AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
The mission of the Providence After School Alliance (PASA) is to expand and improve quality after-school, summer,
and other expanded learning opportunities for the youth of Providence by organizing a sustainable public/private
system that contributes to student success and serves as a national model.
PASA is currently seeking community based organizations with a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
(STEM) focus to facilitate a four-week hands-on learning summer experience for middle school youth.
About the AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp:
The AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp aims to engage students in relevant and experiential learning in order to
achieve the following outcomes for youth:
 Improved critical thinking and problem solving skills
 Prevent summer learning loss by utilizing select Common Core State Standards Math Practices and Next
Generation Science Standards Practices
 Increasing engagement in learning during the summer and for the following academic year
 Working collaboratively with peers to achieve a common goal
 Forming positive relationships with adults
PASA’s AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp is characterized by a collaborative educational approach. Students
participate in STEM programming designed and co-facilitated by educator teams. Each AfterZone Summer Scholars
educator STEM team will consist of a Community-Based Educator, a School Day Educator (certified RI Teacher), and
an AfterZone Educator (experienced youth worker or novice teacher) who collaboratively plan and deliver direct
instruction to youth. These STEM teams will work together to develop a curriculum for a cohort of up to 28
students, using the content focus of the community-based partner as a guiding theme for their group. The
Community-Based Educator is only present with their youth cohort during the camp two days a week, on the
offsite location days. The School Day Educator and AfterZone Educator will be hired by PASA, and teams will be
determined via mutual selection ranking.
All educators have interdependent roles within the teaching teams; the Community-Based Educator is the lead
program content expert and responsible for preparing the other members in the STEM teaching team with the
knowledge and skills relevant to their curriculum. The Community-Based Educator also helps to guide a connected
STEM learning experience for youth between the alternating offsite field experiences and school site days. All adult
educators are expected to provide a safe and supportive atmosphere that incorporates inquiry, camp culture,
teamwork, youth leadership, and fun.
PASA is a public/private partnership with the City of Providence. Funds for the
summer program come with major support from the Providence Public School
Department, the Wallace Foundation, the Noyce Foundation, Every Hour Counts,
and RI Department of Education
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AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
About the RFP Process:
PASA will contract with approximately 15 STEM-based community organizations to provide programming for a
total of 500 Providence Middle School students citywide. All STEM-based community organizations must hire
their Community-Based Educator/s and secure their offsite space(s) by March 6th, 2015 to be eligible for
funding.
The RFP Review will be held January 23rd, 2015.
Proposals will be reviewed by a committee consisting of AfterZone Site Coordinators and PASA staff. They will
be looking for the following:
 Ability to affect Scholars student outcomes
 Commitment to outlined timeline for planning and implementation
 Educators experienced with urban middle school youth
 Educators that possess STEM knowledge relevant to their organization
 Educators that possess expertise in experiential learning
 Willingness to collaborate
Organizations accepted for the 2015 AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp will receive a $4,925program grant,
pending funding. The grant will be divided between supplies and staffing time. $2,600 will be allocated for
supplies, with the understanding that the funding for program supplies needs to cover the full STEM educator
team for both field and classroom days. Staff will be compensated for their time at an hourly rate of $30,
totaling $2,325 for up to 31.5 training and planning hours. For more information regarding staff hours, please
view Program Responsibilities below.
PASA has been selected to partake in a National Science Foundation study that is researching informal and
formal STEM teaching and learning in the AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp. This process may involve
educator surveys, weekly videotaped lessons and program observations, as well as individual interviews. All
organizations will be compensated for their instructor’s additional time. PASA will reach out to individual
partners after the selection process to confirm participation in this study. If you have any questions please
reach to Naomi Jacobs, AfterZone Scholars Coordinator, at njacobs@mypasa.org or 401-641-0084.
PASA is a public/private partnership with the City of Providence. Funds for the
summer program come with major support from the Providence Public School
Department, , the Wallace Foundation, the Noyce Foundation, Every Hour Counts,
and RI Department of Education
Program Responsibilities:
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AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
Organizations who apply for a program with the AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp are committing their staff
to participate fully in the requirements below. All STEM-based community organizations must hire their
Community-Based Educator/s by March 6th, 2015 to be eligible for funding.
Training and Planning*:
 2 hours of orientation
 9.5 hours of training for new staff, 6.5 for returning staff from 2014
 20 hours of team pre-planning.
o Eight hours of pre-planning will take place during 4 school based meetings (2 hours each) from
April-June.
o Community-Based Educators are responsible for arranging a minimum of 2 pre-planning
meetings (2 hours each) at their community site with their STEM team. If your community
organization is contracted for winter/spring AfterZone sessions, your organization is responsible
for coordinating a visit to your AfterZone program for the remaining members of your STEM
teaching team.
AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp:
 A two-day program each week during the entire duration of the four week camp (July 6-July 31st)**:
o Either a Monday / Wednesday or a Tuesday / Thursday program with instructor availability
from 8:30am-1:30pm. STEM programming runs from 9:30am-1pm daily; all educators are
required to arrive at 8:30am at the school site to check-in with their teams and remain until
1:30pm for a STEM team debrief and/or to plan for the next day.
o Community-Based Educators are required to ride the bus with their cohort between the school
and the offsite location.
 Two citywide planning sessions, scheduled for the first and last Fridays (July 10th and July 31st) from
9:30am – 11:30am at DelSesto Middle School.
