NPSD eLearning RFP NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR eLearning Software Systems September 10, 2013 1 NPSD eLearning RFP NORTH PENN SCHOOL DISTRICT Lansdale, PA 19446 Article I. Introduction & Background Information North Penn School District (NPSD) requests proposals from qualified vendors for services on a web‐based learning platform. The proposal should outline your company’s ability to implement and provide ongoing maintenance and support for a software solution system to provide eLearning opportunities for students in grades K – 12. The following proposal request will outline the project goals and detail the format in which you should submit your proposal. Please read the timeline carefully. In order for your proposal to be considered, 5 paper copies as well as 1 electronic submission should be made on or before our deadlines included in the timeline under Section 2.02. The District’s current instruction and assessment practices are in need of ‘just‐in time feedback’ in the area of student achievement that allows for timely instructional decisions. In addition, there is a need to adopt benchmark assessments that are aligned to the current Common Core Standards at the national and state level. Section 1.01 Location and Sponsor Your proposal is for operation in pilot form at each educational level from February through May, 2013 and in full implementation format for the 2014 ‐ 2015 school year in NPSD in Lansdale, PA. Section 1.02 Management Cheryl A. R. McCue, Director of Elementary Education will be managing this project and will be on site at the Educational Services Center (ESC) of the district during the project. She will be responsible for the project’s timely completion. Section 1.03 Contact Information Please contact Cheryl McCue and/or Jeri Reinking for questions regarding the proposal submission details. Please contact Cheryl McCue with questions regarding the project details. Jeri Reinking Support Services Center, NPSD 630 West 8th Street Lansdale, PA 19446 Phone: 215.853.1012 Fax: 215.368.3923 Email: reinkj@npenn.org Cheryl McCue Educational Service Center, NPSD 401 E. Hancock Street Lansdale, PA 19446 Phone: 215.853.1045 Fax: 215.853.1171 Email: mccuec@npenn.org 2 NPSD eLearning RFP Article II. The Project Section 2.01 Mission By the end of this project, we hope to provide staff and students with an eLearning resource platform that provides immediate ‘just‐in time feedback’ to assist in addressing the individual needs of students. The expected results of this project are improved student achievement and alignment between demonstrated student strengths/needs and specific instruction, intervention, and/or enrichment practices. Section 2.02 Project Specifications The project proposal should include the criteria found within the Expected Results Section of this document and be designed to implement an electronic learning platform in order to target teaching and learning strategies to meet the needs of all students in a 21st century world. Important to this goal is evidence that the eLearning opportunities provide curricular content, enrichment, intervention, and aligned assessments along with professional development and on‐going supportive services. Alignment of content, assessments, and activities should be to the PA Core Standards and/or the National Common Core Standards. Section 2.03 Contractor Requirements Should your proposal be accepted, NPSD expects you to contribute the following to the project: 
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Integrated software and web‐based eLearning platform Professional development, trainers, and on‐going support Staff liaison to the district during planning, implementation, and evaluation of program success Staff to manage the project Section 2.04 Timeline In order to complete our mission, we have set the following timetable. This timetable is subject to change by the managers of this project. Milestone: Requests for Proposals Sent Out Letter of Intent or No‐Bid Letters Sent In Deadline for Proposals Product Presentation Window RFP Award Date Project Start Date Pilot Implementation Date Project Completion Date Date: September 10, 2013 September 20, 2013 September 30, 2013 October 7 – 16, 2013 October 17, 2013 October 18, 2013 February 1, 2014 December 31, 2015 3 NPSD eLearning RFP Article III. The Proposal Section 3.01 Summary of Proposal Section 3. Expectations Contracts will be awarded based on the information presented in the proposals received. We will award contracts based on the proposal expected to be the most beneficial to our project based on a variety of factors. NPSD reserves the right to award more than one contract, accept the lowest price offer, award contracts before the proposal deadline listed in the timeline, award contracts before all proposals are received, and refuse any contract without obligation to NPSD or to the company offering the proposal. (a) Response Deadline Please forward a letter of intent to Jeri Reinking by Friday, September 20, 2013 if you intend to submit a proposal. Likewise if you do not intend to make a proposal, please forward a no‐proposal letter by the same date. (b) Proposal Deadline All proposals must be submitted 5 hard copies as well as an electronic version to Jeri Reinking by 12:00 PM on Monday, September 30, 2013 to be considered for their contribution to this eLearning RFP for NPSD. A public opening will be held at the Support Services Center in the School District at that time. (c) Selection Criteria All offers submitted will be considered based upon the materials provided in the proposal. Consideration will be given to performance projections as well as cost and staff requirements. Only those proposals submitted by the deadline above will be considered. The following criteria will be the primary considerations for selecting a proposal: 1. Submission of all proposals in the correct format by the stated deadline. 2. The perceived effectiveness of the proposal’s solution for eLearning’s stated mission. 3. The perceived ability for the proposing company’s ability to deliver their services set forth in their proposal. 4. The proposing company’s past performance in delivering such services. 5. Availability of sufficient high quality personnel with the required skills for the specific approach proposed. 6. Overall cost of the proposal NPSD may suspend or discontinue proposals at any time without notice or obligation to the company that submitted the proposal. 4 NPSD eLearning RFP I Proposal Format NPSD suggests that you include the following information in your proposal. Proposals should adequately address the details of the proposed contract. Section 3. Contract Summary (ii) Capabilities and Methodology (iii) Expected Results (iv) Executives, Staffing, and Management (v) Communication (vi) Equipment (vii) Expense Breakdown (viii) Expense Summary (ix) Licensing and Bonding (x) Insurance (xi) References Section 3.02 Proposal Details (a) Contractor Summary Include a brief history of your company including your past experience in dealing with similar projects. Also include the owners’ names and/or those persons authorized to sign contracts for your business. A copy of the proposed contract should be included. (b) Capabilities and Methodology Detail your company’s capabilities in delivering the requests in this proposal. You should use this section to outline specifically your proposed method for achieving your goal. This should include a detailed timeline of milestones for completing the project. (c) Expected Results Use this section to summarize the expected results of your methodology listed above. This should include a summary of your timeline for completing the project as well as responses to every item of criteria as listed in the charts below. When responses are in the negative, comments are expected. 