SEL Resource RFP.pdf

Vendor’s Competitive Bid Request

To Whom It May Concern:

Our school district is accepting competitive bids from vendors for the item(s)/service(s) as detailed below. Please accept this letter as a request for your company to participate in the bid process. All interested vendors should email their intent to submit a bid within eleven (11) business days of the date of this letter to be considered. Failure to respond within this period will indicate your lack of desire to participate in the competitive bid process. All written bids must be emailed to the contact below by June 12th, 2026 by 4pm to be considered.

Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, Ashley L. Jones, Student Support Coordinator ajones4@battle-creek.k12.mi.us

Today’s Date: May 15, 2026

Deadline To Submit Interest:

June 12, 2026

Deadline To Submit Written Bid by Email:

June 12, 2026

School’s Name:

Battle Creek Public Schools

School’s Address:

3 West Van Buren Battle Creek, MI 49017

Contact’s Phone #: 269-965-9482

Details Of Requested Bid

Request for Proposal: SEL Social Emotional Learning Curriculum RFP Release Date:

Deadline for submitting bid: June 12, 2026 @ 4:00pm EST

Who Are We?

Battle Creek Public Schools current enrollment is approximately 2,850 students. The district faces several pressing challenges that directly impact student success, including difficulties with self-regulation skills, limited whole-child resources, high levels of disruptive behaviors, and teachers struggling with relationship-building and classroom management.

Adding to this complexity, there is a notable demographic imbalance between staff and students. Nearly 96% of the district’s teachers are Caucasian, while close to 45% of the student population identifies as African American.This cultural gap, combined with high suspension rates, highlights the urgent need for intentional relationship-building and the implementation of culturally responsive practices.

The district also struggles with chronic absenteeism, where students miss 10% or more of the school year. These absences not only limit academic growth but also reflect underlying challenges in student engagement, social-emotional readiness, and school climate and culture.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) provides a critical framework to address these issues. By teaching self-regulation, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making, SEL directly supports students in overcoming behavioral challenges, increasing engagement, and strengthening school connectedness. For teachers, SEL offers tools to foster positive classroom environments, build stronger relationships with students, and reduce behavior-related stress.

Ultimately, SEL is not just an additional program — it is essential to meeting the unique needs of Battle Creek’s students, closing cultural gaps, and reducing chronic absenteeism. When students’ social and emotional needs are met, they feel safe, supported, and valued, which in turn fosters higher academic achievement. Investing in SEL creates the foundation for stronger teacher-student relationships, improved academic outcomes, and a more equitable, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for all.

What is Our Work?

Our district seeks to adopt and implement a comprehensive Social and Emotional Learning curriculum aligned with research-based best practices, state SEL standards, and our strategic plan. This curriculum must address the needs of a diverse student population, foster a safe and inclusive learning environment, and integrate seamlessly into daily instruction across grade levels.

1. Adopt a Research-Based SEL Curriculum Goal: Implement a comprehensive SEL curriculum that aligns with state standards, CASEL’s five core competencies, and research-based best practices.

● Outcome: Ensure districtwide consistency and fidelity in SEL instruction across all grade levels.

2. Promote Equity and Cultural Responsiveness Goal: Embed culturally responsive practices within SEL instruction to reflect and honor the diverse backgrounds of our student population.

● Outcome: Increase student engagement and belonging by ensuring all voices, identities, and experiences are represented in the curriculum.

3. Foster Safe and Inclusive Learning Environments Goal: Establish schoolwide systems and classroom practices that promote safety, inclusivity, and a positive school climate.

● Outcome: Reduce incidents of exclusionary discipline and improve measures of student connectedness and sense of belonging.

4. Integrate SEL into Daily Instruction Goal: Provide teachers with strategies, training, and resources to seamlessly incorporate SEL into academic content and daily classroom routines.

● Outcome: Ensure SEL is not a stand-alone program, but a consistent and natural part of the instructional day.

5. Strengthen Staff Capacity and Well-Being Goal: Build educator capacity to model, teach, and reinforce SEL skills while also addressing staff wellness.

● Outcome: Improve teacher confidence in addressing behavioral challenges and reduce staff stress through SEL-based supports.

6. Measure Impact and Continuous Improvement Goal: Establish clear systems for monitoring SEL implementation, student progress, and overall impact on academic and behavioral outcomes.

● Outcome: Use data to drive continuous improvement, inform professional learning, and align SEL practices with the district’s strategic plan.

Key deliverables for partnership to include:

The selected vendor will:

● Conduct a needs assessment through stakeholder engagement (students, teachers, administrators, parents).

● Develop an SEL curriculum framework aligned with recognized SEL competencies (e.g., CASEL).

● Provide age-appropriate, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed content for grades K-12.

● Include resources for teachers, administrators, and families to reinforce SEL learning.

● Provide written plan detailing professional development for staff to implement the curriculum with fidelity including introduction and overview sessions for all teachers on August 17th,18th,19th, 25th.

