RFP Early Childhood Literacy Specialist v.2.1.pdf

Request for Qualifications (RFQ)

Early Childhood Literacy Specialist

(Part Time Consultant)

CONTACT: DeAnn Brown deannb@ctsi.nsn.us

Issue date: April 2026 Proposal Due Date: May 29, 2026

Anticipated Contract Period: June 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027

INTRODUCTION & INSTRUCTIONS

Background: The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI) Head Start Program provides a comprehensive early childhood education program, which is culturally relevant for Native Americans, and serves children ages 3 and 4 years. The Tenas Illahee

Child Care Center (TICCC) is an educational childcare program that is culturally relevant for Native Americans, and serves children ages 6 weeks to 4 years.

Purpose of the RFP: CTSI is soliciting proposals for a part-time, Early Childhood

Literacy Specialist (“Consultant”) to support the development of literacy plans, literacy activities and traditional Siletz Dee-ni language acquisition for the Siletz Tribal Head

Start and TICCC programs. The literacy plans must support the wide range of developmental needs of the children served. The plan must provide staff and parents with a deeper understanding regarding the fundamental principles of language and literacy development and its importance to children’s development and lifelong success. The plan must incorporate the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF), Creative Curriculum, Teaching Strategies Gold, and Head Start School Readiness Goals.

The plan must deliver a professional development session designed to increase the Head

Start and TICCC staff understanding of the developmental process and science of the fundamentals of literacy and reading. The plan must deliver a training session for Head

Start and TICCC staff to develop staff awareness and understanding of developmentally appropriate literacy enrichment in early childhood learning environments and strategies specific to the development needs of the children served. The plan must deliver quarterly literacy enrichment sessions for families that focus on providing a basic understanding of language and literacy development in young children, strategies to support language and literacy within the home, and how language and literacy skills promote lifelong learning and success for children. The contract period is June 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. The

Consultant shall be paid at the rate of $60.00 per hour for the delivery of the activities specified and any related incidental expenses for travel, office supplies, etc., not to exceed $62,400.00.

Location of Work: The Consultant will be responsible for providing the primary work site for performance of the services provided under this agreement. Services provided at

Head Start locations in Siletz, Lincoln City, Salem and Portland, and at the TICCC in

Siletz will be required.

Unrestricted Solicitation

This solicitation is not restricted to Indian individuals and/or Indian-owned economic enterprises and organizations but award is subject to Indian preference in accordance with the Tribal Plan of Operations §2.019(c)(5)(D)(ii). Bidders may submit evidence of eligibility for Indian preference with their Bid or at any time prior, to May 29, 2026 (see

Contact, below).

Contact Person

Bidder may direct questions regarding this RFP to:

Attention: DeAnn Brown, Head Start Director

Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

Head Start Program

P.O. Box 549

Siletz, Oregon 97380

Phone: (541)444-2450

Fax: (541)444-2307

Email: deannb@ctsi.nsn.us

Office: 930 W. Buford Avenue, Siletz, Oregon 97380

Proposal Submission

The proposal must be received by the contact person at the above address no later than

May 29, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Bids can be mailed or hand delivered in sealed envelopes marked “Early Childhood Literacy Specialist - BID”. Proposal review will begin after the deadline established for receipt of proposals.

Proposal Tenure

All proposals shall include a statement that the proposal shall be valid until contract award but no more than ninety (90) calendar days from the proposal due date.

Incurred Expenses

CTSI shall not be responsible for any expenses incurred by Bidders in responding to this

RFP. All costs incurred by Bidders in the preparation, transmittal or presentation of any proposal or material submitted in response to this RFP will be borne solely by the Bidder.

Cancellation of RFP or Rejection of Proposals

CTSI may cancel this RFP at any time for any reason. CTSI may reject any and/or all proposals for any reason as determined by CTSI.

Evaluation of Proposals, Award Notice, Negotiation

The Program Manager and Evaluation Team will open the bids and will decide when the specified time has arrived; no bid received thereafter will be considered. Responses will be evaluated by an Evaluation Team made up of three Tribal Employees and/or

Supervisors using the criteria listed in Parts II and III below, with final selection to be made by the CTSI General Manager.

CTSI shall award the contract to the Bidder whose proposal(s) is deemed to be most advantageous to CTSI. If a Bidder’s proposal is reasonably likely, in CTSI’s discretion, to be selected, CTSI may provide the Bidder an opportunity to discuss and revise their proposal prior to award for the purpose of obtaining a final and best offer. Proposals shall be evaluated on the criteria listed in Part II and III below. The award is contingent upon successful negotiations of a final contract between CTSI and the Bidder whose proposal is accepted by CTSI. A sample contract is attached as Exhibit A.

mailto:deannb@ctsi.nsn.us

Award Notice

CTSI shall provide written notice of the award to all Bidders within 10 business days of the date of the award.

Proposal Confidentiality

Until the award is made and notice is given to all Bidders, no employee, agent, or representative of a Bidder shall make available or discuss its proposal with any officer, member, employee, agent or representative of CTSI other than the Contact Person, except in response to inquiries from the Contact Person as part of the evaluation process. Until the award is made and notice of award is given to all Bidders, CTSI will not disclose the contents of any proposal or discuss the contents of any proposal with any Bidder or potential Bidder.

