Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School

Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School is a charter school for adults in Washington D.C..

History

The Carlos Rosario Adult Education Center was started in the 1930s at Gordon Junior High, 35th and T Streets NW in Burleith, Washington, D.C..

Its first program, "Program of English Instruction for Latin Americans," (PEILA) was started by Marcelo Fernandez. In 1972, Sonia Gutierrez was named director of PEILA. In 1978, PEILA was merged with Gordon Junior High and Americanization School forming the Gordon Center.

In 1992, the Gordon Center was renamed to Carlos Rosario Center in memory of Carlos Manuel Rosario. The school functioned until 1996 and had 1,600 students during that year.

In 1996, the District of Columbia closed the Carlos Rosario Center due to a district-wide financial crisis that eliminated all DCPS adult education programs. Afterwards, Sonia Gutierrez raised $150,000, while working from her basement, to reopen the center as a private, non-profit school.

In 1997, the Carlos Rosario International Career Center opened as a non-profit organization under Sonia Gutierrez's leadership. It was located at the Calvary Baptist Church in Chinatown.[1] [2]

In 1998, Gutierrez won approval from the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board to establish the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School. It was the first adult charter school in the United States.[3]

In 2004 Carlos Rosario opened a new building at 1100 Harvard Street, Columbia Heights, NW. In 2006 Carlos Rosario Career Center and Carlos Rosario Charter School merged to become Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School.

The school continued to grow and expand under Gutierrez's leadership. In 2013, the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School opened the Sonia Gutierrez Campus,[4][5] a workforce development satellite site located in Eckington, Washington, D.C., a neighborhood in the northeast of Washington, D.C., to serve an additional 500 people.

With the opening of this second campus, the school provides services to more than 2,500 students. Its support services and courses include English as a Second Language, GED in Spanish and English, technology essentials, citizenship and career training.[6]

Campus
James Ormond Wilson Normal School
Harvard Street campus, formerly the James Ormond Wilson Normal School
Location1100 Harvard Street, NW
Washington, D.C.
Coordinates38.9265°N 77.0277°W / 38.9265; -77.0277
Built1912
ArchitectSnowden Ashford
Architectural styleElizabethan Revival[7]
NRHP reference No.15000115[8]
Added to NRHPMarch 31, 2015

The school has two main campuses:

  • Harvard Street Campus,[1] located at 1100 Harvard St NW, Washington, D.C.
  • Sonia Gutierrez Campus, located at 514 V St NE, D.C.

Curriculum

Career training academies

The career training options include:

  • Culinary Arts Academy: Culinary Arts Fundamentals, International Cuisines and Baking and Pastry.
  • Health Academy: Nurse Aide Training for English Language Learners and Nurse Aide Training.
  • Technology Academy: IT Fundamentals and Computer Support Specialist Career Training.

English classes
  • English as a Second Language (ESL)
  • ESL for Families

Other classes and programs
  • Citizenship Test Preparation
  • GED Program
  • Math for Life and Work

Student life

More than 2,500 students attend Carlos Rosario and about 350 students graduate from Carlos Rosario each year.[9][6] The school has many extracurricular activities and volunteer opportunities.

Multilingual education

The school has a multilingual team providing services to speakers of Amharic, French, Spanish and Vietnamese. The school helps the students address their language barriers, while living in the U.S.

Extracurricular activities

Some extracurricular activities at the school include:

  • Math club
  • Latin group
  • Zumba dance group
  • Legal clinics
  • Remedial computer instruction[10]

Awards
  • It was awarded "one of the best 10 charter schools in Washington D.C." by the mayor of D.C. in 2005
  • It received the Gold Star Award for its 100% compliance with all applicable D.C. codes and regulations and Charter School Board regulations in 2009.
  • The school won the E Pluribus Unum Award from the Migration Policy Institute.[11]

See also

References
  1. Constable, Pamela (July 6, 2002) "Language of the Heart" The Washington Post.
  2. Serving Our Children: Charter Schools and Reform of American Public Education. Capital Books, Inc. 2004. p. 106. ISBN 1-931868-69-7. Carlos Manuel Rosario PEILA.
  3. Constable, Pamela (May 15, 1997) "Reopening Helps Students Realize Dreams; Carlos Rosario School Rises From the Ashes To Continue Teaching English to Immigrants" The Washington Post
  4. Halzack, Sarah. "New workforce development center opens in Northeast Washington". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  5. Caycho, Victor. "Sonia Gutierrez ya tiene su campus". Washington Hispanic. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  6. Leayman, Emily (November 1, 2016). "Adult charter school helps immigrant thrive in U.S." Education Watchdog.
  7. "James Ormond Wilson Normal School" (PDF). Government of the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  8. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  9. http://www.carlosrosario.org/
  10. http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/untitled%5B%5D folder5/untitled folder5/2012-2013 Annual Report(QO6)(CarlosRosariInternPCS).pdf
  11. "2013 E Pluribus Unum Prize Winner". Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Migration Policy Institute
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