The Carlos Rosario Adult Education Center was started in the 1930s at Gordon Junior High, 35th and T Streets NW in Burleith, Washington, D.C. Its first program, "Program of English Instruction for Latin Americans," (PEILA) was started by Marcelo Fernandez.

In 1996, the District of Columbia closed the Carlos Rosario Center due to a district-wide financial crisis that eliminated all DCPS adult education programs.

Afterwards, Sonia Gutierrez raised $150,000, while working from her basement, to reopen the center as a private, non-profit school.

In 1997, the Carlos Rosario International Career Center opened as a non-profit organization under Sonia Gutierrez's leadership.

The school has a multilingual team providing services to speakers of Amharic, French, Spanish and Vietnamese.