Part IV Specifications

Transcription

1 Part IV Specifications A - General Information The North Central Massachusetts region stretches along the Route 2 corridor. This area is the home of a very strong network of public school districts anchored by two institutions of higher education with Mount Wachusett Community College to the west and Fitchburg State University to the east. The region is rich in economic development opportunities with the combined assets of established businesses and new growth opportunities on the horizon. There is a hub of economic development concentrated in the contiguous areas of Devens, Leominister, and Fitchburg. Leominster and Fitchburg are Gateway Cities. The public school districts in the region have recently collaborated to develop an innovative approach to virtual education, hybrid education and other educational opportunities to students through various forms of blended learning. Blended learning is a strategy for providing expanded opportunities to students through online/virtual education, hybrid education (a combination of on-line education and time in the classroom), and internship opportunities in partnership with local businesses and social service organizations, in addition to other related opportunities for students to provide community service. Each of these blended learning options is being designed to expand student interests and perspectives on career and college so that they will be adequately prepared for future opportunities. The North Central Massachusetts Virtual Learning Consortium of public schools (Ashburnham- Westminister, Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, Narragansett and Winchendon), had originally filed an application for a licensed virtual school with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). However, due to the short timeframe provided to complete the application, in addition to the complex and time-consuming application process, the collaboration decided not to pursue this initiative. However, the work team that was developing the virtual school understood the power of collaboration and decided to pursue an alternative approach to developing and implementing virtual education services and expanded opportunities for students. The virtual school will allow learning anytime and anywhere. Non-traditional students will be able to pursue their education while engaging in employment. Other students will be able to avoid dropping out because of the need to say home because of illness, child caring, or the care of incapacitated loved ones. The blended learning models also help level the field for the economically challenged students who might not otherwise have access to required technology hardware, software and related services. Currently there are a number of home-schooled students. These students usually rely on online and long distance education models from a variety of sources. These programs vary in quality, do not always align properly with the Massachusetts frameworks, and often represent a financial burden on the parents/guardians. The virtual school initiative aims at drawing these students as in district virtual students. They will be offered quality programs, well aligned with state standards and free of charge. In addition and most important is the availability of coaching done by qualified certified teachers. Listed below is an estimate of potential online students within the school year: Estimate of Potential Online Students Approximate number of full-time Middle School students (grades 5-8) for the school year Approximate number of full-time High School students (grades 9-12) for the school year Approximate number of part-time (1 or 2 courses) Middle School (grades 5-8) students 103 1

2 Approximate number of part-time (1 or 2 courses) High School (grades 9-12) students 153 The Awarding Authority will develop the following initiatives: (1) Implementation of the blended learning initiative. This initiative will develop a standardized virtual learning infrastructure that will serve the members of the school district collaboration. This infrastructure will include a learning management system (LMS), which will support both the delivery of the curriculum and the development of virtual content. (2) Development of a network of electronic classrooms throughout the region to enable access to economically challenged students who might not have access to the technology with sufficient internet bandwidth to take advantage of the virtual school opportunities. These e-classrooms will be positioned strategically in school districts to optimize access to the students located in specific geographical areas. (3) Development of a network of coaches and online e-tutors to assist in the face-to-face support of students engaged in the hybrid approach and for the support of student online learning, respectively. Objectives The successful online virtual school vendor shall conduct the online virtual school in a manner which best fulfills the following objectives: 1. Delivers a high quality learning experience to students which draws upon effective and researchbased instructional methods for teaching standards-based online courses. Cite references. 2. States learning objectives based on corresponding Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in a manner that informs the student as to how to meet the objectives. Objectives should address content mastery, core learning skills and critical thinking skills. 3. Provides experienced and Massachusetts certified staff to facilitate and provide direct online instruction in core courses (Math, English language arts, Science and Social Studies) at proposed grade levels 4. Operates within the laws established by the State of Massachusetts and Federal agencies that monitor and regulate virtual school education according to Massachusetts H. 4274, "An Act Establishing Commonwealth Virtual Schools" that was signed into law on January 2, Follows a mastery-based approach where students advance through online content based on a specified level of material that has been learned before advancing to the next level. Students who do not reach mastery have additional opportunities that are differentiated to learn and be assessed on the material. The virtual online education vendor describes on mastery based teaching and assessment is supported and managed within the online platform. 6. Delivers the option to personalize learning on a student-by-student basis or for a smaller group of students. 7. Includes multiple forms of media including text, audio, video and various interactive means within lessons, units and assessments to learn the content and to personalize learning according to students learning style. Describes the ways the vendor has addressed Universal Design for Learning (UDL). 8. Provides formative and summative assessments that are carefully matched to the learning objectives, to the content delivered, and to the instructional design of that which is being assessed and software to track students progress toward completing online course work 9. Provides Sample Curriculum Scope and Sequence charts for each content area at each proposed grade level demonstrating alignment with Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. Provides a sample curriculum map for grade 10 English language arts and mathematics with beginning and ending dates; Describes the process of student navigation within each course including checking students prerequisite skills prior to beginning the course, students progress toward learning the Massachusetts learning 2

