Bid Detail

23-078 - Request for Operation of Preschool Program for SPS Early Childhood Education Center

I. GENERAL - INTRODUCTION
The City of Springfield, Massachusetts (“City”), acting by and through its Office of Procurement and its School Department, wishes to obtain the services of a licensed early childhood education organization to develop and manage a total of two (2) preschool classrooms located within the new Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) at 15 Catharine Street.
Springfield Public Schools seeks to collaborate with such organization to implement a program that will follow the child from its earliest years through SPS and into adulthood, integrating early educational instruction in the early stages of child development. Therefore, in accordance with that mission, SPS will enhance its existing early educational program to include an early education center and partner with organizations from the private Early Education and Care field.
The selected proposer must agree to operate at the ECEC, serving the childcare needs of future SPS students of Springfield, and to operate during the normal school hours at a minimum. Selected Proposer may also operate their program anytime Monday through Friday, from 6:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M., and remain open during school vacations, holidays, teacher workdays and summer.
Proposer must also be in compliance with EEC contracts and grants with regard to financial assistance. The proposer will be required to describe the proposed annual schedule when they intend to operate their program at the ECEC, including days of the week, hours per day, and months of the year, indicating whether they will operate during school vacation periods, teacher workdays, and holidays. Aside from the mandatory operating hours, the ECEC may be available for other hours to accommodate the program such as staff training and development, parent/community meetings and events, but is not guaranteed.
Program options may include part-day, full-day and/or some model of mixed-care. The selected proposer will service up to twenty (20) preschoolers in each classroom, as defined by the Department of Early Education and Care’s (“EEC”) regulations (606CMR7.00) or up to the licensed capacity set forth by the EEC within the space described below (whichever is less).
The planned scope of public-private partnership at the ECEC will include one (1) licensed early childhood education organization and SPS collaborating to provide high-quality and strategically aligned services to preschool students. The ECEC facility contains 14 Pre-k classrooms, of which 12 will be operated by SPS, and up to 2 will be operated by Selected Proposers.
The overall space for the entire child care area of the ECEC (including infant and toddler rooms which are not part of this RFP) is approximately 37,040 sq. ft. (See Exhibits A, D, and F). The child care space has an 11,500 sq. ft. play area. (See Exhibits B and C) The total square footage for the 8 pre-school classrooms is 888 sq. ft.
All of the above dimensions are close approximations.
Request for Proposals
1) The City seeks a licensed and experienced early childhood education organization which has familiarity, expertise and at least 5 years of experience in:

An operating history of at least five (5) years of providing high quality and licensed early education and child care services in the greater Springfield area of Hampden County, that includes, but is not limited to:
a. Licensed Early Education and Care programs
b. Family support services, i.e., case management, parent education, home visitation, support groups, etc.
c. Providing financial assistance to subsidize students in program
d. Fitness and health programs
e. An established new hire training program in early childhood education, with employee feedback, improvement plan and follow-up
2. A business strategy that includes keeping pace with the latest research-based practices and strategies in early education and childhood development
3. A history of working with educational institutions and local businesses as a community partner
4. Participation in Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)
5. Providing a pleasant, safe and secure environment for children, families, and staff
6. Demonstrated a history of maintaining an up to date level of educational technology






2) All responses to this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) must be in writing and in the form set forth in this RFP, and must be delivered in a sealed envelope to:

Chief Procurement Officer, Lauren Stabilo
City of Springfield
Office of Procurement
36 Court Street – Room 307
Springfield, MA 01103
Tel (413) 787-6284 Fax (413) 787-6295

Proposals will be received until 2:00 p.m. on December 13, 2022 at the City’s Office of Procurement. If at any time of the scheduled RFP opening, City Hall or the Office of Procurement is closed due to uncontrolled events such as fire, snow, ice, wind or building evacuation, the RFP opening will be postponed until 2:00 p.m. (EST) the next business day, and proposals will be accepted until that date and time.

