Handy when a student wants to show their work on a problem where they're stumped to get a quick tip, but needs keep working on the rest of their homework, for example.)”

A8 Our expectation is for our students to receive live, on-demand feedback in real-time.

Q9 “Are tutors required to have bachelor's degrees?”

A9 No, but your method for ensuring tutor quality should be discussed in your proposal.

Q10 “Does the district (or any of the schools) employ in-person tutors? If so, please describe.

On a related note, would the district/schools be interested in putting their own students online as peer tutors or their employee teachers or staff online as professional tutors

(when they are not otherwise engaged in or committed to their teacher/staff role)? For example, paying teachers or counselors to tutor or provide counseling services over the summer.”

A10 No.

Q11 “What unit should be used to submit pricing? We work with schools and districts that invest in a block of hours (e.g., 1000 hours at an hourly rate), use a flat rate for equitable access across the full student population (i.e., per student per year rate), and other scenarios. Please advise how we should submit pricing so that competing proposals may be compared "apples-to-apples" so to speak.”

A11 Our preference is per student per year; however, you may submit an hourly rate proposal.

Q12 “Might we be invited to present to a committee during this process, and if so, what are the potential dates for that engagement?”

A12 If the Proposal Analysis Group deems it necessary, demonstrations may be scheduled between August 2nd - August 17th.

Q13 “How many students have used the [district's existing tutoring] service?

A14 Please see A1.

Q14 “We provide virtual tutoring in ELA and mathematics. Is the District open to awarding multiple vendors under this RFP?”

A1 It is our intent to contract with a single agency for all content areas.

Q15 “Is it necessary to have a location for an office in Dougherty? We are currently based in

Augusta, GA. We could obtain and county business license and office location there if awarded.”

A15 No. We need technical support available for students/parents during and after school hours.

Q16 “Would you clarify page 21 section 1 and #10 and #11?”

A16 Our district is flexible in how we can integrate a software product in our environment. We want to ensure that the product is easily accessible to our target users. Your solution should integrate with Google workspace apps, Classlink (our single sign-on portal), or OneRoster rostering standards.

Q17 “What is the time frame for on demand for example between the hours of 7am to 4pm?”

A17 Unlimited access.

Q18 “Do you have need for weekend hours?”

A18 Yes.

Q19 “Is there a projected number of students that typically utilize tutoring per subject?”

A19 It varies by school and subject and grade band based upon current usage data reports from our current provider.

Q20 “Does the district have a standardized test that students may be able to take prior to tutoring and again on a quarterly basis to measure data and provide metrics?”

A20 Yes. We would need a DCSS IT-approved data-sharing agreement.

Q21 “Are the expectations listed on pg. 21 of the RFP program requirements? For example, would a vendor who provides scheduled sessions vs. on-demand tutoring be considered by the district?”

A21 On-demand tutoring is strongly preferred over scheduled sessions only. If no satisfactory, on-demand tutoring services are proposed the district would consider proposals offering only scheduled sessions.

Q22 “On page 20 the BID SUBMISSION CHECKLIST, it says, “One original and (2) copies of complete proposal.” This is contrary to page 8 under, “PROPOSAL COPIES: Bidder should supply one (1) original and (3) copies when submitting.” Please clarify the number of copies needed.”

A22 Submit one original and three copies.

Q23 “Page 8 shows that the “GEORGIA SECURITY & IMMIGRATION COMPLIANCE

ACT FOR CONTRACTORS” and the “GEORGIA SECURITY & IMMIGRATION

COMPLIANCE ACT FOR SUB-CONTRACTORS” documents are required, but the Bid

Submission Checklist on page 20 only shows the Georgia Security & Immigration

Compliance Act (pages 18-19) is required. If Offeror is not planning to use a subcontractor, is the “GEORGIA SECURITY & IMMIGRATION COMPLIANCE ACT

FOR SUB-CONTRACTORS” document required?”

A23 No, the affidavit for a subcontractor is not required, if the vendor does not subcontract.

Q24 “What types of background checks are acceptable for tutoring that are virtual and globally?”

A24 National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and Georgia National Crime

Information Center (GCIC) background checks are acceptable.

Q25 “How should cost be figured? By student or By session?”

A25 See A11.

Q26 “Are services fully virtual?”

A26 Because the district prefers on-demand tutoring, the expectation is that the services would be delivered virtually. The district may, however, consider other services delivery methods that meet the intent of the RFP.

Q27 “What is the amount of students that will need to be serviced?”

A27 See Overview of Services in RFP.

Q28 “When would services begin?”

A28 The first day of school for the DCSS is August 15, 2022. Services should begin within two weeks of that date.

Q29 “Will the District accept electronic signatures through DocuSign, since they are legally binding per the U.S. E-Sign Act signed into law in 2000? If not, will the District grant an extension? Our staff, including our executive team with contract signing authority, works remotely across North America so it will take time to get signatures in ink and ensure on-time delivery of the requested hard copies to the District.”

A29 The District accepts electronic signatures.

Q30 “What weighting is assigned to each evaluation criteria category listed on page 23?”

A30 Company Background and Relevant Experience (25%); Methodology and

Approach (25%); Reference Responses (10%); Cost (40%)

Q31 “Section 2, Paragraph 13 Rights and Remedies: Would the District kindly clarify the amount of the charge?”

A31 The amount has yet to be determined. As stated in the above-referenced section, “…it is the agreed upon liquidated damages representing the estimated damages that will be incurred by the DCSS as a result of the vendor’s failure to complete the services as required.” In other words, the amount of charge will be negotiated and agreed upon with the successful contractor and the district before signing a service agreement.

Q32 “Section 2, Paragraph 14; Section 2, paragraph 15; Section 4, paragraph 4; Section 5, paragraph 5: Please confirm these provisions are not relevant to the services requested”

A32 These do not apply.

Q33 “Section 4 Paragraph 5: Will the three-year retention period refer to hard copies of documents or digital files?”

A33 Both.

Q34 “Section 5 generally: Background Checks: Please confirm that any applicable background checks for on-site employees can be completed and certified by the

Contractor?”

A34 The contractor could be permitted to complete background checks for any on-site.

Please note, if allowed, those background checks would need to be NCIC and GCIC background checks.

Q35 “Section 5 Paragraph 6; Attachment H: Please clarify the definition of “subcontractor” for the purposes of this agreement? Attachment H appears to refer to the bidders themselves as “subcontractors”, which appears to conflict with Section 5 Paragraph 6.”

A35 “Subcontractor” refers to any person providing services who is not an employee of the awarded vendor.

Q36 “Section 5 generally: Would the District would be willing to sign the vendor’s service agreement along with its purchasing terms?”

A36 The district would be willing to sign the vendor’s service agreement along with its purchasing terms. Please note, that such an agreement would need to be deemed consistent with the intent of the RFP, and compliant with the laws of the State of

Georgia.

END OF ADDENDUM # 1