RFP- Classroom Libraries

The BCS Board of Education, Martinsburg, WV will receive sealed bids for Classroom Libraries that will enable the district to build state-of-the-art Classroom Libraries that are filled with awe- inspiring, spine-tingling, mind-bending books that deeply engage students, strengthen reading and thinking skills, and inspire kids to become lifelong readers. This is a big investment; however, based on research it is a wise decision. The district’s SMART Goals states by June 2026, 100% of students will be on grade level or make more than one year’s worth of growth in reading as measured by both formative and summative assessments. Investing in classroom libraries will support growth in reading which is directly aligned to the BCS strategic plan. There are few decisions that will have more payoff than the decision to give students access to high- quality and high-interest fiction and nonfiction text. Every student deserves the opportunity to receive rich literacy instruction. We ensure this

occurs for every BCS student through the implementation of a workshop model grounded in evidence-based practices, differentiation, and critical thinking. Through these learning experiences, we also foster a love of reading for all students. In order for students to benefit from the workshop model, they need long stretches of time to read texts that are high interest, accessible, self-selected, and increasingly complex. The BCS Literacy Model articulates the need to set aside time for all students to engage in independent reading. Through these reading experiences, students have opportunities to respond to text and build their knowledge-base and vocabulary. Classroom libraries enhance our instructional framework by providing access, volume, and choice which are three key components to building a love of reading but creating lifelong readers. Reading Engagement = Academic Success In a recent global study sponsored by the International Literacy Association, researchers investigated the relationship between students’ reading engagement and their academic success, as measured by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam, and also by grade point averages. The PISA exam measures an extremely high level of literacy. These higher order thinking skills, in addition to critical and analytical reading, are the skills that we want to ensure for all of our students. This ILA study found that “attitude toward reading, frequency of leisure reading, and diversity of reading materials” were critical variables in not just reading achievement, but also overall academic achievement as measured by grade point averages (Brozo, Shiel, and Topping 2011, 311). What was fascinating about this study is how reading for pleasure mitigated benefits and disadvantages of income. “Youth from the lowest socioeconomic status (SES) who were highly engaged readers performed as well on the assessments as highly engaged youth from the middle SES group” (308). Further, the ILA study asserts that “keeping students engaged in reading and learning might make it possible for them to overcome what might otherwise be insuperable barriers to academic success” (308). Readers Are Learners Guthrie and Wigfield (2000) reinforce the importance of students reading fiction and nonfiction for pleasure, showing that the amount of knowledge students gain from this kind of reading has a tremendous effect on all of their academic achievement. Their study demonstrated that, “as students become engaged readers, they provide themselves with self-generated learning opportunities that are equivalent to several years of education” (404). Engagement in reading, according to Guthrie and Wigfield, “may substantially compensate for low family income and poor educational background” (404). It makes sense. The more kids read, the more they know. The more they know, the more background knowledge they bring to their studies. The more they engage in content studies, the more they want to extend their reading. Choice and Volume Matter Understanding the enormous impact that reading engagement has on academic success leads to the question of how to improve that engagement. Classroom libraries that offer