3 standards and progress toward completing the course and accessing assistance to resolve any technical or course problems; Has methods for direct teacher annotation and feedback to students. 10. Includes opportunities for self-reflection, project based learning and performance-based assessments. 11. Incorporates opportunities for student discussions with each other and/or their instructor, either asynchronously or in real-time. Scope and Purpose 1. The Awarding Authority will retain control of the quality of the services and content of the online virtual school. 2. The Awarding Authority will be responsible for the supervision of the online virtual school in such a manner as will ensure compliance with the rules and regulations of the Massachusetts Department of Education around virtual school education. The Awarding Authority will monitor the online virtual school through periodic checks. B - Technical Specifications The teachers and students who will be using the online content courses will be using Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or ipad ios 7 systems, with various Web browsers and levels of network access. Our content users are located within North Central Massachusetts, primarily at local schools who have their own technology environments and requirements. In order to assure equal accessibility to the vendor s online content, the content must be compliant with the following technical requirements: Vendor must respond explicitly to each item listed below: 1. Identify all required browser plug-ins; external resources that require a login id for students (ex. E- Textbook or any third party websites); media or lab kits that are to be physically delivered to the student s home or school; third party vendors whose copyrighted materials are included in the course; and any other user environment requirements that are not addressed elsewhere in the response. 2. Courses will be updated routinely. There must be a process and technical support for reporting and resolving errors within the course content. 3. The vendor is responsible (at their own cost) for assisting FLLAC and district staff with any installation or content delivery issues associated with the vendor s technical environment. Provide a description of the technical infrastructure that is available. 4. All flash media must be operative in Flash versions 7 and higher, including the current full release (non-beta) version at the time of the deployment. Must have non-flash versions for use on an ipad. 5. Flash or other materials must be able to be delivered via one of the browsers listed below. 6. Vendor s content must be fully functional in Mac OS X 10.9, Windows 7, 8, 8.1, Chrome OS and Android Devices. Operational on all the following browsers (including later versions) is required depending on each operating system: IE 11, Chrome 33, Firefox 28, Safari 7 as well as mobile platforms. 7. The Awarding Authority prefers Vendor-hosted or third-party hosting solutions. Vendor-hosted or third-party Hosting Solution: Vendors who are offering or proposing a vendor-hosted or third-party hosting solution will need to make all 3

4 aspects of that solution visible to the Awarding Authority for evaluation and acceptance. Server and network architecture, data center environment, uptime and QOS guarantees, redundancy and fault tolerance, backup and disaster recovery, and physical and data security will be evaluated. The Awarding Authority will provide and execute a Two-way Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement to insure that vendor s hosting information is protected. If a vendor contracts with a third party for hosting, services, they are strongly encouraged to begin assembling the types of information referenced above as part of the RFP process to shorten any potential contracting period. No vendor or third party hosting solutions will be awarded without full transparency and acceptance by the Awarding Authority; and the Awarding Authority reserves the right to break off contracting negotiations at its sole discretion based on upon its determination that the vendor-provided hosting solution will not meet our needs. All Awarding Authority-hosted LMS components proposed by the vendor in response to this RFP are required to be fully functional in the following software, hardware, and security environment: 1. The content or application must be able to be deployed behind a firewall (we use SHARK firewall). Our typical configuration uses a multi-tiered approach, with virtualized web application servers (we use VMware ESXi), and clustered database and content servers (we use Microsoft Windows 2012 R2). 2. Any proposed LMS components that would require the Awarding Authority to host includes an estimate of the hard drive space required on the web server(s), content (NAS) server (if used), and SQL database servers. Vendor may be required to provide load-testing scripts for use to load test content prior to production deployment. All software required (SQL, databases, OSs) will be included in price. 3. The software application must be able to reside on non-production (staging) servers in our data center, with subsequent content or coding changes moved into production by our staff. Detailed and tested procedures for such migrations of the application are the sole responsibility of the selected vendor, including procedures for backup and recovery. Receipt and testing of such procedures, as well as successful deployment of the application on our production servers is required prior to final payment to vendor. All vendor-owned development servers and associated licenses required to create the application are the sole responsibility of the selected vendor as is their hosting. 4. Access to the staging server(s) during development may be granted as required, from fixed IP addresses, utilizing Microsoft Remote Desktop. 5. A signed Acceptable Use Policy will be required prior to any server access in our data center. 6. The content and application must be free of any security holes, and the vendor must correct any discovered security issues at their own expense. Furthermore they must certify that no back doors have been programmed that could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to the application or data associated with the application. C - Employees The virtual online education vendor will provide experienced and Massachusetts certified staff to facilitate and provide direct online instruction in core courses (Math, English language arts, Science and Social Studies) at the proposed grade levels The virtual online education vendor shall affirm that it is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations including, but not limited to, Executive order as amended by and 12086; 12138; 11625; 11758; 12073; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1975; Civil Rights Act of 1964; Equal Pay Act of 1963; Age Discrimination in 4