5 NPSD eLearning RFP Essential Components of Student Experience Component Is web‐based for access Requires no client installed on the desktop or mobile device preferred Is interactive and engaging Contains multiple text and grade level opportunities Addresses multiple learning styles Provides curriculum content and activities for:  core instruction  intervention  enrichment Is easy to use/is intuitive Provides individual student files/portfolios inclusive of:  assignments and alerts  materials  feedback and progress reports  communications w/ teachers  longitudinal history of student progress Enables communication between:  students  students and teachers Provides a variety of learning tasks to differentiate instruction Aligns with common core curriculum in:  English (literature and writing)  Language Arts  Mathematics  Biology  Chemistry  Civics Provides immediate feedback on progress and achievement Materials aligned to student strengths and based upon assessment results Provides a variety of learning options based on individual student choice Yes No Comment 6 NPSD eLearning RFP Essential Components of Teacher Experience Component Is web‐based for access Requires no client installed on the desktop or mobile device preferred Aligns with common core curriculum in:  English (literature and writing)  Language Arts  Mathematics  Biology  Chemistry  Civics Access to individual teacher webpages Access to student screens live and within the classroom Ability to link external resources to student lessons Provides for immediate feedback to teacher on student progress and achievement Ability to provide individual student feedback from the instructor Ability to create assessments Assessment banks Tools to measure student performance/progress Computer adaptive in the following areas based upon individual student progress:  curriculum  activities  assessments Professional development on the management of student work through the system Communication among colleagues through the software platform Yes No Comment 7 NPSD eLearning RFP Essential Components for Management Structure Component Ease of use Real time data represented in reports and monitoring tools Ability to generate reports:  Individual student progress  Group progress  Comparative  Item analysis  Standards  Proficiency levels  Based on demographics and student variables  Standard and user‐created Ability to export data to Excel or other format (.txt, csv, etc.) Multiple presentation formats for data summaries Linked to student information system (class lists and student uploads) Ability to upload data to data warehouse and/or student information system Professional development and training on use of the management system Yes No Comment 8 NPSD eLearning RFP Technology Specifications In this area, you should provide all relevant information as indicated in the chart as well as detailing aspects of student date in regards to ownership and procedures upon termination of contract. It is expected that the data would belong to and remain with NPSD, whereas the software would be the property of the vendor. Component Yes No Comment Compatible with Internet Explorer 9 Compatible with Safari 5 Compatible with Firefox 22 Ability to interface with ESchool Plus for data transfers Ability to interface with Performance Plus for data transfers Ability to interface with HAC portal for data transfers Ability to batch update data, particularly student enrollments and demographic data Schools Interoperability Framework to at least 1.5 Ad‐hoc reporting – Cognos preferred Ability to operate in a Windows 7 OS environment Ability to operate in a MAC OS 10.9 environment Ability to work on an iOS 6 device Ability to work on an Android device Works in a wireless environment Works in a hard wired environment Supports SQL to query, update and manage databases Ability to download data into Microsoft Office spreadsheet, database and/or word processing file formats Ability to interface with Microsoft Exchange Uses active directory validation Automatic time out feature that is configurable Automated “Forgot my Password” feature Security administered by group, class, or role Ability to upload student demographic data 9 NPSD eLearning RFP Technology Specifications Continued (d)
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Component Yes No Comment Ability to assign students to intervention groups and run reports by group Log on / log off reports Ability to broadcast messages to users Encrypted security when passing through a WAN link Ability to view users currently logged on Password strength required Onscreen help desk available Onscreen help desk should include screen shots and videos 24 / 7 technical support Professional development for end users Professional development for technology staff Compliance with FERPA User history report Data backup done daily Security for all data Service maintenance contract commences when full implementation is completed Functioning users group with input into product enhancement Executives, Staffing, and Management List the executives or officers in charge of completing the project and a summary of their background. You should also use this section to list the project staffing and management necessities and their estimated cost. Specify how you will obtain the staff to complete the project. Communication Explain how you intend to communicate between executives, management, and staff in addition to how you will communicate with the project manager to ensure the project stays on schedule. Equipment Detail the equipment necessities for installation and ongoing maintenance of the software solution as well as their estimated cost. If you will need additional services or space from NPSD, you should list those requirements here with a brief explanation of each. Expense Breakdown Build and explain a detailed list of all expected expenses. 10 NPSD eLearning RFP (h) Expense Summary Give a brief summary of the total costs for your proposed contract. You may also include a brief explanation of the contributing costs to the total cost. The quote should include a detailed list of costs associated to the implementation including:  Licensing cost structure ~ initial and annual renewals for school/district site, individual student user fees, and on‐going technical support  Customization possibilities  Report Writing  Professional Development/Staff Training and travel costs for presenters  Any other costs associated to the implementation (i) Licensing and Bonding If applicable, include the details of your licenses and bonds for the services you are proposing. If possible, enclose proof of your licenses and bonds. (j) Insurance If applicable, provide the details of insurance your company will provide for your staff and the project. Coverage should include general liability and professional legal liability. (k) References Provide 5 references for similar past projects with at least 2 of the references being from a District of comparable size and student diversity to NPSD. (l) Background Checks Any individual in a school building during school hours must comply with all forms of criminal history and background checks. 11