a wide range of book choice can have a significant impact on improving reading motivation. As Richard Allington puts it, “students read more, understand more, and are more likely to continue reading when they have the opportunity to choose what they read” (2012a, 10). Allington points to a meta-analysis by Guthrie and Humenick, which found that the two most powerful factors for “increasing reading motivation and comprehension were (1) student access to many books and (2) personal choice of what to read” (Allington 2012a; Guthrie and Humenick 2004). Another recent study has shown that children’s favorite books are the ones they choose on their own. The students (ages six to seventeen) in this study tended to finish reading the books they chose through to the end (Kids & Family Reading Report by Scholastic Inc. and YouGov [2014]). When you look at the books included in these classroom libraries, there is clearly a strong emphasis on engagement and quality. Teaching readers strategies is ineffective unless they actually choose to read. As the National Reading Panel states, “the importance of reading as an avenue to improved reading has been stressed by theorists, researchers, and practitioners alike, no matter what their perspectives. There are few ideas more widely accepted than that reading is learned through reading” (2000). Below Benchmark Libraries Below level benchmark libraries supply books for kids reading dramatically below benchmark. These books must be both enticing and accessible for those readers. The only way to get better at reading is to read. These students need access to books they find engaging and are of high interest. It is vital that they see themselves as readers. Success equals success. This will ensure we are closing the achievement and opportunity gap and meeting our goal to ensure at least one year’s worth of growth as well as creating lifelong readers The purchase of classroom libraries will ensure that every student has access to high-quality texts that: • Align with the content curriculum for each grade level • Provide students with opportunities to see themselves in texts and explore and understand other cultures including texts with a range of personal, social, and cultural identities • Include a balance of fiction and nonfiction texts and a wide variety of genres including realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction, biography and autobiography, stories, classics, myths and legends, picture books, reference, poetry, comic books and graphic novels, and more • Are focused on relevant and engaging topics • Provide a continuum of levels while considering meaningfulness and text complexity and not relying solely on levels to provide students with independent reading options • Serve multiple purposes for both students and teachers and must contain high interest fiction, merit close interpretative reading, rich thematic analysis and address social issues • Are leveled with great precision using the Fountas and Pinnell leveling system as the standard for the work • Title recommendations from more than 800 educators and librarians • Nearly 12 months of meticulous curation and must align with the Lucy Calkins Units of Reading Study • Over 30,000 titles meticulously reviewed and evaluated • Books from a minimum 80 different publishers including but not limited to Rigby PM Plus • Hundreds of hours of consultation from the world’s leading experts in literacy and children’s literature • State-of-the-art grade-level libraries (on level and below benchmark), All Classroom Libraries must contain the minimum number of titles and books shown below. Kindergarten Classroom Library Kindergarten Level A 80 Titles 80 Books Level B 110 Titles 110 Books Level C 114 Titles 114 Books Level D 102 Titles 102 Books Level E 88 Titles 88 Books Level F 55 Titles 55 Books Concept Books 18 Titles 18 Books Emergent Story books 9 Titles 54 Books Read-Aloud 22 Titles 22 Books Shared Reading 15 Titles 60 Books Plus Poetry Grade 1 Classroom Library First Grade Level C 49 Titles 49 Books Level D 74 Titles 74 Books Level E 75 Titles 75 Books Level F 72 Titles 72 Books Level G 57 Titles 57 Books Level H 68 Titles 68 Books Level I 61 Titles 