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Women Break the Cycle of wi hot topics COMPILED BY D. KEVIN MCNEIR, WI EDITOR, @DKEVINMCNEIR
Domestic Violence Fauci Denies Both His Many Cry ‘Foul,’ Seek Answers
By Tia Carol Jones law enforcement. She said they threat,” she said.Endorsement of Trump and Behind Abrupt Firing of Veteran “We have to stop being passive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence. I plan to take these WI Staff Writer When L.Y. Marlow's 23-yearold daughter told her the father of her daughter threatened her life, and the life of their child, she knew something had to be done. Out of her frustration with law enforcement's handling of the situation, she decided to start the Saving Promise campaign. “It seems to be a vicious cycle that won't turn my family loose,” Marlow said. Marlow shared her story with the audience at the District Heights Domestic Violence Symposium on May 7 at the District Heights Municipal Center. The symposium was sponsored by the Family and Youth Services Center of the city of District Heights and the National HookUp of Black Women. Marlow has written a book, “Color Me Butterfly,” which is a story about four generations of domestic violence. The book is inspired by her own experiences, and those of her grandmother, her mother and her daughter. She said every time she reads excerpts from her book, she still can not believe the words came from her. “Color Me Butterfly” won the 2007 National “Best Books” Award. “I was just 16-years-old when my eye first blackened and my lips bled,” Marlow said. Elaine Davis-Nickens, president of the National Hook-Up of Black Women, said there is no consistency in the way domestic violence issues are dealt with by had come together to bring a sense of uniformity in the way domestic violence victims and survivors are treated. “She's using her own personal story, her own personal pain to push forward,” Davis-Nickens said about Marlow. Davis-Nickens said anyone who reads Marlow's book will “get it.” She said she “puts the case in such a way, the average person can get it.” She said at the end of the day, the book will help people begin to have a dialogue about domestic violence. Also present at the event was Mildred Muhammad, the exwife of John Allen Muhammad, who was sentenced to six consecutive life terms without parole by a Maryland jury for his role in the Beltway Sniper attacks in 2002. Mildred Muhammad is the founder of After the Trauma, an organization that helps the survivors of domestic violence and their children. “I lived in fear for six years. Six years in fear is a long time. It is not an easy thing to come out of,” she said. Mildred Muhammad said people who want to help a domestic violence victim must be careful of how they go into the victim's life, and understand that she may be in “survival mode”. “Before you get to 'I'm going to kill you,' it started as a verbal Among the programs Marlow wants to see implemented are stricter restraining order policies, more rights for victim's families to intervene on behalf of a victim, a domestic violence assessment unit coupled with further training for law enforcement agencies, a Child's Life Protection Act and mandatory counseling for batterers. “If we are ever going to eradicate domestic violence, we must look at both sides of the coin. We need to address both the victim and the batterer,” Marlow said. Marlow would also like to see programs designed to raise awareness among children in public and private schools. She feels children need to be educated about domestic violence. “We have to stop being passive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence,” Marlow said. Marlow has worked to break the cycle of abuse in her family, and is confident the policies she is pushing for will start that process. “I plan to take these policies to Congress and implore them to change our laws,” Marlow said. “I will not stop until these policies are passed.” Tia Carol Jones can be reached at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net WI Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, says he did not consent to being featured in a new advertisement from the Trump campaign touting the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, he recently told CNN his words were taken out of context. “In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials,” he said in a statement. The 30-second ad, currently airing in two battleground states, Michigan and Pennsylvania, points to Trump’s personal experience with the virus and uses a quote from Dr. Fauci which leads viewers to believe that the health expert praises the president’s current response to coronavirus. While no date is cited in the ad, Dr. Fauci’s quote comes from an interview with Fox News in March during which he praised the White House coronavirus task force’s nonstop efforts to respond to the pandemic, which he then further said included numerous White House meetings and late-night phone calls. The Trump campaign has not issued a statement in response to Dr. Fauci’s allegations. Approval of Administration’s COVID-19 Policies The sudden, unexpected removal of a highly-respected, principal of D.C.’s topranked School Without Walls magnet high school, Richard Trogisch – a decision which parents first learned about Oct. 7 in a letter issued by D.C. Public Schools [DCPS] officials – has been met by growing demands from parents, teachers and