Program Administrator, Mantua in Action After School Program

Posted by on December 23, 2013

Request for Proposal December 10, 2013
Mantua In Action After School Program

Program Administrator Scope of Work
Drexel University is seeking a qualified and experienced Out of School Time Program Administrator for the Mantua In Action After School Program.

MIA Program Description
Drexel University is the anchor institution driving broad-based community change for its neighboring communities, Mantua and Powelton, which rank among Philadelphia’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Under the leadership of President John Fry, Drexel has significantly expanded and strengthened its approach to anchor institution collaboration in Mantua and Powelton and is proud of the role it has played to tie education and youth development to the neighborhood’s community development.

Mantua In Action (MIA) was launched by a cross-sector partnership led by Drexel in 2012 to begin providing robust out-of-school time services to the community’s middle school youth during the summer and after school. Programming has been offered at several locations in the Mantua neighborhood, including the James Wright and Miles Mack Recreation Centers and McMichael School. Other partners include Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative, as well as Mantua community organizations. MIA’s mission is to provide practical skills, knowledge, and positive learning experiences that middle school youth need to enter and succeed in high school. The program is funded through grant support from the Lenfest Foundation and Aberdeen Asset Management Charitable Foundation. The program has five objectives:
1. Provide academic assistance.
2. Introduce new sport and leadership activities that help youth see they can excel in non-academic areas.
3. Provide a chance for youth to develop positive relationships with adult role models and older youth.
4. Ensure a safe environment for Mantua’s youth during the summer and after-school hours.
5. Provide all participants with a healthy meal.

MIA Goals:
1. Increase the number of Mantua youth participants in MIA after school programs.
2. Expand the diversity of after school program offerings for youth.
3. Coordinate Philadelphia Parks and Recreation offerings through its youth development and wellness system in the following four core areas, with increasing numbers participating each year as part of Mantua In Action programming:
a. Sports, Athletics, Outdoor Activities: Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Swim Teams
b. Visual Arts: Painting, Drawing, Photography
c. Performing Arts: Dance, Drama, Chorus
d. Homework Help, Extracurricular Activities: Mentoring, tutoring, chess, Scrabble.
4. Increase the number of Mantua youth who enter high school on grade level.
5. Provide youth participants with opportunities for leadership development and character development.
6. Provide youth with opportunities to develop 21st Century skills important to their education and the workforce: collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity.
7. Increase opportunities for problem solving and goal setting.
8. Provide opportunities to work with others to accomplish goals.
9. Enhance youth awareness of high school choices and career pathways.

SCOPE OF WORK
Drexel is looking to contract with an after school provider as a Program Administrator (PA) for the MIA program to:
1. Coordinate the Mantua In Action (MIA) Program with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation (PPR) at Miles Mack and James Wright Recreation Centers, as well as other locations as needed, for 5 days per week at 3 hours per day from 3pm to 6pm for the time period February 2014 to May 2014.
2. Report directly to Drexel Project Manager.
3. Work closely with Drexel Project Manager and PPR Program Director to ensure smooth coordination and grant deliverables.
4. Work with Drexel Project Manager to coordinate Drexel faculty, student mentors and tutors, as well as engaging MIA Junior Coaches in Drexel’s Sports Management Certification Program.
Program Providers
5. Coordinate, Schedule and Manage After School Program Providers, including the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative, and other clubs for MIA. Handle contracts and invoicing for individual program providers. Work with PPR Program Direct tro coordinate scheduling at the PPR sites.

MIA Structure
6. Program Administrator is part of the MIA Leadership Team (See Exhibit A: MIA Organizational Chart) which will meet bi-monthly along with:
– PPR Program Director
– Drexel Project Manager
– PPR Director of Strategic Initiatives
– PPR Mantua Cluster Leader
– PPR Miles Mack Facility Manager
7. Monthly MIA Operations Team Meetings will include the MIA Leadership Team above along with:
– PPR Program Group Site Leaders
– Program Provider Representatives as well as Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative Representatives
– DB4 Representative
– Parent Representative
– Other Community Organization Representatives
– Junior Coaches Representative
8. A team of Junior Coaches, local young adults (18-24) from Mantua, will be hired by PPR to work at both sites. They will report to the PPR Facility Manager at each site. (See Exhibit A: MIA Organizational Chart.)

