Albuquerque Public Schools: Out of School Time Activities

Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) is seeking proposals to establish a contract to support vendors to provide safe, engaging, and high-quality Out of School Time (OST) Programming; effective OST coordination; and high impact OST professional development. The goal is to have OST programming that is:

• Developed based on student and school preference and need
• Available and accessible for all students every school day until 6:00 p.m.
• Reflective of the New Mexico Guiding Principles for Out of School Time Programs
• Effectively coordinated in partnership with the school, district, and other school OST providers
• Run by trained and supported staff that are focused on program safety and quality, student learning/development, and effective family engagement

Services should be targeted based on the following desired results and indicators for OST activities provided in partnership with APS:

1) Students are actively involved in learning and their community

• Attendance in afterschool programs is specifically promoted and monitored
• Partnerships between schools and vendors are fostered through intentional and on-going methods
• Programs intentionally provide participants activities which specifically involve them with their school and community

2) Students are healthy, physically, socially, and emotionally

• Programs develop and maintain positive peer and adult relationships for/with participants
• Programs incorporate and/or promote student wellness including: physical fitness activities, promotion of nutritional habits, and the development of social/emotional skills
• Programs offer participants healthy snacks and/or meals

3) Students succeed academically

• Program policies and practices intentionally promote school day attendance
• Program activities intentionally align with core content and foster learning

4) Families are actively engaged in the their children’s education

• Programs develop and implement a specific plan to engage families in student learning and program activities
• Programs promote and market family engagement events, services and opportunities hosted by the school

5) Students are enriched through coordinated, safe, engaging, high quality, and sustained OST programs run by trained and supported staff

• Programs intentionally foster availability and accessibility of afterschool programs to all students (including but not limited to marketing in various ways and languages; maintaining low costs to families; and providing accommodations to students as needed)
• Programs intentionally develop activities for students based on student, family, and school preferences and need
• Programs consistently coordinate programming, spaces, outcomes, and other functions both with the school and with other OST programs
• Programs conduct an annual continuous quality improvement process cycle utilizing the New Mexico Guiding Principles for Out of School Time Programs at each site
• Programs invest in and provide consistent and on-going professional development of staff in order to facilitate safety, engagement, and quality
• Programs develop and implement a specific sustainability plan

Regardless of program focus, complexity, size, or hours/duration, OST Programming must meet the criteria of one or more of the following categories:

• High-Yield Learning: These activities/programs provide youth with engaging experiences that are hands-on, interactive, and intentionally develop critical thinking or other skills. Examples include, but are not limited to: Games that develop cognitive skills (i.e., Chess, Monopoly, Scrabble, and Jeopardy); comic book and script making; journalism and yearbook; etc.
• Academic Support: These activities use a variety of learning strategies to help students progress or generally succeed in school. Design of this component intentionally includes academic skill building in addition to homework assistance.
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM): These activities promote increased interest, knowledge, and proficiency in STEM disciplines, as well as students’ critical thinking and decision-making skills through engaging and educational instruction.
• Civic Leadership/Service-Learning: These activities encourage inquiry and examine the important social topics of their local government and community. Civic leadership activities prepare service-minded youth to experience the full impact of service-learning.
• Sports: These activities teach youth the fundamentals of a particular sport through basic technique and skills training. Students study the rules, practices, and technical aspects, including strategies. Academic and social enrichment, teamwork, and sportsmanship should be integrated.
• Health, Wellness, Social Emotional Learning, and Fitness: These activities teach students knowledge, skills, and basic competencies in wellness such as physical, mental, and emotional foundations, self-reflective and mediation skills, and nutrition.
• The Arts: These activities both utilize and teach various mediums of art such as: performing, fine arts, digital, film making, and photography to promote expression and inspire young people to be leaders and peacemakers in their school community and beyond.
• Language and Culture: These activities introduce students to the richness of local, national, and international cultures and the basics of their languages, both spoken and written. Topics could include history, calligraphy, cultural customs, geography, dance, and cuisine.
• College and Career: These activities introduce students to knowledge and experiences that support readiness for college and career, including goal setting, resume writing, scholarships, testing requirements and preparation, interviewing skills, various careers, etc.

Amount: Contract awards will be made. The purpose of this bid is to select and establish pricing for Out of School Time Activities from authorized companies. Vendors will be utilized as needs develop.

Eligibility: An “Offeror”, “Bidder”, or “Proposer” is defined as any person, corporation, or partnership who chooses to submit a proposal.

Link: https://www.aps.edu/procurement/current-bids-and-rfps/out-of-school-time-activities

Note: A pre-proposal meeting will be held on March 12, 2019.

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