School Mission

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
Albany Leadership Charter High School For Girls
19 Hackett Boulevard
Albany, NY 12208
Title: Consultant Support for High School Faculty & Principal Leadership Development
The Albany Leadership Charter High School For Girls and its Board of Trustees are requesting proposals to provide for Educational Consultant Services. The Educational Consultant will provide professional assistance in the analysis and evaluation of current high school educational programs, provide or recommend appropriate staff development activities, recommend implementation of instructional and/or administrative strategies, and assist in the design of school improvement goals and the means to assess progress toward such goals.
The eligible applicants are Educational program evaluation organizations or consulting firms, institutions of higher education, and other companies, groups, organizations, or individuals that have a prior history of successful high school level review, high school professional development, and high school evaluation work, emphasizing any specific experience with charter schools.
Scope of Work
The ALH Board of Trustees is requesting proposals to provide for Educational Consultant Services for the remainder of the 2012-13 school year and for the 2013-2014 school year.
The Educational Consultant will provide professional assistance in the analysis and evaluation of current educational programs, provide or recommend appropriate staff development activities, recommend implementation of instructional and/or administrative strategies, and assist in the design of school improvement goals and the means to assess progress toward such goals.
1. Services are to be performed by fully qualified personnel who possess all necessary certifications and/or licenses to perform work.
2. Contractor shall provide all equipment and materials necessary to provide required services.
3. On-site services are required.
4. Contractor shall coordinate individual and group services with district staff and leadership as required.
5. Contractor shall maintain valid NYSED clearances (ie fingerprinting, etc).
6. Please include in your response an answer to each of the following questions:
A. Describe your qualifications and relevant high school experience faculty and administration professional development. Provide a resume for all key personnel.
B. Provide information on your availability.
C. Provide at least three professional references, including other school districts and/or charter schools.
One award will be made pursuant to this RFI. The contract(s) resulting from this RFI will be for a term anticipated to begin June 1, 2013 and to end June 30, 2014, with a one-year renewal option. It is estimated that up to 20 hours per week may be required in the months of June, July, August and September 2013 to assist in the transition to new school leadership and with the start of the academic school year. It is anticipated that the remainder of the contract will require less than 20 hours per week, with time focused primarily on mentoring the school leadership and staff development.
Service Area: Albany, New York.
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Components contained in RFI Proposal are as follows:
1.) Description Of Services To Be Performed
2.) Submission
3.) Evaluation Criteria and Method of Award
The electronic mailing address for responses to this proposal is bethatsage@gmail.com
Description of Services to be Performed
QUALIFICATIONS
Bidders are expected to have extensive expertise in high school evaluation and educational curriculum and deep working knowledge of education policy with particular expertise with New York State high schools and high school curriculum best practices. Evidence provided by applicants should include:
? A comprehensive summary of the applicant’s professional history, background, and qualifications in these areas
? Sample protocols developed by the applicant for school evaluation
? Sample evaluation reports for site visit monitoring, personnel competency evaluations, and curriculum development.
? Three reference letters
Allowable Expenses
Applicants should include expenses that are reasonable, necessary, and applicable under federal and state regulations as part of their bid price.
Subcontracting Limit
Subcontracting will be limited to 30% of the annual contract budget. Subcontracting is defined as non-employee direct personal services and related incidental expenses, including travel.
2.) Submission
Project Submission:
The electronic proposal submitted in response to this RFI must include both a Technical Proposal and a Cost Proposal.
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The email transmission must include an electronic signature attesting to the submission as accurate and acknowledging the submitter has the authority to act on behalf of the firm, company or individual for which the proposal is being submitted.
The proposal must be received by 12:00 noon Eastern Time, May 28, 2013 in Albany, New York. Electronic responses are required and should be sent to Beth Robertson, bethatsage@gmail.com. Mailed copies are welcome but not required; only electronic responses received by the 12:00 noon ET deadline of May 28, 2013, will be reviewed. Applicants wishing to provide a hard copy of their proposal should mail it to: Albany Leadership High School, 19 Hackett Boulevard, Albany, NY 12208, Attention: ALH Board of Trustees.
Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, avoiding the use of elaborate promotional materials beyond those sufficient to provide complete presentation. If supplemental materials are a necessary part of the proposal, the bidder should reference these materials in the technical proposal, identifying the document(s) and citing the appropriate section and page(s) to be reviewed.
The proposal must communicate an understanding of the deliverables of the RFI, describe how the tasks are to be performed and identify potential problems in the conduct of the deliverables and methods to identify and solve such problems.
Any proprietary material considered confidential by the bidder must specifically be so identified, and the basis for such confidentiality must be specifically set forth in the proposal.
Technical Proposal (70 points)
The applicants are expected to have extensive expertise in high school curriculum and evaluation and educational policy work and deep working knowledge of education policy in New York State, practices of improving student outcomes through the use of assessments, faculty development and curriculum mapping.
