COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

In August 1999, the Chicago Public Schools and the Polk Bros. Foundation announced their commitment to support three additional partnerships between Chicago public schools and nonprofit organizations to provide programs for children and parents after the regular school day. The primary funding for the Chicago Public Schools/Polk Bros. Foundation's Comprehensive Community Schools program will come from the Chicago Public Schools. The Polk Bros. Foundation will provide matching funds for operating expenses, and has engaged both the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and participants in the Full Service Schools Initiative to assist the new partnerships. The school/nonprofit partnerships participating in the Comprehensive Community Schools program are: Joseph Brenneman Elementary School and Organization of the NorthEast (Marsha Davis, Principal) (Sarah Jane Knoy, Exec. Dir.) Little Village Academy and Alivio Medical Center (Fredric Arana, Principal) (Carmen Velasquez, Exec. Dir.) Burnham/Anthony Inclusive Academy and Youth Guidance (JoAnne S. Gray, Principal) (Nancy Johnstone, Exec. Dir.)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
For the Chicago Public Schools / Polk Bros. Foundation's Comprehensive Community Schools Program (Due May 10, 1999)

Background The Polk Bros. Foundation was established by members of the Polk family who owned and operated the Polk Bros. chain of retail appliance and furniture stores. The Foundation is currently the sixth largest foundation in Chicago, and in 1997-98 it made grants totaling $12.3 million to nonprofit organizations located in Chicago that provide services for persons in need, particularly children, in under-served communities. For the last several years the Foundation has provided funding for efforts to reform Chicago's public schools. The Full Service Schools Initiative the Foundation launched in the Spring of 1996 grew out of its experience supporting nonprofit organizations and school reform efforts. At the end of 1999, it will have provided support for three and a half years to three school/nonprofit partnerships (Brentano Math and Science Academy/Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Riis Elementary/Youth Guidance, and Marquette Elementary/Metropolitan Family Services) to enable them to increase parent involvement and offer programming for children and families after school, in the evenings, and on Saturdays.

The Chicago Public Schools has a history of providing funding for specialized activities, which primarily focus on expanding student and academic achievement. A number of programs supplement after-school activities such as tutoring with recreation, social services, health care, community programs, and increased activities for parents. An exceptionally broad range of options is currently available, including social centers, lighted schoolhouse programs, academic support, tutoring, summer bridge programs, meal service, programs for parents, health care programs, and drop-out prevention efforts. Family-school relationships have been strengthened as parents have become involved in Local School Councils, Federal Chapter One Committees, Parent Teacher Associations, parent resource centers, friends of special education activities, multi-lingual/multi-cultural parent committees, and a variety of other parent support programs. The Chicago Public Schools / Polk Bros. Foundation's Comprehensive Community Schools program will help schools provide important opportunities for children, parents, community members, and school personnel to work together and help to ensure that all programming offered at the school is well-integrated and supports the school's academic program.

Goal The goal of the Chicago Public Schools / Polk Bros. Foundation's Comprehensive Community Schools program is to improve the physical and psychological well-being of children in three elementary or middle schools in order to make a positive impact on their school-related behavior and academic achievement.

Objectives (1) To improve the access of children and families to recreation, education, social service, and health programs by developing an integrated and coordinated service delivery mechanism at each school; (2) To involve school faculty and staff, students, parents, community and nonprofit representatives in deciding which programs and services will take place in the school building or close by, and in monitoring their success so that each takes ownership of the process; (3) To improve the relationship between parents, teachers, and school personnel so that teachers feel supported by parents and parents strengthen leadership skills, feel welcome in the school, consider the school a ready source of help with problems, and believe that their contribution to their child's education is valued and nurtured; and, (4) To create a mutually supportive environment where classroom and social support services work together to enhance student achievement.

Definition of Roles and Responsibilities The following description of the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders involved in Comprehensive Community Schools are drawn from the experience of the three school/nonprofit partnerships currently involved in the Polk Bros. Foundation's Full Service Schools Initiative.

The school's Principal must take the lead in ensuring that members of the Oversight Committee, LSC, parents, and school personnel share a common vision for improving student achievement by bringing support services into the school that meet the needs of families and strengthen the relationship between parents and school personnel. S/he must be an active participant in the Oversight Committee and regularly communicate the importance of becoming a Comprehensive Community School with school personnel, parents, and the community.