● Recommend methods for integrating SEL into academic content areas.

● Deliver digital and print-ready curriculum materials.

● Provide ongoing support for monitoring and evaluating program effectiveness.

● Written details of a typical ordering and distribution process for initial order and replacement materials.

Contingency The district reserves the right to consider additional needs and services identified by the vendor or districts that align with the RFP’s intent.

Intellectual Property The district will be the sole owner of all curriculum content and materials developed under this

RFP.

Proposal Requirements Given the collaborative nature of the contractual work, all applicants must have demonstrated the ability to work seamlessly with teams to identify and leverage knowledge and resources. This section details the submission documents that are expected to be transmitted by the applicant to BCPS in response to this RFP. The submission will become the basis on which BCPS will judge the applicant's ability to perform the required services as laid out in the RFP. The proposal must communicate an understanding of the scope and deliverables of the RFP, describe how the tasks are to be performed, and identify potential problems in meeting the deliverables as well as methods to identify and solve such problems.

A proposal response to this RFP should contain three components as outlined below. Please note that proposals will be scored on each of the following sections. If there are any conflicts, the proposal will be rejected without scoring. This proposal must not exceed 25 double-spaced pages using [Arial or Calibri], 12 point font. It may contain digital links to work samples. Please provide an electronic copy to the provided email address as stated on the cover letter.

Requirements:

The proposal submitted in response to this RFP must include the following documents:

1.Technical Proposal:

Organize and label the sections accordingly

A. Cover Page: including company name, contact information, company biography and proposal summary, signed by the respondent.

B. Project Narrative Plan: communicates vision, a logic model, commitment to scope and overall timeline, proposed project plan/schedule, and approach to project management.

a. Timeline to span across two phases

i. Phase 1: June 16, 2026

ii. Phase 2: TBD based on # of RFP

C. An implementation plan that is clear, addresses the services required of this RFP and provides rationale addressing industry best practices and methodologies; proposed methods for user input and collaboration with district team members; and description and dates of deliverables throughout the process.

D. Organizational Capacity: Resumes and/or summary biographies of the key personnel with detailed description of their roles related to the work; description of any subcontractors and their work, including but not limited to resumes and/or summary biographies. Digital links to full resumes may be included in the proposal.

E. Equipment: detailed description of equipment required for the project.

F. Related Project Experience: Evidence of successful completion of projects of similar size, scope, and complexity, including demonstration of ability to work collaboratively with client teams and other vendors, experience with educational contracts preferred and should be highlighted.

G. Recommendations: Two professional references/letters of recommendation from two current clients (i.e.

references for whom the vendor has performed work within the past 12 months). Organization name and primary contact’s information must be provided (phone number and email address).

2. Cost Proposal:

Provide an itemized breakdown of expenses, including: consultant fees, materials, professional development costs, and any in-kind contributions.

Provide a cost proposal (both chart and narrative) that addresses proposed annual costs by fiscal year, Aug 1 through June 30,2027

● The price proposal should include the prices for all materials for the following estimated student counts in each of the grades listed below for 1 year. Additionally, a daily rate for any and all consultants, along with the number of days included in the proposal, should be included.

3. Work Sample:

At least three samples of relevant curriculum work or SEL resources, preferably for K-12 audiences.

● Experience with K-12 educational programs

Please Note:

● Responses must follow the prescribed format to be considered complete and considered for this RFP.

● The cover page must be signed by the respondent.

● Proposals should be prepared simply and economically.

● Any proprietary material submitted with the proposal that is considered confidential by the bidder must specifically be identified as such.

● BCPS reserves the right to accept or reject responses to this RFP at its sole discretion.

● The selected vendor’s proposal will be presented to the Battle Creek Public Schools Board of Education for approval. The award of the contract will only occur at the approval of our Board of Education.

● BCPS’s decision is final with respect to the awarding of this Contract.

Proposal Submission

Email electronic copies of the proposals and work samples to Ashley Jones at student_support@battle-creek.k12.mi.us

Please label clearly and submit each of the documents and work samples separately. The proposal and work samples must be received ___June 11th, 2026___________by 12:00 PM.

If submitting hard copies, please ensure each of the documents and work samples are enclosed in separate envelopes that are clearly labeled. A print version may be US Mailed or delivered to:

ATTN:Executive Director of Business and Finance Battle Creek Public Schools

Administration Building 3 Van Buren West

Battle Creek, MI 49017

Questions about this RFP should be submitted in writing to Ashley Jones at student_support@battle-creek.k12.mi.us on or before June 11th, 2026 by 12:00 PM EST. A response can be expected on or before June 11th, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST.

Please use the subject line SEL Social Emotional Learning Curriculum RFP on all communications.