5 Employment Act of 1967; Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986; Public Law ; and any additions or amendments thereto. The virtual online education vendor shall provide Workman's Compensation for its employees. The virtual online education vendor shall submit a suitability determination for their employees CORI background check as outlined in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Education Reform Law of Each online educator servicing the Awarding Authority must send the Awarding Authority a copy of the results of the state and national fingerprint-based criminal background check, in compliance with Public Law D - Compliance with Law and Regulation General The virtual online education vendor shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations relating to virtual education within Massachusetts H. 4274, "An Act Establishing Commonwealth Virtual Schools" which was signed into law on January 2, Retention of Control by Awarding Authority The Awarding Authority shall retain control of the quality and general nature of the online content and services being offered. The Awarding Authority shall monitor online content and the facilitation of instruction through periodic online monitoring. Non-performance Sanctions In the event the virtual online education vendor fails to perform in any area covered by these specifications, the Awarding Authority shall give the virtual online education vendor a written notice of such non-performance. In the event the non-performance is remedied within fifteen (15) days, the notice shall be null and void. If such nonperformance is not remedied within the specified period, the contract with the virtual online education vendor shall terminate upon written notice by the Awarding Authority to the virtual online education vendor and the Awarding Authority may deduct from sums owed the virtual online education vendor any costs that are a direct result of the non-performance. E - Fiscal and Record Requirements Price Submission Budget. The Price Submission for every proposal must consist of the forms under Part VI Required Forms with documentation of all goods, services, labor, materials and any and all costs incurred in the performance of the contract. The budget must be signed by an individual authorized to bind the offer contractually and must be submitted on the enclosed forms. The Price Submission must be submitted in a separate envelope marked Price Submission with the name of the virtual online education vendor. 5

6 F - Insurance Evidence of Insurance The following insurances shall be in forms satisfactory to the Awarding Authority: Comprehensive Professional Liability - $1,000,000 Each Occurrence $5,000,000 Aggregate Umbrella Liability- $5,000,000 Per Occurrence $5,000,000 Aggregate At all times, the company or companies issuing the policy shall meet with the approval of the Awarding Authority, and the policies or certificates shall be filed with the Awarding Authority, and otherwise, as required by law. All insurance is to be written with an insurance carrier acceptable to the Awarding Authority legally authorized to write such insurance within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Worker s Compensation Coverage Indemnification Worker s Compensation coverage shall be carried by the online education vendor on all employees working on the online education. Evidence of such coverage shall be furnished to the School Dept. upon their request. The virtual online education vendor shall indemnify and save harmless the Awarding Authority, its employees, its agents and servants against all suits, claims or liabilities of every kind and nature arising out of, or in consequence of, the acts or omissions of the virtual online education vendor, its employees or agents, including, without limiting thereof, any violation of any federal, state, local statute, rule, regulation or ordinance, or any violation of any of the duties, responsibilities or requirements imposed or implied by this Agreement. G - Contract Term, Termination, and Assignment Term of Contract This agreement shall be for a three year period beginning with the school year ; at the conclusion of the school year, this agreement may be renewed yearly up to two additional one-year periods applicable under Federal/State regulations upon a finding by the Awarding Authority that the services are being performed in an effective and efficient manner as determined by the Awarding Authority; however, if the Awarding Authority elects to renew the existing contract with the virtual online education vendor, the terms and conditions of the existing contract shall remain substantially unchanged. The first year of the contract will start on July 1, 2014 and terminate on June 30,

7 Either party for cause or convenience upon 60 days written notification may terminate this contract. Failure of the virtual online education vendor to comply with this 60-day provision, the virtual online education vendor and Awarding Authority agree, shall automatically permit the Awarding Authority to seek fiscal relief under Bid Security and/or contract security provisions (herein, these "Instructions"). Additionally, the Awarding Authority shall retain all outstanding receipts and claims for receipts until all obligations implied, or explicitly stated, in the fiscal arrangements specification are met to the Awarding Authority s satisfaction. Should the virtual online education vendor fail to provide services, or acceptable quality (to Awarding Authority) thereof, or should a breach of contract by the virtual online education vendor be alleged, the following steps/penalties may be followed by the Awarding Authority in a progressive manner: a. Verbal warning to virtual online education vendor, and order to correct deficiency b. Written reprimand and conference with Awarding Authority representative. Specific corrective actions and time lines denoted to virtual online education vendor. c. Show cause order from, and conference with Awarding Authority. The virtual online education vendor will be required to immediately correct problem specified, and document steps to preclude its recurrence. d. Termination of contract Should any breach by the virtual online education vendor be deemed egregious in nature, or fraudulent, the Awarding Authority may invoke termination of contract immediately, step "d." Assignment The virtual online education vendor may not assign the contract without the written consent of the other party. None of the services to be provided by the virtual online education vendor pursuant to this Agreement shall be subcontracted or delegated in whole or in part to any entity without prior written consent of the Awarding Authority. 7