Request for Proposals

The result of a successful proposal will be a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement between RIDE/CS4RI and the partner, where CS4RI provides the partner funds for PD for an agreed upon number of teachers in a fiscal year. (RI fiscal year is July 1 - June 30).

Timeline (2024/25):

Proposals from partners will be processed one time per year. This timeline guides the flow of associated work:

• March 12th: Optional PD Partner Application Information Session on zoom from 2:30pm-3:00pm
  [watch the recording]

• April 15th: Applications due by 4pm

• April 29th: RIDE sends notification to partner

• June 15th: MOUs returned to partner

• During the upcoming fiscal year (FY25) - Partners deliver PD and curriculum

• Quarterly - Partners invoice for services at times specified in the MOU. Final invoices must be submitted no later than June 1, 2025.

Criteria:

The criteria for selection to be a CS4RI PD partner includes:

• Quality of the PD and/or curriculum including CS4RI’s assessment of supporting materials submitted, the partner’s performance history of delivering each proposed course, and feedback from references who have used the PD and/or curriculum;

• Alignment to RI’s K-12 CS Education Standards;

• Alignment to teachers achieving RIDE Computer Science Educator Endorsement;

• Demonstrated support for Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) in both PD and curriculum;

• Course fit with existing CS4RI programs in RI schools;

• Cost to CS4RI, to schools, to teachers, as well as any additional costs.

During the review process, close attention will be paid to options that meet the new secondary proficiency requirements.

Starting in 2022 RIDE began supporting the training of pre-service CS teachers to obtain the RIDE Computer Science Educator Endorsement at colleges and universities that produce graduates with RI teaching certification. Thus, in this application form “Professional Development” (PD) refers to in-service teacher training and/or pre-service teacher academic courses.

On November 15, 2022, the RI Council on Elementary and Secondary Education approved Readiness-Based Graduation Requirements for all RI students beginning with the graduating Class of 2028. RIDE’s adoption of Readiness-Based Graduation Requirements presents an opportunity for increasing engagement through real-world, relevant learning experiences in all RI K-12 schools. For the 2024-2025 application, there is an additional option within this application to propose courses that will meet the requirements for a CS proficiency course.

RIDE encourages PD Partner applications that provide CS foundational courses aligned to RI CS standards and high school courses in specialty areas such as (but not limited to): Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Services, and Cybersecurity.