REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS For the Polk Bros. Foundation's Full Service Schools Initiative (Due March 1, 1996)

The Polk Bros. Foundation seeks to make an impact on the physical and psychological well-being of Chicago public school children by providing funds for a total of three schools (either elementary or middle schools) to bring an array of comprehensive programs and services for children and families into their schools, primarily during non-school hours.

The Foundation will provide support for a nine-month planning period during which each school will work with a nonprofit agency in its community to determine the kinds of recreation, education, social service, and health programs most needed and desired by students and families. The school/nonprofit partnership will organize an Oversight Committee composed of additional local service providers, parents, and school personnel who will be responsible for planning and tracking all programming that takes place.

After the planning period, the Polk Bros. Foundation will provide funding for three years of implementation. Each partnership will hire a full-time Resource Coordinator to coordinate the programming that will take place in the school and off-site. The Resource Coordinator will be responsible for referring children and families to those programs, and for ensuring there is continuity between what happens in the classroom and what takes place during non-school hours. Foundation funding will also be available partially to cover the cost of such things as child care during parent meetings, transportation to off-site programs, additional supplies, hiring parents to do outreach, or for running programs when there is not a local agency able to supply them.

The Foundation will engage a consultant to provide training and technical assistance to the partnerships and an outside evaluator who will work with the partnerships to review their efforts and the impact they are having on the physical and psychological well-being of children.

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. In 1994-95, it made grants totaling $7.8 million to organizations working in the city of Chicago. The Foundation's primary focus is direct service programs that work with populations of need, particularly children, in underserved city communities. It makes grants in four areas: the arts, education, health care, and social service. For the last several years the Foundation has provided funding for efforts to reform Chicago's public schools, and it has made grants to scores of agencies that provide programs and services for children and families. The idea of providing support for the coordination of these programs and services so they best meet the needs of children and families, while ensuring that schools are not required to take sole responsibility for the management of the process, is a natural extension of the Foundation's efforts thus far. Goal Research indicates that a child's success in school is profoundly affected by a host of non-school, non-academic factors. The goal of the Polk Bros. Foundation's Full Service School Initiative 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 In order to accomplish the goal of its Full Service Initiative as stated above, the Polk Bros. Foundation has established the following 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 and school staff; specifically, to increase the likelihood that parents feel welcome in the school, that they believe the school is a ready source of help with problems, and that their contribution to their child's education is valued and nurtured by school staff; and,

(4) To create a mutually supportive environment where classroom and social support services work together to enhance student achievement.

Eligibility Chicago public elementary or middle schools that have identified a nonprofit partner in their community to serve as a fiscal agent for the Full Service Schools Initiative are eligible to apply. The nonprofit partner must have received a 501(c)(3) ruling from the Internal Revenue Service. The school and its nonprofit partner must each assign at least one staff person to attend three planning meetings and a minimum of five site visits by Polk Bros. Foundation staff during the nine-month planning period. These individuals will also be responsible for organizing and coordinating an Oversight Committee (composed of local service providers, parents, and school faculty and staff) and for serving as liaisons with the technical assistance provider and evaluator over the course of the initiative. (No funding has been allocated specifically for the salaries of these representatives, although a portion of the funding provided during the planning period could be used for staff compensation.)

Program Awards Each school/nonprofit partnership selected will be eligible to receive a total of up to $310,000 over the course of the Full Service Schools Initiative. Funding will be paid to the nonprofit partner responsible for serving as fiscal agent. Funding will be distributed as follows:

Each partnership will be eligible for up to $25,000 from the Polk Bros. Foundation during the nine-month planning period. It is assumed that a portion of this funding will be used by each partnership toward the end of the planning period to begin paying the salary and benefits of a full-time Resource Coordinator.

Each partnership will be eligible for a maximum of $95,000 a year for three implementation years. Up to $45,000 of this amount is to be used each year for the salary, benefits, and ancillary costs of a full-time Resource Coordinator. An additional $50,000 will be available during each implementation year for programming. We anticipate that partnerships might use this funding for such things as paying for child care during parent meetings, transportation to off-site programs, additional supplies, hiring parents to do outreach, or for running programs when there is not a local agency able to supply them.

Response Deadline Requests for Proposals for the Polk Bros. Foundation Full Service Schools initiative will be mailed January 10, 1995. Proposals (1 original and 1 copy) must be received by the Polk Bros. Foundation, 420 N. Wabash, #204, Chicago, Illinois 60611, by 4:00 P.M. on Friday, March 1, 1996. No late or faxed applications will be accepted. Proposals that arrive after the deadline will be returned. An acknowledgement will be sent upon receipt of an application. Please be sure to keep a copy of the completed application for your records. Announcement of the school/nonprofit partnerships selected will be made Tuesday, April 2, 1996.

Proposer's Conference A pre-proposal information workshop will be held on Wednesday, January 24, 1996 from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. at the Monsignor John J. Egan Urban Center at DePaul University, 243 S. Wabash, Room 9102. Due to space limitations, we request that each school/nonprofit partnership send no more than two persons (preferably one school and one nonprofit representative). Attendance at the workshop is strongly recommended. Please call Julie Baker at 312/527-4684 by 3:00 P.M. Friday, January 19 if you plan to attend.