MIA Participant Oversight
9. Work with PPR to recruit participants for the MIA after school programs.
10. Develop an individualized case management system and track individual participation, including attendance, social and emotional behavior, 21st Century skills and academic achievement.
11. Develop partnership that will create enrichment opportunities and match youth with adult mentorship.
12. Provide professional development to MIA staff on a range of behavior management and youth development issues.
13. Provide academic assistance and homework help and coordinate Drexel student tutors to provide ongoing academic enrichment and support.
14. Work with PPR Program Director and PPR Mantua Cluster Leader to ensure effective use of Junior Coaches, local Mantua residents hired to assist with clubs and mentor MIA youth.
15. Visits all three sites daily.
16. Responsible for quality assurance of program. Develop evaluation system; define and track metrics. (See evaluation section below.)
17. Monitors providers and programs for viability and acceptance and provide feedback.
18. Coordinate Parent Engagement: work with PPR Team to insure consistent parent engagement, weekly communication and feedback, and once-a-semester meetings to showcase students’ abilities and progress. Guide and direct MIA staff on positive communication and interaction with parents.

Evaluation
19. Track individual students’ school attendance and quarterly report cards.
20. Administer pre-and-post-program assessments of 21st century skills (collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity), problem solving, goal setting, leadership skills, character development, and awareness of high school choices and career opportunities. Establish baseline metrics and goals based on the Department of Human Services’ Out of School Time Outcomes and Indicators.

Youth Outcomes
– Improved Life Skills
– Improved Relationships
– Increased school engagement
– Increased engagement in learning
– Aspire to educational excellence
– Prepared for Higher Education and Employment
– Awareness of Interest in Careers and
– Employment Pathways

Indicators
– Goal Setting
– Personal Accountability
– Work with others to accomplish goals
– Improved Interaction with Peers
– Improved Interaction with Adults
– Improved Quality of Homework
– Increase Opportunities for Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
– Awareness of High School Choices
21. Measure program enrollment and program capacity over time – in general and within each of the four core offerings (Sports and Athletics, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Environmental and Outdoor Activities). Track program attendance regularly to identify fluctuations in attendance for different programs at different times of the year. Track changes in diversity of program offerings.
22. Distribute quarterly surveys to students and mentors to evaluate student satisfaction, the success of the mentoring program and other metrics for evaluation.
23. Utilize PPR data collection system as appropriate.
24. Meet with the Drexel Lenfest Grant evaluator to align MIA evaluation with general Out of School Time theory of change.

AWARD PROCESS
SELECTION CRITERIA
Submissions will be scored based on the following criteria:
– Organization must be a 501(c)3, non-profit organization.
– Organizational Capacity – Capacity to support implementation of quality and age appropriate out of school time (OST) programming. Experience delivering OST programs and services. Experience collaborating with schools, neighborhood and community organizations. Success in meeting goals and objectives. Capacity to set measurable goals and objectives and capacity to measure success in meeting program and youth outcomes. Capacity to participate in the advancement and implementation of meaningful and measurable outcomes – system-wide, by site, and by individual youth. Capacity to support increased school engagement, engagement in learning, improved life skills and educational excellence. Capacity to operate on a fee-for-service basis.