administrators for both answers and the immediate reinstatement of the veteran educator. A statement from DCPS, released after protesters criticized the decision, attributed the cause for the principal’s firing to an unspecified personnel matter. But Washington Post Columnist Dana Milbank, in his commentary, questioned whether the dismissal may have come as a means of retaliation after Trogisch raised concerns about reopening schools, tentatively slated for Nov. 9, citing inadequate ventilation systems at an elementary school which he managed and where the health of students, he surmised, could be compromised, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. The Washington Informer will continue to monitor this situation as well as other recent firings that have occurred within an environment of heightened anxiety. D.C. counts among other school district in the U.S., who, allegedly yielding to pressure to return to in-class instruction, now find themselves at odds with their respective principals and leaders from both parents’ and teachers’ associations who collectively oppose plans for reopening until proven safety precautions have been determined and put in place. The Biden campaign recently released a new round of ads touting the support the former Vice President has received from the nation’s leading Black mayors. In the first 30-second ad, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, one of the first surrogates for Joe Biden, is joined by other women including San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The ad begins with Bottoms saying, “Black women have always been on the front lines for social justice.” In the second 30-second ad, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter is joined by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Black Mayors Give Biden Support in New Round of Ads D.C. Principal Richard Trogisch Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Columbia, South Carolina Mayor policies to Congress and Steve Benjamin and Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, Virginia as each of them implores Black men to get to the polls and to reclaim their power. THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM“ implore them to change our laws. I will not stop until these policies are passed. L.Y. Marlow The 60-second “Mayors” ad began airing on television, radio and digital outlets nationwide Oct.10 and includes 14 Black mayors who’ve voiced their support for the Biden/Harris Democratic ticket. In 2016, 98 percent of Black women voted for Hillary Clinton. However, 14 percent of Black men voted for Donald Trump, according to Pew Research. In the latest average of polls aggregated by Real Clear Politics, Biden has on average a 9.6 percentage point lead over Trump. In the October 3 – 6 FOX News poll, Biden has a 10-point lead over Trump. Twenty-four days remain until Election Day.
AROUND THE REGION
Candidates for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Discuss and Debate Community Issues
By James Wright WI Staff Writer @JamesDCWrighter
While the independent at-large D.C. Council and D.C. State Board of Education races receive a lot of attention from the District’s electorate for the Nov. 3 general election, there are also about 300 individual advisory neighborhood commissioners positions up for grabs in each ward of the city that doesn’t get much scrutiny as other elected positions but deal with the everyday concerns of residents.
“I believe in advisory neighborhood commissioners,” Gordon-Andrew Fletcher, who represents single-member district 5A08 in Ward 5 and wants his constituents to re-elect him in the general election. “I believe ANCs are very important. They don’t have this type of position in other cities with the exception of Chicago where elected neighborhood leaders play a role in the government. This is my third time running to be a commissioner in this single-member district and I bought a house in this district with my wife so I could continue to serve.”
Advisory neighborhood commissions are government bodies on the community level in the District. The commissions are divided by single-member districts comprising of approximately 2,500 residents and represented by an elected commissioner. Commissioners serve two-year terms, are elected in the general election and sworn into office January of the next year. Commissioners receive no compensation for their work but commissions have budgets to hire staff and materials to improve their areas.
Commissioners deal with a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation, trash collection and the District’s annual budget.
The commission system started in 1974 as a result of a referendum District voters approved by 73 percent. The first commission elections took place in the fall of 1975 and operations began in 1976.
Some commissioners have served in other elected offices in the District. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and former Mayor Adrian Fenty served as commissioners in Ward 4. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmembers Anita Bonds (D-At Large) and Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) have served as commissioners.
Stacey Lincoln, the commissioner for 4A02 and a former staffer for D.C. Councilmember Vincent Orange, wants his Shepherd Park constituents in Ward 4 to support his re-election so he can continue working to encourage economic development there.
