I. Background

The Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh (CK:P) project is one of four network testbeds funded by the National Science Foundation. CK:P represents a collaborative effort among the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. Its charge is to investigate changes in the teaching environment of the Pittsburgh Public Schools as a result of introducing Internet technologies into classrooms. The CK:P project is based on five goals:

• Teaching Environment: The network shall enhance the teaching environment for all teachers in the Pittsburgh Public Schools by expanding the personal contacts and information resources available to these teachers.



• Curriculum Development: The network shall be available to serve the development of curricular activities of the Pittsburgh Public Schools in all subject areas and at all grade levels.



• Access to Information: The network shall provide information services not currently available to the Pittsburgh school system.



• School Restructuring: The network shall serve as a tool in the restructuring efforts of the Pittsburgh Public Schools.



• A National Model: The network and its associated curricular activities shall serve as a national model for the implementation of wide area networks in the K12 environment.

Presently, there are over 3000 staff, 1500 students and 20 school sites that receive Internet access and support from Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh.

	Elementary Schools	Middle Schools		High Schools  
	East Hills		Allegheny		Allderdice	
	Fulton			Frick			CAPA		
	Liberty			Knoxville		Carrick		
	McCleary		Schiller		Langley	
	Phillips					Letsche
	Spring Hill					Peabody	
	Woolslair 					Perry
							Schenley
							Westinghouse

These school sites were chosen through a competitive process. Each CK:P site has a specific curriculum project that uses the Internet as a resource and a hardware configuration that is unique to that particular building and project.

II. The 1997 Request For Proposal - Guidelines

Only non-CK:P sites can respond to this RFP.

CK:P will fund nine school sites this year. There are two primary goals for this year's RFP:

1) Build on, and learn from the curricular and instructional successes of existing CK:P sites.

2) Create a Wired Community which reaches out to a school's extended family - parent groups, neighborhood organizations, and schools in the same feeder pattern - and suggests that Internet resources can be used to bridge the gap between school and community.

During the past four years, CK:P sites developed appropriate use policies, curricular applications, pedagogical techniques, and assessments pertaining to Internet use. They've demonstrated that appropriate use of the Internet leads to powerful learning and professional development opportunities. Teams responding to the 1997 RFP should discuss their proposal with staff at existing CK:P sites. They should demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues pertaining to implementing network technologies in schools and incorporate into their proposals the successful strategies from CK:P sites.

In order to promote the concept of the Wired Community, proposals should be submitted by a team which represents a partnership between a school and its community members. Team partners may include a library, non-profit center, religious organization, school, parent organization or business that has a stake in the education of children. Proposals should articulate how schools will provide access to students, parents, and their community partners.

The proposals will be reviewed by a committee of teachers, administrators, board members, parents, students and community representatives. The review committee will make its selections based on the strength of the curriculum project being proposed, the commitment of the project team, and the effort described to open school resources to the community.

III. Timeline for the RFP

January 27, 1997	RFP Mailed Out
February 12, 1997	RFP Planning Conference Peabody High School (4:00 - 6:00)
January 24 - March 14, 1997	Proposal Writing, Visit Existing Sites
March 14, 1997	Proposals Due - Peabody H.S. Rm. 134
April 30, 1997	Fifth Year Sites Announced
May 30, 1997	Wiring Designs Finalized
July 1, 1997	Equipment Ordered
January 1, 1998	Full Implementation

IV. Proposal Writing Criteria

Problem Statement (10%)

Lack of existing technology is a common problem, but is not a compelling argument for funding. The proposal must address a problem that is measured in human or academic terms and addresses the needs of PPS students, teachers and the communities they live in. It should be consistent with the theme of this RFP - building on past successes and creating a Wired Community.

• Describe a specific problem that your proposal will address.

Educational Activity (30%)

Successful Internet projects at CK:P sites create environments that allow students, teachers, parents, community members and support staff to become partners in the learning process. These schools pay attention to how the project fits into existing curriculum, classroom management, acceptable use policies, and human support. They also consider ways to expand learning opportunities beyond the classroom and the school day.

• Describe a focused educational activity and the necessary structures to support it.
• Explain how the specific educational activities take advantage of network resources.
• Integrate the proposal with the school's Comprehensive Educational Improvement Plan.
• Discuss how traditional barriers such as scheduling, tracking, time constraints, school/community divisions and teacher-centered models of instruction will be overcome.

Project Team (30%)

Ownership and accountability are keys to success. Creating a team that can design, implement and manage the proposed project is critical. Teams can include teachers, administrators and individuals from community centers, feeder schools, libraries, religious organizations, and private companies. Proposals written by groups, that actually use the Internet and work with students, increase the probability of success.

