Purpose
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Foundation is committed to supporting Northern New Mexico in providing culturally sustaining and highly effective educational opportunities to students. We recognize this will be impossible as long as only 3% of teachers are Native American in a state where eleven percent of students are Native American. Transforming these ratios will require a concerted effort at multiple levels.To this end, the LANL Foundation seeks to understand current projects, initiatives and programs to recruit and retain Native teachers and counselors, as well as opportunities for the LANL Foundation and other funders to collaborate with supporting organizations to improve the capacity, reach and effectiveness of these efforts.
This project will provide a snapshot of the current opportunities available to new and aspiring Native teachers and counselors in the LANL Foundation region. It will also provide an understanding of areas of strength and growth within the educator and counselor recruitment ecosystem in the region, indicating areas where organizations such as the LANL Foundation may have an opportunity to fill gaps or fund existing program expansion.
Scope of Work
The specific objectives of this project are to:
● Identify presently available projects, programs and initiatives within New Mexico that have specific supports for recruiting, preparing, supporting and retaining Native teachers and counselors within New Mexico, with an in-depth focus on those that are within the LANL Foundation region (18 tribes and nations and the counties of Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Miguel, Santa Fe, and Taos); including tribal organizations, New Mexico Public Education Department, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, higher-education institutions, and other government or non-government entities including, but not limited to: Tribal Education Departments, Cooperative Educational Services (CES), school districts, NACA Inspired Schools Network (NISN), Teach for America, New Mexico’s colleges and universities, and the Bureau of Indian Education.
● Provide details of each program, project and initiative; including descriptions, past and intended participants, dates of application if applicable, areas of focus, data regarding efficacy and outcomes, curriculum and pedagogy etc.
● Identify strengths, areas of growth, and recommendations to improve the capacity, reach and effectiveness of efforts to recruit, prepare, support and retain Native teachers and counselors in Northern New Mexico that is informed by quantitative and qualitative data through interviews, focus groups, and/or surveys from:
o Current Native teachers and counselors to identify types of training and support they think would be most effective in recruiting and retaining Native educators and counselors; including a sample of previous participants of each program highlighted to understand areas of expertise and opportunity for each respective program, as well as what they gained from participating.
o Current Native pre-service teachers and counselors to identify support needs that are being met and that they have, and to learn what drew them into teaching and what supports they had.
o Leaders of each organization offering support for recruiting and retaining Native teachers to understand areas of expertise and opportunity for each respective program.
o Current participants of each program highlighted to understand areas of expertise and opportunity for each respective program, as well as what they gained from participating.
● Identify and provide a literature review and summary of local, national and international programs, projects and initiatives that have a proven track record and/or research base for recruiting and/or retaining Native teachers and counselors. The summary should focus on practices, guiding principles, and funding that can inform programs and initiatives in NM.
Deliverables
The consultant will complete the following deliverables to accomplish the purpose and
objectives outlined above:
- Work with LANL Foundation staff to establish a schedule of meetings with identified organizations and programs appropriately aligned with the project timeline.
- Meet bi-weekly with LANL Foundation staff to provide updates on the project and problem solve process related questions.
- Provide a final work plan and schedule to LANL Foundation staff that includes approaches to research methods and analysis to learn from Native teachers and pre-service teachers, counselors, program representatives and participants, and others as is appropriately aligned with the project timeline and goals. The plan should also include the researcher’s plan to ensure informed consent of all participants in the study. The schedule should include making interview protocols and surveys available to LANL Foundation staff to provide edits.
- Provide summary notes from all meetings that are used to collect data.
- Provide data collected from surveys and any transcripts that are generated from focus groups or other data collection methods.
- Complete a detailed, public ready research report that addresses the objectives listed above. The report should include the literature review, methods, analysis and findings.
- Provide a minimum of two weeks for LANL Foundation staff to review a draft of the report to provide edits, revisions, and questions before final submission.
Project Timeline: 3 months depending on contracting plan
Compensation: $30,0000
Proposal Evaluation Criteria (100 Total Possible Points)
Native Owned and Operated – 15 Possible Points
Indicators:
- Contractor is a Native American sole-proprietor or a company that is majority Native American-owned and whose senior executive is Native American.
Technical capability – 45 possible points
Indicators: Demonstrated qualifications and experience necessary to complete the project, including:
- Demonstrated experience and applied knowledge of K-12 education and Native education trends in New Mexico;
- Familiarity and experience working with the full diversity of New Mexico’s communities, including Tribal nations and Native communities;
- Strong organizing and facilitation skills;
- Demonstrated qualitative and quantitative research skills and knowledge;
- Three (3) professional references provided and;
- Two (2) writing samples provided reflective of the work described in this scope of work.
Scope of Work – 40 possible points
Indicators:
- The proposal evidences a clear work plan to accomplish the scope of work’s objectives and deliverables;
- Timeline for project implementation and milestones are identified and reasonable.
Contact
Please email proposals and/or direct any questions to: Michael Dabrieo, Education Enrichment Director, LANL Foundation
Michael@lanlfoundation.org OR (505) 901-3413
All proposals must be received by May 31st, 2023.