Timeline: RFP Process Schedule

Activity Date Release of RFP May 20th, 2026 Deadline to Submit Interest June 12th, 2026 Questions Submitted June 11th,2026 Responses to Questions Sent June 11th, 2026 EOD Proposal due Jun 12, 2026 Applicants notified of status/next steps by Jun 19, 2026 RFP Award Announced by Jul 31, 2026

Selection Criteria

Selection of Contractor will be based on the following criteria:

The successful offer will be chosen based on:

● Ability to meet proposal requirements (50%)

● Organizational Qualifications (25%)

● Price Proposal (25%)

Additional considerations:

● At its discretion, BCPS is not required to select the Contractor that submits the lowest cost proposal for providing the services. Instead, BCPS intends to select the Contractor submitting the proposal deemed by the BCPS to be in BCPS’ best interest.

● In making its selection, BCPS may consider any other information, including information not requested in this RFP or not included in the proposals received.

● In the event BCPS is unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with the top ranked Contractor, BCPS may terminate negotiations with that Contractor and enter into negotiations with the Contractor submitting the proposal ranked next best.

● In the event that BCPS or the contractor determines it is in the best interest to sever the partnership, either party may do so with 60 days written notice prior to severing of relationship.

● In the event that the needs of the district change over the course of the contract, the specifications of said contract may be renegotiated at any time.

● In the event that the needs of the district change over the course of the contract, the specifications of said contract may be renegotiated to meet the district’s needs.

Notification

All applicants will receive notification of the awarded contract by Jul 31, 2026

Notification will be sent to the primary contact by email.

Battle Creek Public Schools reserves the right to modify partnership requirements based on funding changes and/or change in district needs.

The District requires that the following attached disclosures are completed: Familial Relationship and Iran Economic Sanctions Act.

Battle Creek Public School reserves the right to reject any and all proposals where the contractor fails to meet the terms and conditions of the RFP including standards, specifications, requirements, and cost limitations as specified in the RFP.

Submissions to Battle Creek Public Schools will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act in accordance with Federal Law.

The Battle Creek Board of Education reserves the right to reject any or all bids, as well as waive any irregularities and to accept the bid that meets its requirements most satisfactorily.

BATTLE CREEK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Communications Services

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT – FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIP

Pursuant to MCL 380.1267, a sworn and notarized statement disclosing any familial relationship that exists between the owner and any employee of the vendor/contractor and any member of the Battle Creek Public Schools Board of Education or the Battle Creek Public Schools Superintendent must be accompanied with the bid/proposal.

Bids and Proposals without this disclosure statement will not be accepted.

The members of the Battle Creek Public Schools Board of Education are: President Charlie Fulbright, Vice President Dr. Nicole Perry, Secretary Nathan Grajek, Treasurer Dr. Elishae Johnson, Trustee Art McClenney, Trustee Kate Flores, Battle Creek Public Schools Superintendent is Kimberly Carter.

□ The following are the familial relationship(s):

Owner/Employee Name Related to: Relationship

1. ________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________________

Attach additional pages if necessary to disclose all familial relationships.

□ There are no familial relationships that exist between the owner and any employee of the vendor/contractor and any member of the Battle Creek Public Schools Board of Education or the Battle Creek Public Schools Superintendent.

The undersigned, the owner or authorized representative of bidder (insert name) ______________________does hereby represent and warrant that the disclosure statements herein contained are true.

Signature of Bidder Representative

Print Name

Title

STATE OF ________________)

) ss

COUNTY OF ______________)

This instrument was acknowledged before me on the _____ day of ________________, _______, by

________________________________________ , Notary Public _________________County, _______________ (State)

My commission expires: ____/____/____ Acting in the County of: _____________

BATTLE CREEK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Communications Services

AFFIDAVIT OF COMPLIANCE – IRAN ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ACT

Michigan Public Act No. 517 of 2012

The undersigned, the owner and or authorized officer of the below named contractor (the “Contractor”), pursuant to the compliance certification requirement provided in the Battle Creek Public Schools, (the “School District”) Request For Proposals Communications Services, (the “RFP”), hereby certifies, represents and warrants that the Contractor (including its officers, directors and employees) is not an “Iran linked business” within the meaning of the Iran Economics Sanctions Act, Michigan Public Act No. 517 of 2012 (the “Act”), and that in the event Contractor is awarded a contract as a result of the aforementioned RFP, the Contractor will not become an “Iran linked business” at any time during the course of performing the Work or any services under the contract.

The Contractor further acknowledges that any person who is found to have submitted a false certification is responsible for a civil penalty of not more than $250,000.00 or 2 times the amount of the contract or proposed contract for which the false certification was made, whichever is greater, the cost of the School District’s investigation, and reasonable attorney fees, in addition to the fine. Moreover, any person who submitted a false certification shall be ineligible to bid on a request for proposal for three (3) years from the date that it is determined that the person has submitted the false certification.

CONTRACTOR:

Name of Contractor

Name of Representative

Title

Date

STATE OF _____________)

) ss

COUNTY OF ______________)

This instrument was acknowledged before me on the _____ day of ________________, _______, by

________________________________________ , Notary Public _________________County, _______________ (State)

My commission expires: ____/____/____ Acting in the County of: _____________