“Shepherd Park is a diverse area,” Lincoln said. “It encompasses part of Georgia Avenue and I want to see that corridor improved economically. For too long, it has been ignored. Our residents would like to see more upscale retail on Georgia Avenue and if re-elected, I will work to see that happens.”
Lincoln’s opponent, Merrit P. Drucker, supports the economic development of Shepherd Park also but criticizes the incumbent for being “absent and not around.”
Fletcher said he wants to improve constituent services in his district, strengthen the relationship between police officers and residents and help bring in businesses “that are positive and not any more liquor stores.” Nestride Yumga, who seeks to unseat Fletcher, said the incumbent doesn’t talk to his constituents.
“I have talked to the residents of this district and 90 percent say they have not met him,” Yumga said. “They don’t know who he is. If I am elected, I will consult the community, serve the community and they will know who I am.”
In Ward 8, 8C04 Commissioner Regina Pixley wants a second term to continue “to serve and meet the needs of the disadvantaged.”
“I want to continue to be the eyes and the ears of our councilmember, Trayon White,” she said. “I have worked hard to help my constituents whether it is cleaning the streets of trash or delivering meals to home-bound seniors. I want to continue to focus on public safety so our neighborhood can be safe. I am proud to introduce block captains to the district to fight crime.”
Pixley faces opposition from Travon Hawkins and Regina Summers. Summers declined to comment on the race. Hawkins said he has served as a commissioner in the ward in another district and if elected, will work to bring employment opportunities to residents.
“It is important to get everyone working,” he said. “There is also a lot of crime in this area. I believe if people are working, they will not commit crimes.”
A number of commissioners,
5 Gordon-Andrew Fletcher represents single-member district 5A08 and is running for re-election. (Courtesy photo)

such as Robert Brannum, are running unopposed. Brannum, who seeks to represent 5E08 in Ward 5, said having no opponent in the general election will only fuel his desire to serve his neighbors.







“I want to continue to be an advocate for my community and increase the quality of life for my constituents in front of the council and the executive [Office of the Mayor],” he said. WI

black facts


OCT. 15
1883 – The Civil Rights Act of 1875
— which guaranteed African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations, public transportation and jury service — is ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. 1968 – Track star Wyomia Tyus becomes the first person to win a gold medal in the 100-meter race in consecutive Olympic Games.
SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB
OCT 15 - 21, 2020

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OCT. 16 1859 – White abolitionist John Brown leads a raid on a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, VA, in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt. He is later tried, convicted and executed by hanging for his role. 1968 – African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise black-gloved fists during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. 1984 – Desmond Tutu (top) is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his ant-apartheid work in South Africa. 1995 – The Million Man March, called by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, is held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
OCT. 17 1711 – Poet Jupiter
Hammon, the first
African American writer to be published in the present-day United States, is born in Long Island, New York. 1956 – Physician and astronaut Mae Jamison, the first African American woman to travel in space, is born in Decatur, Alabama.
1969 – Clifton R.
Wharton is elected president of Michigan State University, becoming the first African American president of a major U.S. university.
OCT. 18 1926 – Pioneering guitarist and rock and roll icon Chuck Berry is born in St. Louis. 1948 – Poet and playwright Ntozake Shange, author of “For Colored Girls…,” is born in Trenton, New Jersey. 1951 – “Waiting to Exhale” author Terry McMillan (above) is born in Port Huron, Michigan.
OCT. 19 1936 – Johnnetta B. Cole, director of the Smithsonian
National Museum of African Art and the first African
American female president of Spelman College, is born in Jacksonville, Florida. 1944 – The U.S. Navy begins accepting Black women for military service.

OCT. 20 1898 – North Carolina Mutual and Provident
Insurance Company is founded by John Merrick and associates in Durham as the first African American-owned insurance company. 1904 – Civil rights activist Enolia Mc-
Millan, the first female president of the
NAACP, is born in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
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OCT. 21 1917 – Iconic jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie is born in Cheraw, South Carolina. WI THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
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Trayvon Martin will be memorialized eight years after his untimely death, with the street outside of the high school he attended in Miami-Dade County to be named after him. What are your thoughts?