*For a complete overview of the daily program schedule, see Appendix A
**For a complete overview of the training and planning calendar, see Appendix B
PASA is a public/private partnership with the City of Providence. Funds for the
summer program come with major support from the Providence Public School
Department, , the Wallace Foundation, the Noyce Foundation, Every Hour Counts,
and RI Department of Education
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AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
Deadline for final Proposals:
January 12th, 2015
by 5:00pm
All accepted applicants will be notified of their application status by: February 6th, 2015
For questions about the application process please contact:
Naomi Jacobs
AfterZone Scholars Coordinator
Phone: 401-490-9599 ext. 113
Email: njacobs@mypasa.org
For Appendix A (Summer Daily Schedule) and Appendix B (Professional Development and Training Calendar)
please visit http://mypasa.org/support-pasa/run-program
PASA is a public/private partnership with the City of Providence. Funds for the
summer program come with major support from the Providence Public School
Department, , the Wallace Foundation, the Noyce Foundation, Every Hour Counts,
and RI Department of Education
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AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
Organization Name:
Primary Contact (name and title):
Organization Address:
Primary Contact E- Mail:
Organizational 501c3 or EIN:
Organization Phone :
Primary Contact Cell Phone:
Program Name:
Please give a detailed description of your proposed program (including your program specific content
specific learning goals):
Please provide a brief, 2-3 sentence program description to be used for student recruitment in the
AfterZone Summer Scholars brochure to describe the program to youth and external audiences (keep in
mind that this language should be youth-centered and should attract youth to your program):
If approved to participate in AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp, how many educators from your
organization will be available to lead a summer STEM cohort? __________
Will your organization be able to run programming if only awarded one cohort? (Note: this does not
guarantee funding)
YES
NO
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AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
List each individual educator and specify their availability to lead a single AfterZone Summer Scholars
STEM cohort: (Please remember that a single staff member can only lead one cohort of 28 youth per
day)
Staff Name _______________________
(check all that apply): Mon/Wed _______ Tue/Thu _______
Staff Name _______________________
(check all that apply): Mon/Wed _______ Tue/Thu _______
Please list contact information below for all staff potentially leading program (Name/Title, Cell phone,
Email, Work Phone). Please attach resumes for any staff who will be directly leading programming. If
your organization will need to hire a staff member to lead this program, please detail your hiring plans
below:
Does the staff listed above have previous experience working in the AfterZone or working with urban
middle school youth? Please describe briefly below if not located in resumes:
Will all staff be hired by March 6th, 2015 and be able to commit to 30.5 hours of planning and
professional development (Appendix B) and the full camp schedule (Appendix A)? Please note:
 Orientation will take place Friday, March 13th from 4-6pm
 At least 2 of the 4 site-based planning meetings will be scheduled for Friday afternoon during the
months of April, May, and June from 3:30-5:30pm.
Please list all potential conflicts below.
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AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
Data has shown that youth prefer a diversity of offsite locations to remain engaged (your organization’s
location and any other community location). PASA is looking for programs that incorporate a variety of
educationally appropriate sites for middle school youth.
Please describe which location(s) you plan to use as part of the summer program and how they would
enhance the program and the experience for youth.
Potential Location(s):
Describe assets and amenities of the location/s, including (but not limited to) educational value,
relevance to youth, and access to bathrooms, drinking water, shaded areas, etc.:
In order to ensure that we meet the AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp youth outcomes (please see
page one for full list) we seek out partners who provide youth with hands-on inquiry learning programs
that are grounded in real world experiences, guided by youth, and supported by high quality practice.
The following questions focus on how your program will help the AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
achieve these goals:
____________________________________________________________________________________
STEM YPQA program observations and youth surveys from the 2012-2014 AfterZone Summer Scholars
Camps indicate that all programs needed improvement in the areas of youth leadership and rigorous
STEM practices.
PASA and PPSD define youth leadership as successfully engaging in the following opportunities:
 Mentor peers over an extended time
 Lead a group
 Practice group process skills (contribute ideas, take responsibility of a piece of a task, and
complete a task with others)
Please describe examples of activities your organization will utilize to promote youth leadership.
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AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
PASA & PPSD focus on a few key STEM practices as outlined through the Common Core State Standards
and Next Generation Science Standards. Given the practices below, please describe examples of how
this would be implemented in your program:
STEM Practices: CCSS and NGSS
What does this look like in your program?
Youth ask scientific question or define problems
on their own
Youth make sense of problem and preserve in
solving them
Youth obtain, evaluate, and communication
data/information
Youth construct viable arguments utilizing
evidence and are to express their arguments via
writing and speaking
Youth are able to critique the reasoning of others
utilizing evidence
In order to achieve a quality program experience, the connection between offsite and onsite days (when
the community educator is not present) needs to be an intentional strategy. In partnership with the
School Day Educator and the AfterZone Educator, how will your team design a consistent and connected
four-week experience for youth? Please discuss the following, activities that will connect classroom
and field days for at least a three day continuum, such as mobile artifacts, physical tools, games,
routines and skills that will be used consistently both onsite and offsite.
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AfterZone Summer Scholars Camp
STEM Community Organization RFP
Application Deadline: January 12th, 2015
Please email your completed proposal to:
Naomi Jacobs
AfterZone Scholars Coordinator
Email: njacobs@mypasa.org
Phone: 401-490-9599 ext. 113
Deadline for final Proposals: January 12th, 2015
by 5:00pm
All accepted applicants will be notified of their application status by: January 23th, 2015
For Appendix A (Summer Daily Schedule) and Appendix B (Professional Development and Training Calendar)
please visit http://mypasa.org/support-pasa/run-program
PASA is a public/private partnership with the City of Providence. Funds for the
summer program come with major support from the Providence Public School
Department, , the Wallace Foundation, the Noyce Foundation, Every Hour Counts,
and RI Department of Education
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