Quick View Literacy Consultant RFP

Summary

Literacy forms the foundation of learning and in Ohio, more than half of all entering kindergarteners are not meeting the benchmarks in language and literacy with at least 40% of all third-grade students unable to demonstrate proficiency in reading. The State of Ohio is committed to increasing the number of students that are proficient readers and is supporting multiple efforts including ensuring teachers are prepared to meet the needs of all learners through their teacher preparation programs. As a part of this effort, the Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education is issuing this RFP for consultative services and technical assistance to evaluate Ohio’s institutions of higher education with Chancellor-approved teacher preparation programs to determine their alignment with the science of reading. The science of reading is an interdisciplinary body of scientific evidence that: 1. Informs how students learn to read and write proficiently; 2. Explains why some students have difficulty with reading and writing; 3. Indicates that all students benefit from explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing to become effective readers; 4. Does not rely on any model of teaching students to read based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues, including a three-cueing approach. The Chancellor is seeking proposals from qualified vendor(s) and will review proposed consultant services to comprehensively evaluate teacher preparation programs to determine the extent to which their literacy strategies and practices align with the science of reading. The award of this RFP will result in a contract with the Chancellor. The Chancellor’s actions and this RFP are specific to Section 3333.048 of House Bill 33 of the 135th General Assembly which directs the Chancellor to develop an auditing process that clearly documents the degree to which every Teacher preparation program at an institution of higher education is effectively teaching the science of reading.