SPECIAL NOTICE
R -- Fostering the Development and Educational Success of Young English Language Learner and Dual Language Learners: Toward New Directions in Policy, Practice, and Research.
- Notice Date
- 2/5/2015
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management, 12501 Ardennes Avenue, Suite 400, Rockville, Maryland, 20857, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20857
- Solicitation Number
- 15-233-SOL-00114
- Archive Date
- 3/7/2015
- Point of Contact
- Peter D. Preston, Phone: 3014435100
- E-Mail Address
-
Peter.Preston@psc.hhs.gov
(Peter.Preston@psc.hhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Notice of Intent to Sole Source: The Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), Division of Child and Family Development (DCFD) to support the development of a consensus report by the Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BCYF) of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences on "Institute of Medicine's Consensus Study on Fostering the Development and Educational Success of Young English Language Learners (ELL) and Dual Language Learners (DLL): Toward New Directions in Policy, Practice, and Research." Overall, this study will explore what is known about the development of young DLLs and ELLs and how best to support them across diverse settings and institutions from birth through high school. The National Academies was mandated by Congress in 1997 and consist of four organizations with The Institute of Medicine (IOM) being one. IOM is an internationally recognized and trusted resource for independent, expert advice related to health and medicine. Their reputation for independence and ability to bring together leading experts, weigh the evidence, and produce reports that inform sound policies, makes them a unique source for this type of expert review and consensus building. The IOM is uniquely positioned to be able to not only identify relevant partners and stakeholders but also garner their participation in the proposed activities because of their existing structures and established reputation. Because of their routine and continuous on-going engagement with a variety of high level healthcare stakeholder, they are in a unique position to meet the needs of this contract. In accordance with FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(;), competition is being restricted because The National Academies, Institute of Medicine is the only reasonable source and no other supplies or service will satisfy agency requirements. Background: ACF administers a number of programs and initiatives to improve early childhood education and development. In particular, the Office of Child Care administers the Child Care and Development Fund to support the availability of affordable, high-quality early care and education programs. Head Start and Early Head Start are holistic programs that serve low-income children from birth to age five, pregnant women and their families. One in three children in Head Start programs come from homes in which a language other than English is spoken, and are considered dual language learners (DLLs). Head Start and Early Head Start programs strive to provide services responsive to children and their families' cultural, ethnic and linguistic heritage. Numerous federal requirements and regulations specify that programs must implement fair, sound and reliable assessments as well as evidence-based practices. ACF grantees, including state and local agencies, need guidance on how to understand the numerous federal requirements concerning assessments and early learning standards to be fair, sound, scientifically valid and reliable, in the service of promoting optimal development among children who are DLLs/ELLs. The need for a consensus study by the National Academies of Science was identified through ongoing collaboration focused on improving systems to support early childhood and learning with the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration. Description: The purpose of this study is to support the development of a consensus report by the Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BCYF) of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences on "Institute of Medicine's Consensus Study on Fostering the Development and Educational Success of Young English Language Learners and Dual Language Learners: Toward New Directions in Policy, Practice, and Research." Overall, this study will explore what is known about the development of young DLLs and ELLs and how best to support them across diverse settings and institutions from birth through high school. Under this contract, the NAS would establish one committee to address the continuum of young ELLs and DLLs with two focus areas: the development of language and cultural influences from the home to the community from birth to age 8 and systems and policies affecting English and Dual language learner children in grades K-12. The committee will come to consensus on findings and recommendations that aim to address, policies that impact ELLs and DLLs, including standards and practices in the diverse contexts where they learn, grow and develop, including homes, classrooms and health care settings. The committee will review the evidence from international and US studies including, but not limited to, the following disciplines: neuroscience, developmental psychology, linguistics, demography, general education, special education, sociology, public health, maternal and child health, home visiting, public policy, and cultural anthropology. Evidence will be drawn from high-quality research, including peer-reviewed literature and government reports, reflecting various study designs (e.g., descriptive, longitudinal, qualitative, mixed methods, experimental and quasi-experimental.) The committee will include members representing diverse disciplines to inform better practices, policies, and research impacting how ELLs and DLLs experience various service and learning contexts and institutions, including, but not limited to, educational settings from birth through grade 12. To highlight the needs of the ELL/DLL population, recent federal legislation authorizing programs that support children and youth's educational achievement have frequently used the term "limited English proficient" (LEP). The Head Start Act (Public Law 110-134) uses the term "LEP" and defines the population broadly to encompass