Happy International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month | |
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Carlos Rosario School is proud to join our nation in honoring Women’s History Month throughout the month of March! This year’s national theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” This annual celebration commemorates and encourages the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history and their contributions to history, culture, and society.
To learn more about the history and celebration of Women’s History Month, or find resources for teaching, visit the website at womenshistorymonth.gov! You can also check out this interesting timeline of Women’s History milestones and this curricular resource list.
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In celebration of Women's History Month, enjoy a photo collage of our Chief Academic Officer, HollyAnn Freso-Moore during her early years as a teacher at the Carlos Rosario School! HollyAnn came to our school in 2001 and has been an advocate for our students ever since.
Many amazing women have walked the halls of the Carlos Rosario School over the years, making the School what it is today. We are thankful for all of the women in the Carlos Rosario community who inspire, support, and empower us to be our best selves.
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Third DEIB In-Person Sessions – March 9 & 10 | |
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We are excited to continue our DEIB journey together, and have our third in-person DEIB session on Exploring Trust on the following days and times this week:
Thursday, March 9 at Harvard Street Campus
- 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Room 219
- 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm, Rooms 219 & 223
- 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Room 219
Friday, March 10 at Sonia Gutierrez Campus
- 9:00 am - 11:00 am, Room 317 & Cafeteria
Please read the action items below as you prepare for the session.
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We will offer Spanish simultaneous interpretation: If you wish to have Spanish interpretation, bring your laptop or cellphone with headphones.
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Sign up HERE for the session that best works for you, if you have not done so already.
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Faculty, for your date and time of attendance, please refer to your PD session schedule. You do not need to sign up using the link provided.
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Please read the message (English and Spanish) from the IDEAS Generation team in advance of your session.
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Mid-Year State of the School Update | |
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Please review the email sent out by Allison on March 7, 2023. As a reminder, here is a summary of the progress we’ve made together so far this school year:
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Enrollment: After a strong Fall semester where we increased enrollment to 1,981, exceeding the amount budgeted, we further increased our enrollment in the Spring semester to 2,026 which opens up the Carlos Rosario School experience to more students.
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Strategic Planning: We created the 2025 Strategic Plan, a roadmap for our shared work together for the next three years. This plan was created through engagement sessions and feedback from staff across all departments, leaders, and stakeholders.
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Digital Equity and Technology Access for Students: We improved the student laptop onboarding process and deployed laptops with internet access to every Carlos Rosario School student.
For those who missed it, here is a link to a State of School update summarizing what we have heard from the Climate Survey, as well as our commitments as a school in response to that feedback.
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On Friday, March 24, we have our third All-Staff Convening of the year! This will take place virtually via zoom from 11:30 to 12:30 pm (you will be able to access the Zoom link through the Outlook calendar invitation).
This will be a chance to connect as a school community, hear important updates, and prepare for finishing the year strong. Stay tuned for more information!
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We warmly invite you to sign up for a small cross-functional group (4-5 people) Coffee Chat with our CEO, Allison Kokkoros.
These informal and intimate coffee chats are an opportunity to:
- Get to know your colleagues better.
- Share ideas and insights from your unique perspectives and to hear from others.
- Ask any questions you may have.
If you are interested, please sign up now using the link HERE for March 20th from 11:30 am to 12:15 pm at Harvard Street Campus or March 29th from 11:30 am to 12:15 pm at Sonia Gutierrez Campus.
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Calling All Carlos Rosario School Alumni! | |
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The Development and Communications and the Student Success Teams have been collaborating around an initiative to collect Carlos Rosario School Alumni information and to map out our Alumni network.
We need your help! Please share the link to this Google form with Alumni that you are currently in contact with, or have contact information for. For those of you who are Alumni of the school, please fill out the form.
We are asking Alumni to share their contact information so that we may invite them to events, engage with our school, and work towards establishing a more formal alumni network.
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We are pleased to announce that we have two new members of our team!
Jill Bryson has joined our School as a Professional Development Specialist/Instructional Coach and Dionna Stokes is our new Citizenship Instructor at our Harvard Street Campus. Please give them a warm welcome when you see them around the School! You can also email them at jbryson@carlosrosario.org and dstokes@carlosrosario.org. Welcome to the Carlos Rosario School, Jill and Dionna!
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Operations Team Hiring Updates | |
- Director, HR & Talent: We are pleased to announce that we have selected a candidate for the Director of HR and Talent. Nicole Theus’ first day at our school is on April 4th, 2023. Please give Jill a warm welcome!
- Director, Finance: Currently, with the Director of Finance role, we are at the stage of selecting a finalist for the position.
- Accounting Manager: The hiring for this position is still in progress.
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Performance Oversight Hearing | |
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We are entering budget season for the District and part of the Carlos Rosario School’s work is to ensure that our Councilmembers are aware of the role our school plays in supporting immigrant adult learners. Last week, at Chairman Mendelson’s Performance Oversight Hearing, our teachers Diana Desimone and Misstere Zelele delivered testimony along with Chief Academic Officer HollyAnn Freso-Moore.
