DEADLINE REMINDER | Checked November 9, 2026: The district’s official listing still shows November 24, 2026, at 11 a.m. for RFP 2027-012. No amendment is listed for this RFP on that page today. Confirm local time and check for new amendments before sealed delivery. Here’s a good one for our special education educators, instructional coaches, and consultants! A South Carolina school district is actively looking for someone to train and support its K–12 special education faculty and staff. Read that again. The work you’ve spent years learning how to do is work a district is preparing to BUY. School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties has released RFP #2027-012 for Professional Development and Training for K–12 Special Education Faculty and Staff. WHAT THEY WANT • Professional development grounded in evidence-based practices. • Job-embedded coaching, classroom observations, modeling, and feedback. • Help with co-planning and collaboration between general and special education staff. • Guidance on using student data and progress monitoring to improve instruction. • Consultation with school and district leaders, plus follow-up support. If you’ve coached colleagues, led relevant professional learning, helped teachers improve instruction, or supported collaboration around students with disabilities, look closely at how that experience connects to this scope. Your next step is to show what you’ve done, who benefited, and what improved. WHY THIS ONE CAUGHT MY ATTENTION Services can be in person, virtual, or a combination, with district approval. The initial term is January 4–May 28, 2027, with four possible renewals through June 30, 2031. Renewals depend on performance, need, and funding. The RFP calls for one award. This is the possibility I want you to see when we talk about pursuing RFPs: a buyer has already identified a need and is asking qualified providers to explain how they can meet it. CHECK YOUR FIT The RFP requires at least five years of experience providing special education and/or related instructional professional development, qualified personnel with applicable certifications or credentials, evidence-based expertise, and relevant references. It also asks for three client commendation/reference letters. Start with Section III, Scope of Work (printed pages 16–17), then Section V, Qualifications (page 21).

What if the principal who needs your workshop is sitting in your conference session? NAESP is accepting proposals for its 2027 National School Leaders Conference. That is an opportunity to get your expertise in front of school leaders who could bring your work back to their schools. But I want you to think beyond “I’m going to give a presentation.” Go prepared to deliver a powerful portion of your workshop. Let them EXPERIENCE what you help people do. If your expertise is classroom management, let them practice a strategy that helps teachers respond differently tomorrow. If it’s literacy, walk them through an approach they can use with their teachers. If it’s staff culture, facilitate an experience that helps them see what could change in their own building. You want someone leaving the room thinking: “I need my teachers to experience this.” That is a very different outcome from “Those were some nice slides.” 😂 And if you’re a classroom teacher, don’t overlook what you already do. You design learning, model, engage people, check understanding, and help them make progress every day. Your expertise can serve a bigger room. You do not have to sell from the stage to create a business opportunity. Honor the conference’s rules. Where permitted, offer a genuinely useful resource with an optional way to stay connected. Then follow up, with permission, around the challenge that leader wants to solve. A conversation about bringing the work to their school can happen after the session. The conference session is an introduction to what it feels like to work with you. The school contract is a separate conversation. This is ONE of the 10 ways I teach educators to get contracts. RFPs are one path. Conferences can put your future buyer right in the room. THE OPPORTUNITY 2027 National School Leaders Conference, powered by NAESP July 22–24, 2027 | Denver, Colorado The attached announcement lists the proposal deadline as November 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern / 10:59 p.m. Central.