3) Written Questions: No interpretation of the meaning of the requirement of this RFP will be given out except in response to a written request submitted to:
Chief Procurement Officer, Lauren Stabilo
City of Springfield
Office of Procurement
36 Court Street – Room 307
Springfield, MA 01103
Email: lstabilo@springfieldcityhall.com Fax (413) 787-6295

To be given consideration, written questions must be received by close of business on December 6, 2022. Any and all such interpretations, supplemental instructions or information will be made in the form of written addenda which will be sent to all holders of the RFP. The City, in its sole discretion, may decline to provide the information requested, if it is not deemed relevant to the RFP. Any addenda so issued shall become part of the RFP.

4) The City anticipates choosing the most advantageous Proposal within thirty (30) days of the bid opening, unless further extended by written notice from the City to all Proposers that have submitted Proposals. Unless the deadline is so extended, the failure of the City to designate a Proposal as most advantageous by this date will constitute rejection of all Proposals.
5) The successful Proposer, if any, will be notified in writing by the City. The City will prepare and forward a contract/s including the minimum contract terms contained in this RFP or addenda to this RFP. Each proposer submitting a proposal in response to this RFP agrees to the minimum contract terms.
6) The City may cancel this RFP, or reject in whole or in part any and all Proposals, if the City determines that cancellation or rejection serves the best interests of the City.
Educational/Operational Responsibilities of the Partnership
The successful proposer must have the flexibility to operate the program in a method that reflects the highest standards in the early education industry.
LICENSING / PERMIT FEE FOR USE OF SCHOOL PROPERTY

The organization’s obligation to pay a “License/Permit Fee for Use of School Property” to operate the program at the 15 Catharine Street facility shall commence on occupancy.
For each contract year, the monthly license fee shall be the amount set forth in the successful proposer’s Price Proposal, and shall be no less than a minimum of $1,519.25 per classroom / per month during the months the successful proposer's program is operated. The “License/Permit Fee for Use of School Property” shall be paid in advance, on the first day of the month, without the need of the City to send an invoice to the provider. This fee only covers use of facility as described in RFP. Other uses may require additional fees in accordance with the permit policy.
In addition, Successful Proposer who operate during "non-standard" operating times must also apply for a "facility use permit" (Exhibit H) and will be subject to the appropriate policies and fee structures related to the use of custodians during those hours. (See Exhibits G & H) The current structure (subject to change) includes an hourly rate of $33.00 for non-standard hours for custodians. Non-standard is defined as any days or hours outside the normal operating times in which a Springfield Public Schools custodian is scheduled. These hours generally occur after school hours, on weekends and on SPS paid holidays. Facility use permit fees must be paid according to the outlined procedure in Exhibit H.

TERM OF THE LICENSE AND MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

1) The term of the License and Management Agreement shall cover a 30-month time period, from the date the contract is executed (“Effective Date”) to August 31, 2025, subject to the termination provisions of the Agreement.
1st Contract Year: December, 2022 through August 31, 2023;
2nd Contract Year: September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024;
3rd Contract Year: September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025;
Operation of the successful proposer's program is required to begin on or before the first day of school each year after year one.
It is expressly understood by both Parties that the School Department will make all best efforts to ensure that the classrooms provided pursuant to the Agreement during the 1st Contract Term shall be the same classrooms provided in the subsequent renewal years of the Agreement, should the options to renew be exercised by the School Department. If the School Department is unable to provide the same classrooms from contract year to the subsequent contract year of this agreement, the School Department shall provide comparable classroom space of equal or greater size than the classrooms provided in the 1st contract year.

The City of Springfield supports the goal of twenty percent minority and women participation in all contracts. No questions will be answered unless received by the Chief Procurement Officer at least 7 days prior to the expiration of the time set for submitting bids or proposals. The Chief Procurement Officer reserves the right to waive any informality in and to reject any or all bids if it is in the public interest to do so.

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