[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       TRIBUTE TO SONIA GUTIERREZ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RUBEN HINOJOSA

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 15, 2007

  Mr. HINOJOSA. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to take this moment to 
commemorate the 35th anniversary of the founder and acting director of 
the Carlos Rosario School here in Washington, DC, Ms. Sonia Gutierrez.
  Carlos Manuel Rosario was the founder of the Program of English 
Instruction for Latin Americans in 1970, and was based out of the 
Columbia Heights neighborhood here in Washington, DC. In 1972, he met a 
woman named Sonia Gutierrez, a professional educator who had just 
recently moved to Washington from Puerto Rico, and persuaded her to 
work for PEILA.
  In October 1972, Ms. Gutierrez became the Director of PEILA and 
transformed the small, underfunded English as a Second Language (ESL) 
program into a comprehensive adult education program. In 1974, the 
Office of Right to Read of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and 
Welfare designated it as one of the best literacy programs in the 
nation.
  At Ms. Gutierrez's request in 1992, the city council renamed the 
school after Carlos Rosario, who founded PEILA. The program provides 
4,500 students per year with the necessary language, cultural, 
vocational and job skills to become functional and productive members 
of society. Their current waiting list stands at 2,000.
  The school became a national and international model, and delegations 
from other states and other nations frequently visited the center to 
review its operations and curriculum, with hopes of replicating the 
success of the program.
  In 1996, the District of Columbia faced a financial crisis that 
brought about the elimination of all DC Public Schools adult education 
programs, including the Carlos Rosario Adult Education Center. Ms. 
Gutierrez vowed to rebuild the school for the benefit of her students 
and her community.
  From August 1996 to March 1997, Ms. Gutierrez worked tirelessly out 
of the basement of her home and raised $100,000 dollars from local 
foundations to reopen the school as the non-profit Carlos Rosario 
International Career Center. The new school opened its doors in April 
1997 with Ms. Gutierrez as Executive Director & Founder.
  Realizing that there were still many in the community who were not 
being served, Ms. Gutierrez actively sought for Public Charter School 
funding to increase the number of classes and opportunities available. 
She succeeded and in 1998 the school became the first Adult Public 
Charter School in the nation.
  Today, the non-profit Carlos Rosario International Career Center and 
Public Charter School provides more than 1,200 students with English as 
a Second Language, GED in Spanish and English, courses in different 
areas of technology, citizenship classes, culinary arts, family 
literacy and Spanish classes.
  Ms. Gutierrez has also been very involved in the social and economic 
development of the Latino Community. In 1977, she founded the Council 
of Latino Agencies. She was instrumental in establishing the Mayor's 
Office on Latino Affairs and presided over the Latino Festival. She is 
the past President of the Metropolitan Association of Adult and 
Continuing Education and also for both DC Commission for Women and the 
Latino Community Development Commission.
  These are just a few of her accomplishments as a community organizer 
and leader. Ms. Gutierrez should be an inspiration to us all, and 
should serve as a reminder that one person can make a difference in the 
lives of many.
  I am honored to have a moment to recognize her 35 years of service to 
the Latino community of Washington, DC.

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