Superintendent Mentor and Early Career Academies

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in Washington State intends to award a sole source contract to the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) to support the Teacher and Principal Evaluation Program (TPEP) through professional learning academies. The contract will encompass two primary professional development initiatives: a Superintendent Mentor Academy and an Early Career Superintendent Academy. The Mentor Academy will provide 15 hours of professional learning for experienced superintendents serving as mentors, while the Early Career Superintendent Academy will deliver 24 hours of professional development for first-year superintendents. Additionally, the contract includes seven hours of peer support sessions for superintendents in their second and third years. The professional learning will focus on critical leadership skills, including educator evaluation, relationship building, instructional leadership, cultural competence, strategic planning, and effective communication. The contract requires designing professional learning community sessions centered on problems of practice facing Washington state superintendents and developing a Washington peer coaching model. The procurement is specifically for the period from July 2025 through June 30, 2026, with a posted date of June 11, 2025, and a proposal due date of July 3, 2025.

The contract is designated as a sole source procurement, specifically targeting WASA due to its unique position as the statewide organization most deeply embedded in superintendent professional development. WASA has an established membership base of over 1,600 educational leaders and existing relationships with Washington's 295 school districts, which provides a distinctive qualification for this contract. The total contract value is $55,986, and WASA will be responsible for engaging subcontractors to co-facilitate the academies and assist in discussions of racial equity and culturally responsive practices. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises were explicitly mentioned in the documentation. The procurement covers multiple jurisdictions across Washington State, including but not limited to counties such as King, Pierce, Spokane, and Thurston, as well as numerous cities and census-designated places. Subcontractors will play a critical role in delivering the professional learning content, with a specific emphasis on addressing racial equity and implementing culturally responsive practices throughout the professional development programs.