a wide range of children, including those exposed to a language other than English, those whose native language is not English, and those with limited skills in English. Similarly, the ESEA defines the term "limited English proficient" (LEP), in part as students who speak a native language other than English or comes from an environment where another language is dominant, whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual the ability to meet the State's proficient level of achievement on state assessments..." (ESEA section 9101(25)). For this document, we use the commonly accepted terms ‘English language learner' and ‘dual language learner' interchangeably. Birth to Age 8 Focus This focus area will be on the foundational elements of language development, developmental progress, school entry, and practices for early school success for young ELLs and DLLs (whether that is a heritage, native, or a second language). The Birth to Age 8 focus area will include the following questions: 1. How do young ELLs and DLLs develop? What are the normative learning trajectories across domains, including socio-emotional as well as language and knowledge development in any/all languages spoken by a child? 2. What are the roles of languages, culture and cultural identity in the development of young ELLs and DLLs? 3. What practices and principles show evidence of positively affecting socio-emotional well-being, health, language and literacy development in home languages and English, and content learning for young ELLs and DLLs Birth-8 years old across various settings (e.g., home, child care, health care, school, inclusive settings)? 4. What strategies and practices show evidence of supporting young ELLs and DLLs who are also children with disabilities, homeless, from migrant families, or living on tribal lands? 5. What strategies and practices show evidence of supporting optimal transitions establishing a learning progression in a continuum of education for young ELLs and DLLs from birth through third grade (i.e., between home, early childhood education and care settings, pre-K, kindergarten, and through third grade)? What are the barriers to implementing a continuum of education for young ELLs and DLLs? 6. How does the literature inform promising practices in the identification, screening, and assessment of ELLs and DLLs, from birth through third grade, to reliably document the progress of young children's learning, health, and development? 7. How does the literature inform improvements needed in data collection and measurement of young ELLs and DLLs to enhance the next generation of research and evaluation studies in this area? 8. How does the literature identify promising practices including dual language approaches of early learning (birth to grade 3) programs and systems, that are linguistically and culturally responsive to young ELLs and DLLs and their parents/families and promote long-term learning, health, and academic achievement among ELLs and DLLs? K-12 -Focus area This focus area will elucidate instructional practices and systems including dual language approaches that can help ELLs and DLLs attain both new content as well as the newly emerging English language proficiency standards. The Committee will address several questions that both extend issues explored within the Birth to Age 8 focus area, but also examine topics that are developmentally and programmatically unique for ELLs in K-12 settings. Outcomes Consensus Study • Convene expert panel • Appoint approximately 15 experts to serve on the consensus committee • Conduct a synthesis and critical analysis of the literature • Prepare technical and peer review checklist • Communicate and disseminate information As outcomes from its review and consensus findings, the committee will: • Recommend policies and practices that have been proven to enhance early school success, health, and improve educational outcomes for ELLs and DLLs. • Identify gaps in knowledge and develop a conceptual framework to guide future research priority-setting, including priority-setting on data collection and evaluation activities on ELLs and DLLs. • Develop evidence-based resources, derived from the consensus report, for practitioners and policymakers to guide efforts to serve young ELLs and DLLs and their families. Deliverables • Formation of an, independent, multi-disciplinary committee with relevant content knowledge expertise • Project website that contains information about public workshops and background literature • 6 committee workshops/convenings over a course of 24 months • 3 public workshops and two (2) site visits • A background papers to be commissioned by the committee, made publically available • A final consensus report with recommendations for research, policy, and practice • Research briefs (approximately 1000 - 4-6 pages each that highlight key findings and recommendations from the report • A resources toolkit, 2-3 power point presentations, and one (1) video that translate the report material into guidance for teachers, school administrators and other adults who work with ELLs and DLLs and other tools as identified by NAS in consultation with the sponsors, • Report briefing (pre-pub) to key Department of Education representatives 48 hours prior to release of the report • Wide dissemination of the report release, including a public release and/or press event to be determined during the kick-off discussion based on recommendations from ED & HHS Contractors possessing equal capabilities are encouraged to respond in writing no later than August 20th, 2014. All responses should provide at a minimum: 1. Cover Letter/Capabilities Statement illustrating organizations' technical capabilities and expertise, as it relates to the requirements presented in this notice. 2. List of at least 3-5 Past Performance references to include: a. Description of previous work efforts b. Contract number c. Point of contact   Period of Performance: April 30th, 2015 - April 29th, 2017 Estimated Value: $100,000.00 Contracting Office: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration Program Support Center: Strategic Acquisition Service 12501 Ardennes Ave, Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852
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- SN03634194-W 20150207/150205235205-5f6930b3bf372c895f134a20ff6af81a (fbodaily.com)
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