• Provide evidence that the team has the support of the school administration, teachers in the building, parents and community stakeholders.
• Demonstrate that the project team will be the group that implements the project.
• Describe the team members and discuss each person's responsibilities.
• Include a letter from each team member that describes his or her motivation, goals and responsibilities for the activity. (Submit as Appendix A.)

• Designate a site coordinator to act as the liaison between the school, community and CK:P.
• Present the team's vision of the activity. Include participants' commitment to the proposal as exemplified by their willingness to modify classroom interactions, learn and implement new technologies and work collaboratively with partners.
• Demonstrate that the proposal is not the work of one individual.

• Describe the model you would like to use for training team members.

• Describe how the project will be managed.

In-Kind Contribution (20%)

In order to sustain the project over the long term, teams must be willing to develop on-site experts to support, train, and coordinate the activity.

• The proposal should articulate how the school and its community partners will share resources, restructure staffing and adjust schedules to accommodate the proposed project.
• Teams should demonstrate that they consulted with staff at existing CK:P sites and that they understand the time and resources required from teachers, administration and community members to implement the proposed activity.
• Schools interested in writing a proposal must be willing to contribute time for a Useradmin to support the project. This person's responsibility will be to help support the effort technically at the local site. The useradmin can be a teacher, administrator, or technical assistant that has time, during the school day, to commit to this activity.
• Towards developing a Wired Community, schools may choose to collaborate with a number of community organizations. These organizations may be able to contribute support personnel during school hours or to keep network facilities open after school and on the weekends.

Implementation and Evaluation (10%)

Teams must provide a plan for project evaluation.

• Articulate the steps that will be followed to implement the project.
• Provide a timeline for implementation.
• Provide a list of who is accountable for what.
• Provide a clear description of what your project will look like if it succeeds.
• Provide a clear explanation of what your Wired Community will look like.

V. Proposal Writing Guidelines

Each proposal will be read and scored by a Review Committee following the Guidelines and Criteria. The maximum score is 100 points (the score for each section is indicated in parentheses.) A description of the proposed review committee is found at the end of this document. The committee will select nine proposals to fund for the 1997-98 school year.

Proposals must not exceed 10 pages, double spaced, with one inch margins.

The minimum type acceptable is Times Roman - 11 point.

The Cover Page, Executive Summary and Appendices are not part of the 10 page limit.

Include team members' letters of interest and involvement as Appendix A.

Each team must submit 30 copies of its proposal.

VI. Help With Proposal Writing

The CK:P Education staff is not part of the Review Committee, therefore we are available to help teams develop project ideas and explore the Internet.

The CK:P staff can demonstrate the network at your school, provide workshops for your team at the Beta Site - Peabody High School, Room 134 - or work individually with team members.

Teams should consult with the many Internet experts in the school district. The names and phone numbers of site coordinators at CK:P sites are included in this packet.

The winning proposals from Year Two, Three and Four are online at:

/projects/ckp/curriculum/curriculum.html#action

There will be an RFP Planning Conference on Wednesday, February 12 at 4:00 in the Peabody High School Library. The planning conference will be an opportunity to ask questions, review the RFP and get ideas on how to proceed. Please call (665-2230) if you plan to attend.

School teams can also visit the CK:P Beta Site at Peabody High School during our weekly "Come Visit" sessions. CK:P staff will be available during these sessions for training or consultation. Please call or send email [info.pps.pgh.pa.us] to let us know you are coming. If other times would be more convenient, call (665-2230) and we can make other arrangements. The following Come Visit sessions are scheduled:

Wednesday, February 19, 1996 3:00 - 5:00

Wednesday, February 26, 1996 3:00 - 5:00

Wednesday, March 5, 1996 3:00 - 5:00

VII. Equipment and Support

Each site selected will receive approximately $75,000 worth of equipment.

	To Be Named		Administrative Assistant to Supervising Principals
	To Be Named		Elementary School Teacher
	To Be Named		Middle School Teacher
	To Be Named		High School Teacher
	To Be Named		Principal
	Dan Iddings		Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh	
	Betty Hughes		Pittsburgh Council and Partners in Education
	Chris Shea		Pittsburgh Housing Authority
	Jerry Balbier		Heinz Foundation
	Leslie Horne		Investing Now
	Representative		Parent Groups - East
	Representative		Parent Groups - North/West
	Representative		Parent Groups - East/Central
	Representative		Parent Groups - South
	Student			Carrick H.S.
	Student 		Westinghouse H.S.
	Student 		Schenley H.S.
	Student 		CAPA H.S.
	To Be Named		Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers	
	To Be Named		PPS Board Member
	To Be Named		PPS Board Member
	To Be Named		Division of Computer and Technology Services
	Janet Schofield		LRDC, University of Pittsburgh
	Bob Carlitz			University of Pittsburgh
	Chris Rapier			Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center