Where applicable, current organization performance with other OST or in-school programs.
– Target Community and Population – Familiarity with and understanding of the needs of the target community and population. Description of approaches to prioritize enrollment of the target population with an emphasis on meeting the needs of the families in the community. Strength of strategies and approaches that will be taken in the program in order to address those needs. Experience working with youth and families in the target community.
– Program Coordination – Effectiveness of collaborating with civic, non-profit and other agencies, with demonstrated experience ensuring community and family engagement, coordinating with schools for academic enrichment activities, recruiting and retaining youth, and managing a diverse, responsive and well-trained staff and volunteers. Ability to implement developmentally appropriate, intentional program activities designed to demonstrate connectedness to the MIA Goals.
– Budget – Appropriateness and reasonableness of the budget items for the services to be provided, clarity of the budget narrative, responsiveness to the budget guidance.
– Administration –Ability to provide sound fiscal oversight, reporting, support documentation and management of the award amount.

Drexel reserves the right to award in part, to reject any and all proposals in whole or in part for misrepresentation or if in default of any prior Drexel contract, or if the proposal limits or modifies any of the terms and conditions and/or specifications of the RFP. Drexel also reserves the right to waive technical defects, irregularities and omissions if, in its judgment, the best interest of Drexel will be served.
Drexel reserves the right to correct inaccurate awards resulting from its clerical errors. This may include, in extreme circumstances, revoking the awarding of a contract already made and subsequently awarding the contract to another entity. Such action on the part of the University shall not constitute a breach of contract on the part of Drexel, as the initial contract is deemed to be invalid from the outset and of no effect, as if no contract ever existed.

While cost is a consideration, Drexel reserves the right to select a proposal or proposals in whole or in part, which the University deems best meets the goals of this request regardless of cost. Drexel reserves the right to terminate the engagement due to any form of non-compliance or unsatisfactory performance. Drexel reserves the right to select more than one entity through the RFP process.

NARRATIVE INSTRUCTIONS
Please provide a 3-5 page narrative proposal with the following detailed information. Highlight the contents of the submission in a clear and concise manner.
Section A: Proposal Plan
1. Briefly describe your organization, its history, vision, mission, goals, and objectives. How long the organization has been in operation.
2. Briefly describe your organization’s success in achieving its goals and objectives.
3. Describe your organization’s experience administering out-of-school time programs, and any experience working in Mantua or West Philadelphia.
4. State how the goals for the proposed program align with your organization’s mission and goals? How will you measure success in meeting your proposed goal?
5. Describe plans, where applicable, to infuse STEM or STEAM in programming.
6. Describe your strategy for recruiting and retaining youth in the proposed program.
7. Describe your plan to engage families in the proposed program.
8. Describe any community or agency partnerships that your organization will bring to the proposed program, the purpose of these partnerships, and the intended benefit.
9. Describe your staff orientation process for the proposed program.
10. What activities will your organization conduct to ensure staff engagement and retention?
11. Provide a position description, including qualifications, of key staff positions that will support this program.
12. Include your approach to monitoring and supporting staff, providing professional development, and ensuring progress toward outcomes.

Section B: Data Collection
a) Describe your organization’s capacity for data collection, maintenance of records, confidentiality safeguards, and any activities that measure program outcomes.

Section C: Budget
Applicants must submit a budget showing expected revenues and expenses for the period February 2014 to May 2014.

Drexel reserves the right to provide awards for less than the requested amount, given funding availability and the assessed organizational capacity.

SUBMISSION, DEADLINE & QUESTIONS
Please mail one copy of the proposal in a sealed. No binders please. Also email a copy to ag87@drexel.edu. All proposals must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2014. Proposals received after that time will not be considered.

Proposals should be delivered to:
Drexel University
c/o Anna M. Rivera
Director of Procurement Operations
222 Main Building
3141 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, P A 19104
RE: RFP MIA Program Administrator

All proposals will be opened by University Procurement and recorded as received.

Questions about the Scope of Services or the RFP should be emailed to: Anna Rivera at ag87@drexel.edu no later than December 20, 2013.

All proposals shall remain firm and cannot be withdrawn for a period of 90 days after receipt of proposals. No proposal will be accepted after the above-specified time.