Curriculum Design and Instructional Approach
Alumni Involvement
“You cannot love someone without respect and admiration for them.”
Sonia Gutierrez, President & Founder
A Model of Excellence
• More than 40 year history
serving Washington, DC’s
diverse immigrant population
• Nationally and internationally
recognized as a model in adult
education
• Offers award-winning holistic
model of adult education for
immigrants, which includes
language, literacy, GED,
workforce development and
comprehensive supportive
services
• Provides classes and services
to more than 2,500 students
annually
• Chartered in 1998 by DC Public
Charter School Board; charter
renewed for 15 more years in
2013
• Accredited through the Middle
States Association in 2005 and reaccredited in 2012
School Year Details
School Calendar: August 27,
2012 - June 13, 2013
Two instructional semesters of
approximately 19 weeks each
Because students have parenting
and work demands, the school
offers a variety of class schedules.
Schedule of Classes
Morning Session
Monday-Friday 8:45 AM- 11:30 AM
Afternoon Session
Monday-Friday 1:00 PM -3:45 PM
Evening Session
Monday-Thursday 6:00 PM -9:00 PM
Grade and Age Levels Served
The Carlos Rosario School serves
students ages 16 and older.
Summary of Curriculum Design
and Instructional Approach
The curriculum, validated by
Georgetown University’s Center
for Language Education and
Development, was developed
and is continually refined
by faculty members and
administrators with advanced
degrees who have significant
experience creating specialized
curricula and an understanding
of the School’s unique student
population.
On a foundational level, student
goals, interests, and needs drive
instruction. Standards developed
by Equipped for the Future (EFF)
as well as the U.S. Department
of Labor’s Secretary’s
Commission on Achieving
Necessary Skills (SCANS) are
integrated throughout. The ESL
curriculum correlates with the
CASAS Life Skill Competencies
and encompasses Adult Basic
Education (ABE) performancebased objectives in English
language acquisition.
Overall, the curriculum
encompasses:
•Health and wellness
•Consumer education
•Parenting and family skills
•Math and technology concepts
•The rights and responsibilities
of citizens
•Multicultural awareness and
appreciation
•Participation in the democratic
process
•Employability skills
Prevailing theories of second
language acquisition and current
research guide curriculum
implementation and instructional
approaches. Instructional
effectiveness is measured in
several ways including normreferenced and criterionreferenced testing; authentic
and alternative assessments;
and follow-up surveys. Students
receive ongoing feedback based
on portfolio assessment, written
and oral assignments, teacher
observations, and mid-semester
as well as final conferences.
Tutoring services are provided
for students with unique
academic needs; these services
supplement classroom
instruction with lesson plans
and activities that respond to
students’ individual needs and
goals. Additionally, thanks to a
robust volunteer program many
students receive individualized
and small group assistance
in the classroom provided by
community members and school
graduates.
Alumni Involvement Efforts
Alumni are involved in
various aspects of the school
including serving on our Board
of Trustees and corporate
advisory committees; acting as
informal mentors and classroom
volunteers; providing job and
field experience opportunities
for career training students; and
acting as guest speakers in the
classroom.
Key Mission-Related Programs
The following pages include
descriptions of key missionrelated programs: Foundational
Literacy and Skills, Workforce
Development, and Supportive
Services.
Bottom Left: Principal Dr. Ryan Monroe
speaks to international visitors sponsored
by the State Department
Bottom Right: An ESL class visits the US
Botanic Gardens
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