Request For Proposals: Partnership Analysis for Orleans Parish School Board

GNOF Team • June 5, 2018

The Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) will issue a Request for Proposals in search of assessing how the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) can best engage with community partner organizations to meet the needs of all students.

The Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) serves as a longstanding thought-partner of Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB). The Greater New Orleans Foundation is supportive of bringing all charter schools and charter management organizations under the authority of OPSB.  The Greater New Orleans Foundation convened a community of local education funders to develop a collaborative plan to identify potential paths forward for the school system.  While the Foundation will lead this effort, the OPSB will ultimately have the responsibility to approve and implement any actions recommended by the study.

 The Orleans Parish School Board oversees a unified system of schools serving approximately 45,000 students in PK-12 in New Orleans. The majority of students served, approximately 85%, are students of color, and most students are from families who are economically disadvantaged. Additionally, the system supports a diverse range of learners, including approximately 5% English language learners, 13% students with disabilities, and other groups who require quality supports to thrive and realize their educational potential.

Unlike other districts across the country, OPSB operates as a unique type of local education agency (LEA), managing a system of public charter schools and charter management organizations. As of July 1, 2018, OPSB will be the authorizer of all local public schools serving students in Orleans Parish.

Through past years of reform, various entities including independent local and national non-profits, the OPSB, the state of Louisiana, Recovery School District, and philanthropic partners, have contributed to the definitions of excellence and equity in our system.  In the unified landscape and within this unique, shared governance model, the locally elected board has exciting opportunities to explore how it will lead to ensure the educational needs of all students and families are equitably met. It is already known that OPSB will not centrally administer services or provide direct instruction; instead the majority of student interventions and supports will be managed and resourced at the school level and through engagements with non-profit community partners and for-profit entities.

OPSB and its administration see opportunities to coordinate, convene, and facilitate the engagement of partner organizations and explore innovation in resource management to best meet students’ and families’ needs. Everyone will have a part to play. Local philanthropic partners have collaborated with OPSB to engage support from expert local and national knowledgeable practitioners and consultants to better understand how the OPSB may optimize and leverage its unique position to ensure the needs of all students and families are met through strong partnerships that add resources and capacity to schools.

This project seeks to determine a way to delineate between partners, assess partnership value, and determine the appropriate accountability metric between OPSB and the partner.

Submissions in response to this RFP are due no later than 5:00pm on July 23, 2018. Any submissions
received after this date and time will not be accepted or considered.

All interested Expert Consultants shall have an equal opportunity to submit clarifying questions to the Selection Committee via an online webinar. The Q&A webinar for this RFP was held at 10:30 am CDT, July 9 via ZOOM.

Slide Deck Respondent QA Session – Partnership Analysis For Orleans Parish School Board

Watch the Respondent QA Session Webinar 

Download the Guidelines for OPSB Partnership Study RFP GNOF – June 2018

*RFP Scores will be used as a guideline for the selection process. The highest score does not guarantee selection.