ANDRE BROWN /
NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK At the end of the day, the true thug wasn’t Trayvon Martin, but the murderer who shot him and who was arrested over 10 times. Oh, yeah, and still free and mocking that family over the life he took to this day.
ANITA JONES /
WASHINGTON, D.C. That’s awesome! It’s a long time coming, but what a wonderful tribute and honor.
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Trump Invited ‘His Black People’ to a South Lawn Soiree – And Some Foolishly Accepted
From the very first time that my mother put a book into my hands, introducing me to a strange new world of words and wonder where my imagination could roam at will, I’ve always loved to read. One lesson that my fifth-grade English teacher, Mr. Olschefski, drilled into me and the rest of my classmates that I’ve never forgotten is the frequency with which the two extremes of fact and fiction mirror one another.
This childhood memory has resurfaced in a profound way over the past seven months as an uninvited guest, coronavirus, has upended the way we live, work and play, slowing my pace and forcing me to reconstruct how I utilize my time.
But there’s been one shockingly surprising outcome. To my delight, I’ve been allowed the opportunity to spend long-lost time with many of my favorite authors again. While combing through my bookshelves several days ago, I ran across two unforgettable works of fiction that provide prophetic insight into the harsh realities which we face today: “The Plague” by Albert Camus and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.”
But it was the short story by Poe whose final images, both unfamiliar and frightening, forced me to reconsider how we can learn so much in our travels through the world of fiction for battles that we must wage in our daily walk through the real world – through life.
As an example, on Saturday, Oct. 10, President Donald Trump invited a select group of his most ardent supporters to the South Lawn of the White House for a “highly exclusive masque,” as Poe wrote in his masterpiece.
Trump, standing on a balcony in self-indulgent pride while hundreds below shouted words of support, told the crowd that he was “feeling great,” after just days during which he’d been hospitalized and treated by his doctors following his positive test results for COVID-19.
For a few brief moments, he would welcome his guests with his face mask before removing it with exuberance – signaling to his guests, perhaps, that they too could or should remove their “masques” – that is, if they were even wearing them before the festivities began.
In the Poe narrative, the guests fortunate enough to be allowed access to Prince Prospero’s ball, moved from one room to the next, oblivious to the dangers that lurked within – the “red death.” They wholeheartedly swallowed the notion that somehow they were superior to the rest of the village, the chosen few – eager to indulge themselves in the “gay and magnificent revel” where they, following the example of their host, “bid defiance to contagion.”
As Poe’s haunting tale reaches its conclusion, we learn that an enormous ebony clock has struck the death knoll while “darkness and decay and the red death held illimitable dominion over all.”
In comparison, we saw the celebrants at the Trump soiree moving about as if they had already ingested a yet-to-be-discovered magic elixir – a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus pandemic – that would protect them from joining the millions of Americans who have already died or who remain quarantined or hospitalized, fighting for their lives against a foe that has disproportionately wreaked havoc upon the health and welfare of America’s Black and brown citizens.
And so, with unbridled hubris and an air of petulant superiority that have come to define his presidency, Trump assured his guests, white, brown and Black alike, that with him remaining at the helm, “we’re going to defeat this terrible China virus!”
“We’ve had a lot of flare-ups,” he said, “but it’s going to disappear.”
However, absent of any scientific support, the inescapable truth and inevitable tragedy which awaits many of Trump’s misguided guests as we’ve seen in the past – in an outcome reflective of that which awaited those in Poe’s tale who felt emboldened because of their gold-plated invitations to Prince Prospero’s soiree – will be “the red death.” WI
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AROUND THE REGION
A Look at the Ward 2 State Board Race
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
This is the final installment of a fourpart series about D.C. State Board of Education (SBOE) races. The winners will advocate and organize policy on behalf of students, teachers, and parents in Wards 2,7 and 8,and throughout the entire city. In this article, three of the four candidates are vying for the Ward 2 SBOE seat currently held by Jack Jacobson, weigh in on the recent change in leadership at School Without Walls and School Without Walls at Francis Stevens, in addition to other issues of concern.