An applicant will be expected to prepare a proposal that addresses each activity described. The proposal should demonstrate the vendor’s capacity to accomplish the tasks and produce the deliverables. Specifically, the proposal should provide the following:
1. A comprehensive summary of the vendor’s professional history, background, and qualifications for this project, including those of proposed key staff members. This summary should demonstrate that the vendor and key staff members have:
a. extensive expertise in school evaluation and educational policy work.
b. a deep operational knowledge of education policy in New York State, highlighting any relevant expertise with New York State high schools and NYS charter schools
c. the ability to provide robust policy development and professional development services in key high school curriculum content areas.
2. Evidence that the vendor can produce well-written review summaries and site visit reports with high quality evidence. Please submit a relevant sampling of prior work.
3. Three references with complete contact information so that ALH can gather information related to past performance.
4. If applicable, a staffing plan with sufficient detail about the specific tasks required and staff assigned to them, that:
a. demonstrates staff qualifications for the assigned activities
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b. demonstrates vendor capacity to adequately staff each component of the project with consultants with appropriate experience and expertise.
c. is appropriate for the scope and level of work required.
d. describes a process for adequately training review and evaluation teams and how assigned staff and any subcontractors will be monitored to ensure compliance with contractual obligation.
5. A reasonable timetable and estimate of work required (i.e., hours per task) for each facet of the project, and vendor capacity to travel and to conduct work in a timely fashion that meets deadlines established with ALH.
? The proposal should be no more than 10 typed pages.
? The vendor should provide several relevant samples of prior work which will not count toward the 10 page limit, including sample evaluation reports for both application review and site visit monitoring, especially for charter schools, and sample protocols developed by the vendor for curriculum improvement, faculty development, leadership development.
Cost Proposal (30 points)
The proposal should include a reasonable timetable and estimate of work (i.e., hours per task) for each facet of the project, and vendor capacity to travel and to conduct work in a timely fashion that meets deadlines established with ALH.
Budgets must be submitted using whole dollar numbers.
The Financial Criteria portion of the RFI will be scored based upon the grand total of the budget summary.
Vendors must submit a daily rate for services (defined as an 7.5 hour work day); and a separate a hourly rate for services. Rates should be quantified by job function/title, as appropriate, for any staff designated to work as part of this project. Daily and hourly rates should specify any limitations the respondent includes within that rate.
Vendors must indicate whether there will be separate changes for travel time and any specifications necessary to fully understand how the charge is derived and billed.
Vendors must detail any additional fees that may be charged ALH as part of this contract . Fees not shown within the proposal will not be paid during the term of resultant contract.
3.) Evaluation Criteria and Method of Award
ALH will use the following criteria to evaluate bids and method of award in selecting the contractor. This will be followed by various terms and conditions that reflect the specific needs of this project as well as New York State contract guidelines and requirements.
Technical Criteria (70 Points)
1. The proposal demonstrates that the vendor and key staff:
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a. have extensive expertise in school evaluation and educational policy work (5 points)
b. have deep working knowledge of education policy in New York State, with particular expertise with New York State charter schools (5 points)
c. the ability to provide robust policy development and professional development services in key areas of charter school authorizing (10 points)
2. The proposal demonstrates that the vendor can produce well-written review summaries and site visit reports with high quality evidence, and this is supported with high quality samples of relevant prior work (20 points)
3. The applicant provides three references with complete contact information who affirm the quality of the vendor’s work (5 points)
4. The plan provides sufficient detail about the specific tasks required and staff assigned to them that:
a. demonstrates qualifications for the assigned activities (5 points)
b. demonstrates vendor capacity to adequately staff each component of the project with appropriate experience and expertise (5 points)
c. is appropriate for the scope and level of work required (5 points)
d. describes a process for adequately training review and evaluation teams and how assigned staff and any subcontractors will be monitored to ensure compliance with contractual obligation (5 points)
5. The proposal includes a reasonable timetable and estimate of work (i.e., hours per task) for each facet of the project, and vendor capacity to travel and to conduct work in a timely fashion that meets deadlines. (5 points)
Financial Criteria (30 Points)
The financial portion of the proposal represents 30 points of the overall score. The submitted budget will be awarded points which awards the highest score of 30 points to the budget that reflects the lowest overall cost. The remaining budgets will be awarded points based on a calculation that computes the relative difference of each proposal against the lowest budget submitted. The resulting percentage is then applied to the maximum point value of 30 points.
Questions
Questions on this RFI will be accepted only electronically up to 5pm ET on May 24, 2013, to bethatsage@gmail.com.
Post Selection Procedures
Upon selection, the successful bidder will receive a proposed contract from ALH. All terms set forth in the selected bidder’s technical proposal will be final. The selected bidder may be given an opportunity to reduce its cost proposal in accordance with ALH’s right to negotiate a final best price. The contents of this RFI, any subsequent correspondence during the proposal evaluation period, and such other stipulations as agreed upon may be made a part of the final contract prepared by ALH.

