NOTICE OF SOLE SOURCE - AVID Center, Inc.

General work description:

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2025-ISS-005
• Department: Academics
• Department Head: Nancy Gregory (Chief of Academics)

Evaluation Criteria

• Notice of Intent to Sole Source —

  Richland School District Two hereby provides notice that it intends to enter into a sole source contract per Richland School District Two Code  §11-35-1560 with AVID Center, Inc. for districtwide curriculum and professional development.

  Richland School District Two is a nationally recognized AVID school district. In 1998, Richland School District Two became the first school district in the state of South Carolina to bring AVID into our schools.  Our District currently has one of only two schools in the state to be recognized as a National Demonstration School and has one Regional Showcase School.

  To sustain and strengthen this work, the district must provide ongoing, high-quality professional development through the AVID Summer Institute, as well as access to AVIDaligned instructional materials and any other AVID PD. These resources support educators in implementing AVID’s research-based instructional framework (WICOR: writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading) to improve student achievement and college and career readiness outcomes.

  Richland Two’s current implementation of the AVID College Readiness System makes the AVID Center the only compatible provider for ongoing training and materials. Participation in the AVID Summer Institute and use of AVID-developed resources, and other AVID PD are essential to:

  ● Maintain fidelity to the AVID model across participating schools

  ● Ensure consistency in instructional practices districtwide

  ● Support onboarding and training of new and returning staff within the AVID framework

  ● Strengthen instructional capacity to improve outcomes for all students

  ● Sustain and scale the existing AVID program implementation 

  As an AVID district, deviation from AVID Center–provided training and materials would compromise implementation fidelity and weaken the district’s ability to deliver consistent, high-quality instructional practices across schools. The AVID Center is the only vendor capable of providing the required training and materials aligned to Richland Two’s existing AVID College Readiness System. This request meets sole source procurement requirements based on:

  ● Exclusive ownership of the AVID framework and materials  

  ● Required alignment to an existing district-wide AVID implementation  

  ● Lack of equivalent or compatible alternatives

  The District's justification for a sole source procurement may be viewed or immediately obtained at: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/richland2

  This notice is not a request for competitive proposals. Any responsible source who wishes to identify their capability to provide these products/services must notify the District by email no later than April 6, 2026. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Upon receipt of the interested parties’ notification, the District will determine whether to conduct a competitive procurement or proceed with sole source negotiations. 

   PROTESTS:

  Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this sole source contract, shall notify the Chief Procurement Officer in writing of its intent to protest within five (5) business days of the date this notice is posted. Any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor who is aggrieved in connection with the intended award or award of this sole source contract and has timely notified the Chief Procurement Officer of its intent to protest, may protest to the Chief Procurement Officer in the manner set forth below within fifteen days of the date this notice is posted; except that a matter that could have been raised as a protest of the solicitation may not be raised as a protest of the award or intended award of a contract.

  A protest must be in writing, filed with the Chief Procurement Officer, and set forth the grounds of the protest and the relief requested with enough particularity to give notice of the issues to be decided. The protest must be received by the Chief Procurement Officer within the time provided above by emailing lalee@richland.org.

Submission Requirements

• Do you intend to protest this intent to award a sole source? (required)
• Product or service information (required) —

  If you are intending to protest this award, then please upload your supporting documentation that contradicts the sole source.  Failure to upload the required documentation shall deem your protest void.