ALLISTER CHANG: A LION FOR LITERACY
This candidate, who grew up in the D.C. metropolitan area watching his father struggle with illiteracy, has spent much of his career tackling issues similarly affecting those living in marginalized communities throughout the world. He told The Informer that, in the midst of fear and uncertainty, it’s critical to communicate relevant and reliable information to all education stakeholders.
If elected to the Ward 2 SBOE seat, Allister Chang said, he will strengthen partnerships between schools and entities like the Washington Literacy Center to expand literacy opportunities across the city. He also expressed a desire to strengthen communication between various stakeholders in the local education space, especially in light of School Without Walls Principal Richard Trogisch’s sudden departure.
Chang, one of several people who converged on the Foggy Bottom campus in protest last week, said the situation highlighted a lack of transparency that has intensified under mayoral control of schools.
In regards to increasing the quality of instruction, Chang said that the Ward 2 representative has a unique opportunity to advance policies that guide the District’s long-term education plans to the benefit of all students. He touted the creation of high-caliber early childhood programs as a viable means of closing disparities that exist on the first day of pre-K.
“If you can’t read by the fourth grade, opportunities are severely limited. At the macro level, it’s very important to
5 Allister Chang (Courtesy Photo) 5 Sarah Mehrotra (Courtesy Photo) 5 Christopher Etesse (Courtesy Photo)
strengthen community schools first,” said Chang, a Halcyon Fellow whose experiences include expanding library partnerships in more than two dozen countries as executive director of Libraries Without Borders, a local education nonprofit group.
“Every child deserves an education that helps them fulfill their potential, and they shouldn’t have to take the bus for a customized education,” he added.
“It’s important that we develop a long-term strategy. We need to do more than put a band-aid on problems as they come up.”
SARAH MEHROTRA: TEACHER’S ADVOCATE
As a data and policy analyst at The Education Trust, Sarah Mehrotra has advocated to increase teacher diversity and retention, and close opportunity gaps across the country. She described the Ward 2 SBOE seat as an opportunity to apply pressure in this area, ultimately to the benefit of District students who would receive consistent and quality instruction.
If elected, Mehrotra, a special education teacher and daughter of an engineer from India, would be the first Asian American to sit on the state board. While she reflected on the need for another middle and high school in Ward 2, Mehrotra’s main area of concern involves the IMPACT evaluation, a tool that leadership within the Washington Teachers’ Union said has been weaponized against those who question administrators’ decisions.
Mehrotra told The Informer that, in addition to providing teachers mental health resources, the DC Public Schools’ central office should also consider not using IMPACT as a means of assessing teachers’ performance during the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, Mehrotra, too counted among those who converged on School Without Walls in search of answers about Trogisch’s departure. She acknowledged his reinstallation as the most ideal situation.
“Teachers of color are important, not only for students’ socioemotional development, but their academic growth as well,” she told The Informer.
“The mayor and D.C. Public Schools took away a trusted leader, and that furthers the divide between the mayor’s office and parents and families. One teacher told me that his pattern repeats itself over and over again,” she added.
“Other high schools have seen abrupt changes to leadership. In order for it to end, the D.C. Council should use its bully pulpit to vocalize the problems with mayoral control to expand our voice and help with our priorities.”
CHRISTOPHER ETESSE: THE EDUCATION TECH GURU
While other candidates in the state board races have been critical of mayoral control of schools and charter expansion, Christopher Etesse, an education technology consultant, has touted both as steps in the right direction for a school system that once drew the ire of parents, students, teachers and education advocates.