Distribution of Funds Funds will be sent to each school's nonprofit partner for the planning period beginning in April of 1996. Nonprofit partners must produce detailed quarterly reports specifying how Polk Bros. Foundation funds were spent. Funds for implementation will be awarded beginning in January, 1997 and will continue through December of 1999.

Instructions for Preparation of Proposal To be considered for funding, an organization should submit the application cover sheet attached to this Request (page 5) and a written proposal of no more than 12 pages (plus budget 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. Please remember to submit one original and one copy. Your proposal will be judged on content, not length. We urge you to be clear and concise in your answers.

Questions should be directed to Suzanne Doornbos Kerbow, Associate Director, Polk Bros. Foundation, (312) 527-4684.

 Grant Application Cover Sheet for the POLK BROS. FOUNDATION'S FULL SERVICE SCHOOLS INITIATIVE

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

Name of School:_______________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________________

Phone Number: ___________________________________________________________________

Fax Number: _____________________________________________________________________

1995-96 Enrollment: _____________________________________________________________

Principal: ______________________________________________________________________ Principal's Signature: _______________________________________ Date: _______________

LSC Chair: _______________________________________________________________________

LSC Chair's Signature: _____________________________________ Date: ________________

School's Liaison for the Full Service Schools Initiative: _______________________________

Title: ______________________________ Phone Number: ________________________

Nonprofit Partner: ______________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________ Phone Number: ________________

Executive Director of Nonprofit Partner: _____________________________________________

Executive Director's Signature: _______________________________ Date: __________________

Nonprofit's Liaison for the Full Service Schools Initiative: ____________________________

Title: ______________________________ Phone Number: ________________________

All proposals must be received by 4:00 P.M. on Friday, March 1, 1996.

The Polk Bros. Foundation * 420 N. Wabash, #204 * Chicago, Illinois 60611 * 312/527-4684I. Leadership (20 points)

A. How long has your principal been at your school? What is the rate of staff turnover? What percentage of students leave your school during a given academic year? Please describe any extraordinary circumstances that help to explain higher-than-average staff, LSC, or student turnover/mobility rates. What percentage of students are bused from other neighborhoods?

B. What are the results of the last three years of IGAP and ITBS tests at your school?

C. Briefly describe your efforts of late to improve the academic achievement of students. Do you think they are working? Why or why not?

D. What are the LSC's top priorities? For which programs or services are discretionary funds currently allocated?

E. 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?

F. How do projects like the Foundation's Full Service Schools Initiative fit the mission of the nonprofit partner? Will the nonprofit partner's Board be asked to approve its involvement in the Full Service Schools Initiative?

II. Information and Analysis (20 points)

A. What does your school do to make sure parents are kept up-to-date and 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? Do school staff make home visits? Are community service projects part of the curriculum?

C. Briefly describe the nonprofit partner's history of service to the community. What programs and/or services does it currently 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 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? Do you involve parents? If so, how?

B. How are new programs or initiatives selected by your school? Is there a formal process? How are course corrections made and who is involved in the process? Briefly describe any course corrections that have been made in the past two years.

IV. Human Resources (20 points)

A. What professional development activities take place in your school?

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? What have been your greatest successes? How have you managed the additional time required for such endeavors?

E. What schools has the nonprofit partner worked with in the last five years? Please briefly describe the nature and length of its involvement with each school.

V. Your Concept for Participating in the Polk Bros. Foundation's Full Service Schools Initiative (25 points)

A. Please provide a brief biographical sketch of your school, its strengths and needs, and explain why you have chosen to make application to the Polk Bros. Foundation for its Full Service Schools Initiative.

B. Which school and nonprofit staff will serve as the Full Service Schools liaisons? Why were they chosen? How much time will they be able to allot to the process during the planning period? What are their current duties and how do you envision their additional responsibilities impacting them?

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

D. How do you plan to solicit buy-in from staff and classroom teachers for the Full Service School's Initiative?

E. What role will the Local School Council play in relation to this initiative? Will the LSC need to approve budgetary allocations? What communication systems are in place to inform LSC members of the initiative's progress?

F. Briefly describe the range of activities the partnership envisions undertaking in order to meet the objectives of the Full Service Schools Initiative as listed on page two of the proposal. How would you rank the importance of each objective and why?

G. Do you anticipate any difficulty keeping your building open after school, during the evening, or on weekends? What hours is your building open now?

H. If you have received funding from the Annenberg Foundation or through any of the Board of Education's new program initiatives (e.g., the Social Centers Program, the After School Academies), please describe the amount of your award(s) and how you see integrating those efforts with the Polk Bros. Foundation's Full Service Schools Initiative.

I. Please attach a budget and budget narrative describing how you anticipate spending up to $25,000 in Polk Bros. Foundation funds during the planning period. What do you estimate the total monetary worth of each partner's in-kind contributions to the Initiative to be during the planning period? What percentage of administrative costs does the nonprofit partner expect to charge to the project? What costs are included in that figure?