The Oversight Committee is composed of school faculty and staff, parents, community and nonprofit representatives. It conducts a needs assessment and recommends a Resource Coordinator to the principal. It sets policy and, once programming begins, meets regularly to ensure that identified needs are being addressed and that high quality programs are offered during non-school hours and support the school's academic program.

Staff of the Nonprofit Partner bring a social service perspective and sensitivity to the school. By sharing their experiences working with families, they help teachers and school staff develop important insights and skills. Together with other members of the Oversight Committee, they help ensure that parents, community members, and school personnel remain engaged in a common purpose. Staff of the nonprofit partner provide important guidance to the Resource Coordinator and help him/her identify and secure services from other nonprofits.

The Resource Coordinator secures programs to be offered in the school; works with teachers to refer children and families to those programs; serves as a bridge between families, school staff and teachers, and social service providers; coordinates the programming that takes place in the school; and provides information to the Oversight Committee to ensure that what takes place during non-school hours supports what happens in the classroom.

The school's Principal designates a Liaison from the school to work with a Liaison from nonprofit partner to supervise the Resource Coordinator and to meet as needed with the Technical Assistance Provider and funders.

The Technical Assistance Provider (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory) meets regularly with members of each partnership, organizes joint training sessions, and facilitates meetings between the partnerships selected for the Chicago Public Schools / Polk Bros. Foundation's Comprehensive Community Schools program and the Polk Bros. Foundation's Full Service Schools Initiative partnerships. N.C.R.E.L. staff will help each new partnership identify a set of desired outcomes and determine how and by whom progress will be measured.

Eligibility The nonprofit organization each school selects as its partner must have received a 501(c)(3) ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, and should be a social service or community development organization that has relationships in the school's community and sufficient resources to allocate staff time to the program.

Program Awards Each school/nonprofit partnership selected will be eligible to receive up to $55,000. The Chicago Public Schools will provide up to $50,000 per school/community partnership to cover the salary and benefits of a full-time Resource Coordinator ($40,000) and to compensate the nonprofit partner for its involvement ($10,000).

Each school must agree to allocate at least $10,000 for items such security, janitorial services, child care during parent meetings and GED/ESL classes, transportation to off-site programs, office supplies, food, student, teacher, and parent stipends, and to "buy" one or two small programs. Once each school has incurred operational expenses of $10,000, the Polk Bros. Foundation will match each school's next expenditures dollar for dollar up to $5,000.

The Polk Bros. Foundation will contract with and oversee the technical assistance provided to each partnership by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and compensate its Full Service Schools Initiative partnerships to mentor partnerships selected for the Comprehensive Community Schools program.

Instructions for Preparation of Proposal To be considered for funding, a school should submit the application cover sheet attached to this Request for Proposals (page six) and a written proposal of no more than 12 pages that answers all of the questions posed in the following section in the order in which they are presented. Proposals should be typed, single-spaced, on 8 1/2" x 11" paper.

Proposal Review Process Proposals will be read and scored according to the point system delineated in the application form (pages seven and eight) by a group including staff of the Chicago Public Schools and Polk Bros. Foundation, members of the Polk Bros. Foundation's Full Service Schools Initiative partnerships, and staff of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

Response Deadline Requests for Proposals for the Chicago Public Schools / Polk Bros. Foundation's Comprehensive Community Schools program will be mailed February 17, 1999. Proposals (1 original and 2 copies) must be received by the office of Dr. Carlos Azcoitia, Deputy Chief Education Officer, Chicago Public Schools, 125 S. Clark - 5th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603, by 4:00 P.M. on Friday, April 9, 1999. No late or faxed applications will be accepted. Proposals that arrive after the deadline will be returned. An acknowledgment will be sent upon receipt of an application. Please be sure to keep a copy of the completed application for your records. The school/ nonprofit partnerships selected will be announced April 26, 1999.

Questions relating to the content of this RFP should be directed to Suzanne Doornbos Kerbow, Associate Director, the Polk Bros. Foundation, (312) 527-4684. Questions relating to eligibility, grant award, or proposal process should be directed to Dr. Carlos Azcoitia, Deputy Chief Education Officer, Chicago Public Schools, (773) 553-1520.

Grant Application Cover Sheet for the CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS / POLK BROS. FOUNDATION'S COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PROGRAM

(Please attach completed sheet or a computer-generated sheet in the same format to your application.)

