The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) today released three Requests For Proposals (RFPs) online for vendors to submit proposals for professional services outlined and funded through Delaware’s four-year Race To The Top plan.
In July of 2009, President Barack Obama announced $4.35 billion in competitive funds known as the Race to the Top Fund to spark transformational improvements to America’s public schools. Among the 41 initial applications for funding, Delaware’s plan for reform was selected as the best, and the State became one of just two first round winners.
Under Governor Jack Markell’s reform agenda, Delaware is now implementing its four year plan to achieve significant gains in student achievement through the following strategy:
• Set high standards for college-and career- readiness and measure progress with high quality assessments and excellent data systems
• Recruit, retain, develop, and support great teachers and leaders who can help all students meet high standards
• Build core capabilities to promote great teaching and leadership
• Accelerate improvements in the State’s high-need schools
• Build capacity to deliver against goals
Today’s release of three RFPs begins the process of selecting the best vendors from Delaware and across the country with vast expertise in helping Delaware achieve its goals of becoming an education model for other states to replicate. The RFPs are as follows:
• Data Coaches: DDOE looks to provide a corps of data coaches to all Delaware schools to work with small groups of teachers and instructional leaders to support a transition to data-driven instruction and the implementation of Instructional Improvement Systems. Data coaches will facilitate collaborative planning time, during which they will help teachers develop the technical skills to analyze data and the pedagogical skills to adjust instruction based on the data.
• Development Coaches: DDOE seeks to deploy a corps of development coaches to support principals, superintendents, charter directors, and specialists in the transition to a more rigorous, transparent performance appraisal process for educators, while reducing the administrative burden to assessors while improving the accuracy and calibration of the Delaware Performance Appraisal System (DPAS II).
• Leadership Training: Delaware seeks to provide an intensive training program in instructional leadership to novice principals and principals of high-need schools. The new school leadership training program will build a common set of skills and a common language to improve the quality of school leadership statewide, and will accelerate the improvement of the State’s high-need schools.
The deadline for responding to each of the proposals above is September 1, 2010 with notification of award scheduled for October 1, 2010.
For additional information, please go to www.doe.k12.de.usand click on the Race To The Top prompt to view the RFPs and other Race To The Top links.