Irregularities in Proposals

CTSI may, at their discretion, waive technical irregularities in the proposal format of any

Bidder selected for award, which do not alter the price, quality or quantity of the services offered.

Certification of Compliance with Law

Successful Bidders will be required to comply with applicable Tribal, state and federal laws, regulations, and executive orders.

Protest

To be filed under CTSI’s Tribal Plan of Operations §2.019(c)(10)&(11). Available at http://www.ctsi.nsn.us/uploads/downloads/Ordinances/Tribal%20Plan%20of%20Operati ons%20FINAL%20Effective%201-1-12.pdf

Part II: Minimum Qualifications and Requirements

CTSI is seeking a Consultant, whether a single person or organization, that can effectively and independently prepare and deliver developing literacy plan and activities to support early childhood literacy development, literacy activities for children, families, and staff, and traditional Dee-ni language acquisition in the CTSI early childhood programs. Only those who meet the following minimum criteria are eligible to submit a proposal pursuant to this RFP:

1. Bidder must document that the person who will perform the contract work has at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with Reading

Specialist Endorsement.

2. Bidder must document enrollment in the Department of Early Learning and

Care (DELC) Central Background Registry (CBR), or document required

National and State-based Background Checks: National FBI Fingerprint

Criminal History Check; NCIC National Sex Offender Registry Check; In-

State Criminal History Check; In-State Sex Offender Registry Check; In-State http://www.ctsi.nsn.us/uploads/downloads/Ordinances/Tribal%20Plan%20of%20Operations%20FINAL%20Effective%201-1-12.pdf http://www.ctsi.nsn.us/uploads/downloads/Ordinances/Tribal%20Plan%20of%20Operations%20FINAL%20Effective%201-1-12.pdf

Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Check. All Background Checks are required for all States of residence for the past 5 years.

3. Bidder must document a minimum of 3 years of experience in teaching in an

Early Childhood program.

4. Bidder must include three references to verify the Bidder’s experience.

Bidders must provide the reference organization’s name, a contact within that organization, telephone number of the contact and email address for the contact. A letter from the reference may satisfy this requirement.

Part III: Evaluation Factors

CTSI shall award the contract to the Bidder whose proposal is most advantageous to

CTSI. Proposals meeting minimum qualifications shall be evaluated solely on the terms listed below. Proposals shall be scored on a scale from 1 to 100 based on the criteria listed below.

Experience and Capability

Bidder’s skill, knowledge, qualifications, and experience in similar projects will be considered under this evaluation factor. This rating will focus on the persons assigned to the CTSI contract, and on the characteristics of the Bidder firm as a whole, if applicable.

Maximum Points: 45

Indian Preference

Individual Indians and/or Indian-owned and controlled companies will receive preference in accordance with 25 U.S.C. §450e(b)(7). Companies claiming

Indian preference must furnish adequate proof of at least 51% Indian ownership and control with their proposal in order to secure Indian Preference points.

Maximum Points: 15

Evidence of Completeness and Quality of Literacy Plan and Activities

The extent to which the Bidder describes the steps he or she would take to complete the proposed literacy plan and activities and the timeframe for completion will be the major factors considered.

Maximum Points: 40

CTSI will use the “Scoring Sheet” attached as Exhibit B to evaluate proposals.

Proposal Format and Instructions to Bidder

Proposals submitted to CTSI must, at a minimum, contain the following information and shall be organized as follows:

A. Letter of Transmittal

Include at least the following information:

a. Name, address and telephone number of Bidder;

b. A signature of the Bidder or of any partner, officer or employee who certifies that he or she has the authority to bind the Bidder;

c. Date of Proposal;

d. A statement that the Submitted proposal is valid for 90 days after the deadline for submission of proposals.

B. Names and resumes of the key personnel including support staff, if any, to be assigned to the project. Resumes describing the qualifications of personnel to be utilized in the performance of this contract must show, at a minimum, the person’s name, education, position, certifications, and total years and types of experience relevant to the performance of the contract.

C. References. Please provide names of at least three references of persons who have worked with the same primary personnel as described above.

D. Proposal for delivering services, including organization of responsibilities, a general timeline conforming to this RFP’s anticipated contract period of May1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, work plan, approach and the availability of personnel for consultation and discussion as necessary to serve the needs of CTSI.

E. Disclosure: Please provide a statement disclosing:

a. Any current or proposed business transaction between Bidder and any

CTSI officer, employee or any other Tribal entity which may give rise to a claim of conflict of interest. Bidder shall warrant that it has no interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of services required under this contract.

F. Litigation. Please describe any material, current or pending litigation, administrative proceedings or investigations that could impact the reputation or financial viability of your firm.

G. CTSI requires that Bidder be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please state that

Bidder complies fully with all government regulations regarding nondiscriminatory employment practices and provide a copy of any written EEO, ADA or affirmative action policies presently followed by Bidder.

H. Statement of Qualifications.

I. Proof of Indian Preference (if applicable).

Submission Procedures

A. In accordance with the Proposal Submission section in Part I above, one signed original copy of the Proposal must be submitted to the Contact Person by the submission deadline.

B. Incomplete proposals shall not be considered.

C. Discussion may be conducted with Bidder to provide clarification, but proposals may be selected or rejected without such discussions.