If elected, Etesse said he would increase dialogue between various education stakeholders and build on the work
WARD 2 Page 38
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COMING OUT 2020 Advocates for the LGBTQ Dignity Project pose for a photo op on National Coming Out Day 2020 after a motorcade traveled through the city of New Carrollton on Sunday, Oct. 11. (Anthony Tilghman/ The Washington Informer)

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– Bishop Desmond Tutu “Hope and Suffering” – recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Oct. 16, 1984
AROUND THE REGION
Carlos Rosario Public Charter School: Training a Diverse Workforce
By James Wright Rosario’s website said the school these challenges, our students were ple in the District see Rosario as an ex- tries. We are like a “mini-UN.” WI Staff Writer has over 2,000 students and 80,000 determined to learn and so we helped clusively Latino immigrant school, she One of Rosario’s pupils of Ethio@JamesDCWrighter alumni, one of which, Kokkoros said, them out.” refutes that perception. pian descent, Kalkidan Weldearegay, has become a vice president for Bank Kokkoros said the school’s comput- “We are a charter school and our has been studying in the nursing aide
The Carlos Rosario International of America. She said students possess ers and laptops became available to the doors are open to all residents,” she program since January. Weldearegay, Public Charter has helped scores of backgrounds from 80 countries and students to work on at home, with said. “We are open to anyone who a senior at UDC who hopes to go to adults in the District, especially those speak 50 languages. the teachers and IT staff instructing would benefit from our programs. We medical school, said Rosario has been from immigrant backgrounds, be- The school’s curriculum consists of on how the tools operate. She said the have African American students who beneficial. come educated as a means of obtain- foundational courses in English, the school raised $50,000 for a student are in our culinary arts program and “My nurse’s aide education is more ing employment in the workforce and GED, digital technology and online emergency fund designed to help stu- have done outstanding. There are a affordable at Carlos Rosario and I academically preparing its students communication tools, according to dents meet challenges such as buying number of African Americans in our managed to get a stipend,” she said. for higher education, according to its the school’s website. Plus, the citi- groceries and making rent and mort- IT certification programs, too. Ethio- “The staff is open-minded and supleader. zenship naturalization test and career gage payments. Kokkoros said teach- pians are our largest group of African portive. They have been really won-
Allison R. Kokkoros serves as the training in high growth and demand ers donated their stimulus checks to students but we have had students derful during the pandemic, giving CEO of the charter school, located in fields such as nursing, technology, the emergency fund to help students. from Cameroon and the Central Afri- me a laptop to do my work. I am glad the Northwest quadrant in Ward 1. culinary arts, bilingual education and While Kokkoros knows some peo- can Republic and other African coun- I attend this school.” WI Kokkoros said her school has become construction pre-apprenticeship are a noted educational institution in the offered. Students interested in higher District. education can participate in the col-
“Rosario is a national model when lege preparation program, Kokkoros it comes to adult education,” Kok- said. She said students have enrolled koros said. “We specialize in work- in higher education institutions such force development that helps workers as the University of the District of connect to careers. While we work pri- Columbia, Montgomery College and marily with the immigrant communi- Georgetown University and in recent ty, we will help anyone who wants to years Rosario has played a role in the be successful.” awarding of 73 scholarships for those
Rosario started in the 1970s as a who are college bound. small, grassroots organization under “Some of our alumni have been the auspices of Sonia Gutierrez, a Dis- on the dean’s list at UDC,” she said. trict public schools’ counselor who “When you leave Rosario, we keep in facilitated the Program for English touch. Our alumni come back and Instruction to Latin Americans and talk about their college experiences.” eventually becoming its director. Guti- Despite the success, the school has errez transformed the aforementioned had its problems such as dealing with project into the English as a Second Language program and expanded it over time into a comprehensive adult the coronavirus pandemic that came to the District in mid-March, Kokkros said. Rosario had to adjust the way it VOTE education initiative. In 1996, Guti- operates, she said. errez started a nonprofit as a result of “We had to pivot and fast,” KokDistrict leaders cutting funds for adult koros said. “We had to change overeducation programs. She sought pub- night because of COVID-19. We had lic charter school status for her nonprofit group and achieved that goal in 1998, starting the first adult public to shift from in-person to distance learning. Many of our students do not have access to the Internet at home. #2 On The Ballot Nov. 3, 2020 charter school in the nation. Gutierrez Many students work in the hospitalipresently serves as president emeritus ty industry and lot of them lost their and founder of Rosario. jobs because of the pandemic. Despite



5 The Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School on Harvard Street, Northwest (Courtesy photo)
