The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to contract with a qualified vendor to provide strategic school design and implementation support for a comprehensive, equity-focused, and holistic program serving newcomer students (migrant, refugee, and unaccompanied youth) in Grades 7–12 within the Rochester City School District (RCSD), to include a 5 year plan for scalability and integration within the RCSD school portfolio.
The selected vendor will collaborate with district and community partners to develop and support a program and/or school model that ensures academic, linguistic, and social-emotional success for multilingual learners with limited English proficiency, including students with interrupted formal education (SIFE):
- Newcomer Transition Academy (Short-Term, 12-18 months) – Intensive academic, linguistic, and socio-emotional support for new arrivals to accelerate English acquisition, literacy development, and acculturation.
- Dual Language and Biliteracy Pathways (Long-Term, 4–6 Years) – Ongoing bilingual academic programs that may be integrated into existing RCSD high schools or evolve into a new International school with world language programs (e.g., Arabic, Spanish, Dari/Farsi, Somali, Swahili). These pathways will promote additive bilingualism, biliteracy, and college and career readiness, aligned with the NYSED Portrait of a Graduate.