They shared their experiences as former students of our school’s training programs and as faculty members on the front lines of our work. We’d like to express a big thank you to Diana and Misstere for sharing the impact of our school, as well as their personal stories. You can read their submissions here and watch the video here.
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CR School Small Business Program: Pitch Competition | |
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Carlos Rosario School’s Small Business Program proudly announces and invites you to attend our First Small Business Pitch Competition, on Wednesday, March 22nd, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the Auditorium of the Harvard Street Campus. The Pitch Competition is an opportunity for past and recent small business students who applied to compete, to “Make their Pitch” about their business in five minutes to a panel of judges that were selected from the community-at-large.
The evening will feature up to seven Pitch Presentations and up to three finalists will be awarded Prize Money. Feel free to join us to support our students and program in this special event!
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Sueños Ilegales Movie Showing: March 25th | |
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Please join us on Saturday, March 25th for an optional staff and family event, at the Harvard Street Campus from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. Join members of our team and their loved ones for a special showing of a new film, Sueños Ilegales. This special film has a direct connection to our mission, as it tells the story of two brothers from El Salvador and their journey immigrating to the United States.
To attend this event, please register using this link.
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Mid-Year Performance Check-Ins | |
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As a reminder to non-instructional staff, Mid-Year Check-In documentation is past due to Human Resources. Mid-Year conversations are an important opportunity for employees and managers to discuss performance and progress toward goals.
For complete details, please review the February 1st email from Robert Skelton titled, “Mid-Year Performance Check-In,” or reach out to RosarioHR@carlosrosario.org with questions.
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Daylight Saving Time: Spring Forward! | |
Reminder! Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend. Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night. | |
Immunization for Adolescents and Young Adults | |
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The COVID team, in collaboration with the Student Services Department, will reach out to all CR students who are 26 years of age and younger to provide them with important information regarding recommended immunizations for their age group.
A letter addressed to each student along with a flier will be distributed to their respective classrooms. We would like to thank teachers for their help in making sure the letters are received and understood by their students.
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DC Health Announces COVID Centers Will Close on March 31 | |
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DC Health announced that the last day of operations for the COVID Centers will be Friday, March 31. The decision to close the COVID Centers comes after the District experienced a significant drop in COVID-19 cases, high vaccination uptake, and an increase in the availability of vaccines and testing kits for at-home use.
According to DC Health, the District’s COVID Centers provided residents with:
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More than one million free masks;
- More than 80,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, boosters, and flu vaccine;
- More than 400,000 rapid antigen COVID-19 testing kits; and
- Nearly 40,000 PCR tests.
Residents still have convenient options to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine, booster, or test kits, including through:
For more information on COVID-19 testing and vaccination visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.
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Arts Integration and Culture | |
Black History Month Video Celebration | |
The 2023 Black History Month Celebration video is now up on the CR YouTube page. Be sure to check it out if you missed it! Following this year’s national theme of “Black Resistance,” the video features music, artwork, dance, culinary demonstrations, and other contributions from Carlos Rosario School students, staff, and community. Watch the celebration here! | |
Around Our School and Community | |
Prince George’s County Councilmember Visit | |
We were honored to host Councilmember Oriadha of the Prince George’s County Council along with council staff for a School visit on Tuesday. Counclmember Oriadha and staff are exploring how to address the needs of English language learners who are increasingly moving to their jurisdiction, and appreciated learning more about the Carlos Rosario School impact and model, as well as seeing our classes in action. | |
In Case You Missed It: Carlos Rosario in the News! | |
Carlos Rosario School is home to diverse immigrants from around the world. Enjoy the story of one of our students from Ukraine on NTN24. Dariia Kopylova shares her own journey as an immigrant fleeing conflict and coming to the U.S. seeking respite and new opportunities. Read the full article here and watch the piece here. | |
First Day of Small Business Program Workshops | |
Last week the Carlos Rosario School Small Business and Entrepreneurship Program welcomed new entrepreneurs from the DMV area. During the workshops, participants developed their business ideas and concepts, while learning about financial literacy. On their first day of class, they created a vision board: a collage of words and pictures that represent their dreams and goals for their business. | |
Student Government’s First Spring Meeting | |
Student Government from our Sonia Gutierrez Campus had their first meeting for this Spring semester. Members from our Students Services Department facilitated the spider web team building exercise with the students. This activity encourages students to work together and come up with creative solutions. Student government meetings are hybrid to facilitate greater student participation. | |
CR Bi-Weekly Bulletin Reminder | |
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We will continue to bring important updates to you via this internal bulletin on a bi-weekly basis. Please expect to receive our CR Bulletin every other Wednesday. The next bulletin will come out on Wednesday, March 22nd. Remember, you can submit information and/or feature your class activities to communications@carlosrosario.org.
Our bulletin is not possible without the contributions, support and ideas from our team members. Please consider what you’d like to share with our staff community, and encourage your team to do so. Thank you for reading the bulletin and helping to create an impactful and informative communication channel for our team.
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