In response to the school's Request for Proposals ("RFP") regarding aftercare and the summary of responses to the aftercare survey that the school provided in the RFP, JED submitted its proposal for aftercare services on March 14, 2011. JED's proposal recognizes that JED's steady growth over the years has created the need to formalize and improve many of its procedures, particularly regarding drop-off and pick-up of the children, and its two-way communication with the Janney parent community. JED's proposal lays the groundwork for making these and other improvements.
June 6, 2011 -- Ms. Lycknell and members of the Aftercare Working Group met with the JED Board and management to discuss JED’s implementation of the remaining items on JED’s action plan. At the meeting, the school presented JED with a letter requiring JED to submit another detailed action plan by July 6, 2011, documenting JED’s further creation of policies and implementation of improvements, consistent with JED’s ongoing action plan. Although the school’s desire for a second round of documentation of improvements came as no surprise, the four weeks’ turnaround was unexpected, and meeting the deadline will be a challenge in light of the unique challenges that the end of the term poses during the renovation of the school building and grounds. Nevertheless, JED management and the JED Board anticipate being able to make time to compile the July 6 plan and documentation, as they work in parallel to plan and make the substantive improvements.

May 31, 2011 -- JED wins aftercare contract for fall semester. This last Friday, the school notified JED that it would "retain the JED program for the fall semester of 2011." This is certainly good news for JED because it means that the school has decided against replacing JED by an outside vendor, at least through the fall semester.

Notably, the school's decision does not extend JED's contract through the entire school year, even though the school had explained previously that its decision this spring would be for next school year. The school's email from last Friday specified:

The award of a contract to JED for the spring semester of 2012 will be conditioned on continued progress in implementing the spring action plan and on the completion of the plan’s previously agreed-upon second phase. That phase includes the development and implementation of changes in areas including organizational structure, programming, staff training and evaluation, homework guidelines, culture and nutrition.

Currently, JED management is still working through its planned improvements to the program, and the Aftercare Working Group has scheduled a meeting for June 6 to discuss the next steps in JED's global plan.

May 8, 2011. Last week, Janney officially approved JED's action plan. This means that JED has cleared the first of the two parts of the school's assessment of JED's response to the RFP issued last February. Under the school's procedure established for its consideration of JED's proposal, the school will now shift to part two, which consists of an assessment, as of May 25, 2011, of whether JED is making adequate progress in implementing JED's action plan. If JED's progress is deemed adequate, the school will award JED the aftercare contract for next year, subject to yearly assessments thereafter. If JED's progress is not deemed adequate, the school will consider third-party proposals for replacing JED.

The public version of JED's action plan is available by clicking on this link:

This list of "deliverables" was written by the school as a supplement to JED's proposal, accepted by JED, and incorporated into JED's action plan, which also includes numerous additional items.

JED has begun working with members of the Aftercare Working Group to schedule visits throughout May in order to show members JED's ongoing work in making these improvements. Both the Working Group and JED aim to use these visits to make the official assessment on May 25 more effective, by making the members more familiar with both the challenges JED faces in making its improvements and the progress JED is making on them.

May 3, 2011. Update on the RFP Process. Early last month, the school provided JED with a list of "deliverables" that the school wanted included in JED's action plan. JED agreed to the list and, explaining that virtually all of the items were already in JED's working plan, formally responded to the school a few days later. The next step in the process is for the school to formally approve JED's action plan.

Last Friday (4/29), the school sent JED the same list of deliverables, asking JED to explain who would be responsible for implementing each item. JED provided the additional information this last Monday (5/2), as requested. JED anticipates the school will formally approve its action plan in the coming days.

If the school does approve JED's action plan, the next step after that will be an assessment, as of May 25, 2011, of whether JED is making adequate progress in implementing the plan. If so, JED will be awarded the contract for next year. If not, the school has indicated it will review responses from third-party providers to the RFP, which it plans to reissue. It remains unclear what the re-issued RFP will say about JED's status or the status of its action plan.

The RFP Process

JED submitted a proposal on March 14, 2011, in response to the Request for Proposals ("RFP") issued by Janney on February 14, 2011. Under the arrangement set up by the school, JED is currently the only entity permitted to submit a proposal; in essence, the school has given JED the chance to win continuation of its contract. Janney will decide soon whether to accept JED's Proposal and, if so, will evaluate JED's progress in carrying out the changes described in the Proposal by late May. The results of this May evaluation will inform the school's decision whether to approve JED for continuation in the 2011-2012 school year. Continuation would mean a year-long contract, as JED currently has, and the school would continue an ongoing evaluation process.

Summary of JED's Proposal

The RFP called for JED to address all areas of its operations, and to submit separate documents, labeled Attachments A thru Q. Technically, the Proposal remains in draft, because JED may modify it in response to questions and comments from the school. For that reason the school has asked JED not to release the Proposal publicly. The Executive Summary provides a general overview of the response:

Executive Summary: This Proposal responds to the Request for Proposals (“RFP”) issued by Janney Elementary School and dated February 14, 2011, for an aftercare and before care program for children who attend Janney Elementary. Janney Extended Day (“JED”) currently rovides these services at Janney Elementary, as it has for many years. As explained herein, JED’s core values align with those of Janney Elementary and JED has numerous strengths in its xisting staff and programs. JED has grown steadily over many years and has recently reached a size where some of its informal practices no longer suit its growing responsibilities. The RFP rovides JED with a strategic opportunity to improve and formalize its policies and procedures, and we believe JED’s proposal addresses the needs and concerns of the Janney Elementary community for its school’s aftercare and before care program.
In short, JED will bolster its professional management, formalize its policies and procedures, and improve its systems for communicating with the Janney Elementary community. Having served the Janney Elementary community exclusively for many years, JED’s core values have grown organically out of the personal commitment of its warm and caring staff and their continuing service to the particular needs and personalities of Janney children.

The Proposal describes several areas where JED aims to improve its operations. JED recently hired a new Assistant Director, Lara Profitt, to coordinate the overhaul of JED's policies and procedures, and help the Executive Director, Glen Sitney, implement the changes in JED's Proposal. Starting with the check-in and check-out procedures, JED management and staff are overhauling the system to improve JED's ability to ensure each child is accounted for at all times. JED's Proposal also sets forth plans for revising the staff training, evaluation process, and job descriptions, including training in the school’s Positive Behavior Incentive System (PBIS) discipline techniques. The Proposal also calls for substantial improvement to JED's outreach program, including better explanations to the Janney community of the changes JED is making, and easier access for the community to provide feedback to JED on how it's doing and how it can improve.

The Proposal also seeks to retain what JED already does well. Specifically, JED aims to retain its emphasis on students’ social development through a balance of organized activities, choice time, and homework help. JED already provides a fun, socially appropriate environment for kids and does not seek to alter its commitment to letting kids be kids. Similarly, JED seeks to retain its existing strength in the warmth and commitment of its staff. Finally, JED will maintain its financial viability while also making its services accessible to parents of all income levels.