Class Offerings Class Offerings 2018-2019 | Page 21

History of the Carlos Rosario School
The School was established more than 40 years ago
by Carlos Manuel Rosario. Mr. Rosario believed in
education and saw a need to bridge the gap of
English language education for the Latino
community of Washington, D.C.
Rosario founded PEILA, Program of English
Instruction for Latin Americans. Based in
Columbia Heights, PEILA addressed the critical
problems created by language barriers and the lack
of culturally-appropriate information available to the
immigrant community.
Carlos Rosario then met Sonia Gutierrez, a
professional educator at the time. She became
the new director of the institution. As Director, she
transformed the small, under-funded ESL program
into a comprehensive adult education program.
In 1996, the School was forced to close due to a
financial crisis in the District government that
impacted DC Public Schools. Sonia Gutierrez worked
from her home basement for two years to earn
enough money to reopen the school.
In 1998, the school reopened under the new name,
the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter
School, and became the first adult charter school in
the nation.
In 2004, the School moved into its Harvard Street
Campus location in northwest D.C.’s Columbia
Heights neighborhood.
In 2013, the Carlos Rosario School expanded to a
second building - the Sonia Gutierrez Campus in
Eckington, northeast D.C.
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