208 Pageviews Read Stories
Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Adult Education, Education, Ethnic & Immigrant Centers, Human Services, Immigration, Job Training
Mission: Like its complement in other major American cities, the local immigrant population in Washington, D.C. faces a host of challenges, ranging from language barriers and limited reading and writing abilities to limited technical skills. These challenges are further exacerbated by recent political events, macroeconomic downturns, and the downsizing of opportunities in core entry-level industries. The magnitude of the challenge is further borne out in data that show that immigrants are over-represented among both low-wage and less educated U.S. workers. For example, immigrant hourly wages are lower on average than those for natives, and nearly one-half of all immigrants earn less than 200 percent of the minimum wage compared to a one-third figure for native workers. Among low-wage immigrant workers, slightly more than one half (55 percent) have a high school education while more than one-fourth (28 percent) have not completed the ninth grade. (Capps, Fix, Passel, et al., A Profile of the Low Wage Immigrant Work Force, Urban Institute, 2003.) The crucial need for literacy and employment training is further underscored by the fact that while 80% of all students attending the Carlos Rosario International Career Center (CRICC) are employed, 85% of these students are low-income according to Federal Title One guidelines. The confluence of these factors conspires to create a critical demand in the greater Washington community for career-specific employment and language training and access to technology to help immigrants bridge the "skills divide" that exists in today's market. For 35 years the Carlos Rosario International Career Center has provided educational services to the Washington DC adult immigrant population, operating for most of its history under the aegis of DC Public Schools. Following the city's financial crisis in 1996, and the ensuing elimination of DCPS adult education schools, the non-profit Career Center opened its doors in April 1997. The Career Center mission is: To provide a vibrant and encouraging learning environment in order to build community wealth in the immigrant communities of our nation's capital, through top-tier workforce development, English language training, access to technology, and job counseling.
Programs: The Career Center provides workforce development and affordable certificate training, geared towards adults from ages 16 to over 70. Classes are offered during daytime and evening hours in order to accommodate students' parenting and work schedules. In an effective partnership between state-level Adult Education funding, the Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs, and private foundation and corporate funding, the Career Center provides career training in culinary arts and computer technology, ESL classes and life skills instruction, Spanish Language classes, GED in Spanish, and supportive counseling and employment services to approximately 700 students over a full school year. Employing Rosario's innovative life skills curriculum, these classes target the specific, practical needs of DC immigrants seeking to obtain or upgrade their employment and life skills. The Carlos Rosario International Career Center operates the following programs: * Computer Technology Program: Students study hardware and software technology to prepare for the A+ certification exam in order to become certified computer support specialists. Students are provided with the tools, skills and experience needed to succeed in the industry, including mentoring and internships. * Culinary Arts Program: The Career Center's highly successful culinary arts program takes place in an onsite state-of-the-art facility, the Marriott Culinary Arts Center. During a year-long program of hands on instruction, students receive practical experience preparing and selling food in the Career Center's cafeteria, learn the skills necessary to become qualified as a Certified Food Handler, and become members of the American Culinary Federation. Guest chefs, visits to local restaurants, and internships also expose students to a variety of positions available in the industry. * English As A Second Language Classes: ESL Levels 5 and 6 focus on topics dealing with life and work issues. The curriculum, based on the most up-to-date educational research, provides students with the training necessary to speak, read, write and understand English in real work and life situations, and teaches students the life skills needed for employment, active citizenship, and personal and family advocacy. * Immigrant Family Literacy Program: Offered collaboratively with several DC Public and Charter Elementary Schools, this program provides classes for parents that focus on English language instruction on school-related topics, parent-to-child interaction, after-school activities for their children in grades K-5, and children's book distributions. Parents and children learn together through activities such as planned family reading time and story telling, and are encouraged to participate in literacy activities together outside of class. * GED Program: The Career Center offers an intensive GED in Spanish program, allowing students to increase their employability and also pursue higher education. * Spanish Language Classes: Two levels of conversational Spanish courses are available to DC, VA, and MD residents who wish to benefit from the Career Center's community outreach program. * Supportive Services Program: Available to all Career Center students, this holistic program provides personal and employment counseling; medical, legal and childcare social service referrals; the University Bound Student Program including higher education and scholarship awards; and income tax preparation and immigration and citizenship application assistance.
Donor & Volunteer Advisory
This organization's nonprofit status may have been revoked or it may have merged with another organization or ceased operations.