Welcome Back, Faculty!

As we gear up for the new school year, we want everyone to wish our faculty and 10-month team members a welcome back! The start of the year is always a special time at our school, as we get ready to support our students in their educational journeys. We thank you for your passion and commitment to the mission of the Carlos Rosario School.

Action Items and Important Dates

In-Person All-Staff Meeting on August 25th

Please join us on Friday, August 25th for our first All-Staff Convening in-person! This will take place from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm at our Harvard Street Campus. This will be an opportunity to connect as a school community, align on key priorities, hear important updates, and prepare for starting the year strong. 

• What: In-Person All-Staff Meeting
• When: Friday, August 25 - 1:30 pm.                                                    
• Where: Harvard Street Campus Auditorium
• There will be transportation available from Sonia Gutierrez Campus to Harvard Street Campus. There will be two buses; one will leave at 12:50 pm and the other at 1:00 pm.

After the All-Staff Meeting, we will gather as a community to enjoy an ice cream social celebrating the beginning of the new school year.

EEOC Training

All employees must complete the online Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) self-guided training: “Preventing Discrimination & Harassment” course. You should have received an email entitled “Traliant Course Assignment” sent on August 21st from the Traliant Administrator containing instructions and a link to access the training. Every CR School employee is required to complete the training. The deadline to complete the training is September 15th.

Front Desk & Transportation Update

As of Monday, 8/14/23, for the upcoming SY23-24, the Front Desk and Transportation (FD&T) team will centralize under the leadership of our Interim Business Manager, Gigi Alvarado. 

Since March 2023, Gigi has served as the Interim Business Manager managing the Harvard Street Campus (HSC) FD&T team and has done it well. With this team change, all HSC and Sonia Gutiérrez Campus FD&T team members will now report directly to Gigi.  

This change was important to accomplish three main goals: 

1. Standardize our support provided by our FD&T team members for a seamless experience representing one school.
2. Centralize decisions and track and monitor FD&T service. 
3. Provide centralized support for FD&T across morning and evening to alleviate our Academic leaders.

Additionally, two Front Desk and Transportation Lead positions were created, one for morning and one for evening shifts. These positions do not represent additional new headcount positions but are the restructuring of existing roles. 

Congratulations to Gigi and we ask for your support of the team through this exciting change!  

Questions? Please reach out to Gigi Alvarado at [email protected].

Transportation and Parking info during Registration for SG Team

While all-hands are on deck during this busy registration period, we encourage our Sonia Gutiérrez Campus staff to use the parking at the SG Campus and utilize our transportation services. Harvard Street Campus lacks sufficient parking space yo accommodate staff from both campuses at the time. You may also consider the use of public transportation, bike, or carpool. We discourage you from driving to Harvard street campus, as you will be affecting parking for HSC employees.

 DC Digital Equity Coalition Survey

Carlos Rosario School is a member of the DC Digital Equity Coalition, a dedicated group of organizations working together to bridge the digital divide in our city. Our school will be conducting a district wide survey here during laptop distribution. Have your voice heard and make a difference in our community! Your input will guide DC Digital Equity Coalition efforts to bridge the digital divide and ensure that everyone has access to affordable and reliable internet services. The survey is only for DC residents and is available in English, Spanish, French, Amharic and Chinese.

News and Updates

Open Enrollment Update

Thank you to everyone who has supported our registration efforts! And extra special thanks and kudos to the Registration, Assessment and SILS team for all the coordination, collaboration, and quick pivots to ensure we have a successful week of enrollment. Despite having to close registration on Monday for technical issues, our collective efforts meant that almost 500 applicants were able to enroll on Tuesday alone. Thank you for staying late to make sure no one was turned away.



As of right now, we have enrolled almost 700 new students. Only 209 lottery winners are left to enroll, from the original 878 winners.

We will continue registering lottery winners and lottery waitlist applicants until Friday. Next week they will still have a chance to enroll, as we open our doors to walk-in applicants for placement testing on Monday and Tuesday. We want to give every DC resident who needs our services every opportunity to enroll before the start of the school year.

SY 23/24 Compensation Update

This is a shortened version of the full message for ease of understanding and accessibility. The full version of this email is available here.

To review the previous update, please check the last communication on August 4th, entitled “Teacher Compensation Funds update.”

After careful consideration, evaluation, and alignment with OSSE guidelines, we have enhanced our compensation structure in alignment with our values of equity and inclusion. Our commitment to empowering and investing in our people remains steadfast, and these changes reflect our recognition of our team's invaluable contributions toward shaping our students' future.

We greatly appreciate the DC Government providing additional funding to compensate our educators and student-facing staff. Though welcome for our staff, these salary increases will increase our expenses this year and in future years, and there needs to be more commitment from the DC Government to maintain a higher level of funding. 

This compensation structure was proposed to OSSE in line with their guidelines. Please note that this plan is subject to the review and approval by OSSE:

To qualify for the bonus, you must have been employed for the entire SY22-23 and remain employed as of Sept. 1, 2023. Those employed in SY22-23 who remain employed in SY23-24 in a different capacity are also eligible to receive the bonus.

Anyone impacted by these changes will receive an updated salary letter. Salary increases will be processed by payroll as soon as practicable. Since we are not scheduled to receive the majority of the funding until the end of September, we expect to pay the bonuses by mid-November.

Do you still have additional questions? 

• Review the full version of this message, available here.
• We invite you to an information session on August 24th from 12 - 1 pm. Nicole Theus, HR Director, will provide a detailed overview of the new compensation structure and address any questions.
• You can review the proposed spend plan on our website here.