Name of School:_______________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________; Region______________

Phone Number: ________________________; Fax Number ___________________________

Principal: ____________________________________________________________________ Principal's Signature: _______________________________________ Date: _____________

L.S.C. Chairperson: ___________________________________________________________

L.S.C. Chair's Signature: _________________________________ Date:_________________

Name and Title of the School's Liaison to the Comprehensive Community Schools Program:____________________________________________________________________

Nonprofit Partner:_____________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________ Phone Number: ________________

Executive Director:____________________________________________________________

Executive Director's Signature: _____________________________ Date:_______________

Name and Title of the Nonprofit's Liaison to the Comprehensive Community Schools Program:______________________________________________________________________________ All proposals must be received by 4:00 P.M. on May 10, 1999.

Please send to: Dr. Carlos Azcoitia, Chicago Public Schools * 125 S. Clark St., 5th Floor * Chicago, 60603 I. Leadership (20 points) A. How long has your principal been at your school? What is the rate of staff turnover? Please describe any extraordinary circumstances that help to explain higher-than-average staff, LSC, or student turnover rates. What percentage of students are bused from other neighborhoods?

B. What are the LSC's top priorities? What is the LSC's strategy for allocating discretionary funds? For which programs or services are discretionary funds currently allocated?

C. Briefly describe strategies your principal currently employs to build collaborative efforts involving teachers, school staff, parents, and community members.

D. What is your school doing to develop parent leaders? What experience does the nonprofit partner have in organizing parents to become more involved in their local schools?

E. How do projects like the Comprehensive Community Schools program fit the mission of the nonprofit partner?

II. Information and Analysis (20 points) A. What does your school do to make sure parents are given an opportunity to provide input? How many parents are in your school on an average day and for what purposes?

B. How involved is your school with its surrounding community? Do representatives from the school attend meetings of community organizations? Which ones and why?

C. Briefly describe the nonprofit partner's history of service to the community. What programs and/or services does it offer? How involved is it with the community surrounding the school? Do representatives from the agency attend meetings of other community groups in the area? Which ones and why?

D. What were the actual expenses of the nonprofit partner during its last completed fiscal year? Please include its most recent audited financial statement or tax return and a copy of the agency's approved budget (both revenue and expense projections) for its current fiscal year.

III. Planning (15 points) A. Briefly describe your process for preparing your School Improvement Plan. Who is involved in developing the plan and what is their role? How are parents involved?

B. How are new programs or initiatives selected by your school? Is there a formal process? What program(s) would you reject and why?

IV. Human Resources (20 points) A. What professional development activities take place in your school? Who determines what will be offered and what criteria are used? Do you have teacher-led professional development workshops? If no, why not? If yes, how often are they offered, what happens during the meetings, and what impact have they had on the school as a whole? B. Describe how the non-academic needs of students are currently being met. Is there a process in place to address their issues? How are students referred?

C. What nonprofit, for-profit, or government agencies has your school worked with in the last two years? Briefly describe the nature and length of each organization's work with your school, including the number of students or parents involved.

D. What have been your biggest challenges working with the outside resources listed above? Your greatest successes? How have you managed the additional time required for such endeavors?

V. Your Concept for Becoming a Comprehensive Community School (25 points) A. Please provide a copy of your most recent School Report Card.

B. Why you have chosen to apply for Comprehensive Community Schools funding?

C. Which school and nonprofit staff will serve as liaisons to the Comprehensive Community Schools program? Why were they chosen? How much time will they be able to allot to the process on a weekly basis? What are their current duties and how do you envision the additional responsibilities impacting them?

D. Which additional school faculty and/or staff will represent the school at training meetings? What are their current responsibilities and why were they selected?

E. How will you select your Resource Coordinator? Do you already have someone in mind? If so, describe that person and why you think s/he would be effective.

F. How do you plan to solicit buy-in from parents and classroom teachers for the Comprehensive Community Schools program?

G. What role will the Local School Council play in relation to this program?

H. What role will the principal play? What do you expect will be her/his most important responsibilities? What will be her/his greatest challenges?

I. Briefly describe the range of activities the partnership envisions undertaking in order to meet the objectives of the Comprehensive Community Schools program as listed on page three of the proposal. How would you rank the importance of each objective and why?

J. How do you anticipate handling the need for additional security and janitorial services required to offer programs during evenings and on Saturday?

K. If you have received funding from the Chicago Annenberg Challenge or through any of the CPS's initiatives that support after-school programming (i.e., Social Center, Lighted School House), please describe what is offered and how you envision integrating those efforts with new programming secured through the Comprehensive Community Schools program.