Albany Leadership is seeking fearless educators who are driven not only by the urgency to close the achievement gap in urban America, but also by the need to arm future leaders with the tools necessary for success beyond high school. Albany Leadership is seeking certified educators for the 2013-2014 school year in the following positions:

Technology
Math (Geometry, Algebra, Pre-Calculus)
Science (Living Environment, Environmental Science)
Social Studies (Global History)
P.E./Health
ELA
SPED
Technology

If you are committed to a movement positioned to empower girls to become influential college graduates, please submit a letter of interest and resume to nherring@albanyleadershiphigh.org or,
Nadeen Herring, Assistant Principal
Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls
19 Hackett Blvd., Albany, New York 12208

Dear ALH Family,

This week the New York State Assembly approved a resolution that lays out the changes it would like to make in Governor Cuomo’s state budget. This Assembly resolution includes a dramatic cut in funding specifically for Albany charter schools. The Assembly cut aims to cut next year’s Albany charter school funding from $14,072 per pupil to $11,712, or by 17%, reverting our funding level back to that of the 2009-2010 school year.

The New York State Assembly’s proposed funding cut is sure to hurt our schools, but more importantly, it would directly and negatively impact our scholars. It threatens our ability to provide your child with a high quality education in an environment where student safety, security, and the fostering of personal and academic development are the main priorities.

We need your help to prevent this cut. We ask that you contact your representatives in the State Assembly, State Senate, and Governor’s Office to let them know that you oppose this effort to short change your children’s education.  Please click here to access our call to action page.  Since this issue is likely to be decided upon over the next few days, we ask that you focus your efforts on signing the online petition, making phone calls, and encouraging as many community members as you can to do the same.

We appreciate your efforts to letting our legislators and the Governor know that ALH and other charter schools should be treated fairly. Please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions or call the school at 518-694-5300.

Sincerely,

Melissa Jarvis-Cedeno
Founding Principal

Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls

On Friday, March 22, 2013, ALH will be sponsoring its 2nd Annal Talent and Fashion Extravaganza. We look forward to seeing everyone at this gala event.

Albany Leadership is seeking fearless educators who are driven not only by the urgency to close the achievement gap in urban America, but also by the need to arm future leaders with the tools necessary for success beyond high school. Albany Leadership is seeking certified educators for the 2012-2013 school year in the following positions:

Spanish Teacher
If you are committed to a movement positioned to empower girls to become influential college graduates, please submit a letter of interest and resume .
Nadeen Herring, Assistant Principal
Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls
19 Hackett Blvd., Albany, New York 12208

Albany Leadership is seeking fearless educators who are driven not only by the urgency to close the achievement gap in urban America, but also by the need to arm future leaders with the tools necessary for success beyond high school. Albany Leadership is seeking certified educators for the 2012-2013 school year in the following positions:
Mathematics Teacher (Algebra and Geometry) – Maternity Leave to begin in late February 2013 through May 2013

If you are committed to a movement positioned to empower girls to become influential college graduates, please submit a letter of interest and resume electronically to Mcedeno@albanyleadershiphigh.org forward to:

Melissa Jarvis-Cedeno, Founding Principal
Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls
19 Hackett Blvd., Albany, New York 12208

Students enrolled in Drawing/Painting participated in a drawing contest to create a set of lips that reflected their personality.  Students participating have a chance to be showcased in Triarco magazine and win a cash prize.  Winners will be announced April 30, 2013, with the grand prize being $100.00 for the winning student and $500.00 for the winning school.  Good Luck Ladies!!!

Alesha Evans

Art by Jessica Moultrie

Art by Jasmine Armstrong