Fiscal Year 23-24 Teacher Pay Scales and Teacher Pay Spend Plan

The Teacher Pay Scales and the Teacher Pay Spend Plan have been finalized and uploaded to the Intranet. These scales are applicable to Teachers, Tutors, Para-Educators, Counselors, Curriculum/Professional Development & Librarians. For any questions, please contact Nicole Theus, Head of Human Resources at [email protected].

Payroll & Benefits Update

Our partnership with Marcum ends on August 31, 2023, which means payroll will now be processed in-house and Monique Wright, the new Payroll and Benefit Administrator will be your point of contact for your payroll, retirement and benefit questions.

Here are some highlights:

• Benefit Survey: Within the next week, you will receive an email containing a link to a survey. The survey is to gain an understanding on how you feel about the benefits offered. This is a great opportunity to voice your opinions, concerns or suggestions. The process is being managed by our benefits broker, Benecur and all responses will remain anonymous. We will only see combined data, so please be thoughtful, honest, and candid when you complete the survey. Once all responses are received the data will be used to help improve the benefit package in the future.
• ADP Self-Service Guide: Our new Payroll and Benefit Administrator created this guide to provide step by step instructions for frequent self-service tasks, such as updating your direct deposit information, changing your address and viewing your pay statement.
• Timecard Due Date: Timecards are now due every other Friday and managers must approve by noon the following Monday. Click here to view the updated payroll schedule for the remaining pay dates for 2023. Please note, due date reminders will be emailed to all employees as well as an ADP notification.
• 401(k) Brown Bag Sessions: For the upcoming school year, we have partnered with our Financial Advisor, Equitable to offer staff informational sessions regarding the retirement plan. If you have questions regarding your retirement strategy and financial planning, these are great sessions to attend. Details will be provided at a later date.

To reach Monique Wright, please view her contact information below.

• Payroll Questions - [email protected]
• Retirement Questions - [email protected]
• General Questions - [email protected]
• Primary Number - (202) 220-8309, ext. 9524

Carlos Rosario School Staffing Updates: Welcome Barbara and Santiago; and Congratulations, Cinthya!

We are pleased to announce that Barbara Simons and Santiago Sanchez have joined our team as GED Instructor and ESL Instructor, respectively, at the Sonia Gutierrez Campus. Please give Barbara and Santiago a warm welcome when you see them around the School!

We also are very pleased to announce that Cinthya Pallaviccini has been promoted to Communications Specialist. Please help us welcome Cinthya in her new role. She previously served as a Communications & Development Assistant. Congratulations Cinthya!

Thank you to our IT Interns!

IT Interns from the IT Fundamentals class, Cyrus Tchameni Ngounou, Emmanuel Soblechero, Tsui Ping Hsu, Hana Tesema Dumesso and Shukare Korsa have been working during the summer with inventory checks, laptops and chromebooks configuration, troubleshooting, imaging computers, and administering software and hardware updates for over 1,200 laptops at both campuses. At the SG Campus, all smart boards received software updates.



We appreciate Amazon’s support and the IT Department for mentoring and providing this hands-on experience at the Carlos Rosario School.

Support Our Hiring and Recruitment Efforts

Carlos Rosario School is hiring for a variety of positions, including Director of Advancement, Substitutes, GED Instructor and Tutor, Outreach and Recruitment Specialist, and so much more. Know a colleague or someone who would be a great fit? Invite them to learn more and apply for positions today here.

Health and Safety

How to Report Positive Cases of COVID-19 to the School?

The number of COVID cases and hospital admissions nationwide and locally have increased by approximately 10%, but severe illness and deaths remain low. We continue to encourage students, staff and faculty to NOT come to work or school if they are sick or have fever or flu-like symptoms; they should test for COVID. 



• All student COVID positive cases should be reported to the teacher or campus principal and employees should report positive cases to HR and their immediate supervisor. Generally, most persons testing positive for COVID will remain home for five FULL days and return to work or school and wear a mask for day 6-10. They may also return if they provide proof of 2 negative antigen tests at least 48 hours apart.
• We will no longer be receiving free antigen tests kits, but a supply will be available at the Security Desk, Front Office, and Student Services while they last. 
• We also support and encourage individuals to wear a mask if they wish to do so, for their own comfort and especially if they are immunocompromised or at risk for respiratory disease. You can access the communicable disease regulations for schools HERE.



Questions? Contact Carmen Ramirez at [email protected].

Reminders

SY23-24 Hybrid Remote Work Policies and Code of Conduct

As a reminder, the Summer Hybrid Remote Work policy ended on August 11, 2023, so we will return to all staff being on-site from Monday-Wednesday and that only Thursday and Friday will be considered for regularly scheduled remote work. As always, please check with your supervisor for any questions about your work schedule and departmental or individual needs. Please refer to the Hybrid Remote Work policy documents posted on the Intranet for SY23-24.

Labor Day Holiday - Monday, September 4th

A reminder that Monday, September 4th is a federal holiday and a day off for students, faculty, and staff. The school will be closed in observance of Labor Day. Enjoy the day off!

Around Our School and Community

Carlos Rosario School Leaders Prepare for SY 23/24 at Managers’ Retreat

As they prepared for the new school year, Carlos Rosario School Managers gathered for a two-day retreat at the Harvard Street Campus.

Small Business Program in the Media

Our colleague Maria Teresa Llanos, Small Business Instructor was recently featured in El Tiempo Latino for helping Latino entrepreneurs through LEDC and Carlos Rosario. She shared valuable tips to start a business in the DMV. Read more here.

Giovanni Delfino Interview with Raul Medrano

Our colleague, Raul Medrano, Manager of the Small Business Program was interviewed by our Board Member, Giovanni Delfino, promoting the Small Business Program and ways in which students can benefit from the curriculum. Watch the video here.

CR Bi-Weekly Bulletin Reminder

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, September 6th Remember, you can submit information and/or feature your class activities to [email protected]. 

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.