61 Books Level J 31 Titles 31 Books Level K 23 Titles 23 Books Level L 32 Titles 32 Books Series Books 53 Titles 64 Books Read-Aloud 23 Titles 23 Books Shared Reading 14 Titles 56 Books Plus Poetry Grade 1 – Classroom Library Below Benchmark First Grade Level A 16 Titles 16 Books Level B 28 Titles 28 Books Level C 68 Titles 68 Books Level D 63 Titles 63 Books Level E 76 Titles 76 Books Level F 72 Titles 72 Books Level G 68 Titles 68 Books Level H 61 Titles 61 Books Level I 81 Titles 81 Books Level J 27 Titles 27 Books Series Books 15 Titles 15 Books Read-Aloud 22 Titles 22 Books Shared Reading 12 Titles 48 Books Plus Poetry Grade 2 Classroom Library Second Grade Level G 49 Titles 149 Books Level H 58 Titles 58 Books Level I 38 Titles 38 Books Level J 36 Titles 36 Books Level K 44 Titles 44 Books Level L 52 Titles 52 Books Level M 47 Titles 47 Books Level N 167 Titles 167 Books Series Books (Levels I-N) 136 Titles 167 Books Series Clubs Books (Levels J-L) 24 Titles 29 Books Read-Aloud 23 Titles 23 Books Shared Reading 9 Titles 36 Books Plus Poetry Grade 2 – Classroom Library Below Benchmark First Grade Level C 52 Titles 52 Books Level D 58 Titles 58 Books Level E 75 Titles 75 Books Level F 86 Titles 86 Books Level G 75 Titles 75 Books Level H 81 Titles 81 Books Level I 50 Titles 50 Books Level J 38 Titles 38 Books Series Books 22 Titles 27 Books Series Club Books 19 Titles 23 Books Read-Aloud 23 Titles 23 Books Shared Reading 10 Titles 40 Books Plus Poetry Grade 3 - Classroom Library Third Grade Animal 60 Titles 60 Books Biography 46 Titles 46 Books High-Interest 175 Titles 175 Books High-Interest Nonfiction 96 Titles 96 Books Mystery 67 Titles 81 Books Picture Book 20 Titles 20 Books Poetry 11 Titles 11 Books Grade 3 Classroom Library Below Benchmark Third Grade Animal 63 Titles 63 Books Biography 27 Titles 27 Books High-Interest 182 Titles 182 Books High-Interest Nonfiction 91 Titles 91 Books Mystery 52 Titles 60 Books Picture Book 20 Titles 20 Books Poetry 10 Titles 10 Books Far-Below Benchmark 98 Titles 98 Books Grade 4 Classroom Library Fourth Grade Animal 57 Titles 57 Books Biography 51 Titles 51 Books Fantasy/Science Fiction 99 Titles 99 Books High-Interest 212 Titles 212 Books Historical Fiction 46 Title 46 Books High-Interest Nonfiction 139 Titles 139 Books Mystery 30 Titles 30 Books Picture Book 20 Titles 20 Books Poetry 10 Titles 10 Books Grade 4 Classroom Library Below Benchmark Third Grade Animal 61 Titles 61 Books Biography 41 Titles 41 Books Fantasy/Science Fiction 84 Titles 84 Books High-Interest 229 Titles 229 Books Historical Fiction 25 Titles 25 Books High-Interest Nonfiction 110 Titles 110 Books Mystery 31 Titles 31 Books Picture Book 20 Titles 20 Books Poetry 10 Titles 10 Books Grade 5 Classroom Library Fifth Grade Animal 61 Titles 61 Books Biography 53 Titles 53 Books Fantasy/Science Fiction 105 Titles 105 Books High-Interest 190 Titles 190 Books Historical Fiction 51 Title 51 Books High-Interest Nonfiction 105 Titles 105 Books Mystery 24 Titles 24 Books Picture Book 20 Titles 20 Books Poetry 11 Titles 11 Books Grade 5 Classroom Library Below Benchmark Fifth Grade Animal 56 Titles 56 Books Biography 45 Titles 45 Books Fantasy/Science Fiction 91 Titles 91 Books High-Interest 181 Titles 181 Books Historical Fiction 21 Title 21 Books High-Interest Nonfiction 89 Titles 89 Books Mystery 25 Titles 25 Books Picture Book 20 Titles 20 Books Poetry 10 Titles 10 Books Proposal Response All responses must be received in the following format: On Level Benchmark Libraries Grade Number Needed ISBN Cost per Unit Total Cost K 78 1 69 2 60 3 65 4 54 5 54 Below Level Benchmark Libraries Grade Number Needed ISBN Cost per Unit Total Cost 1 7 2 7 3 13 4 11 5 11 Berkeley County Schools will be accepting bids beginning on Tuesday, June 1, 2021 and closing at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, June 16, 2021. All bids must be placed in a sealed envelope and mailed to address shown below: Berkeley County Schools Attention: Robyn Lopez 1453 Winchester Avenue Martinsburg, WV 25405 Berkeley County Schools will hold a public opening on Friday, June 16, 2021 at 9:00 AM in the BCS Board Room at 1453 Winchester Avenue Martinsburg, WV 25405.