 | MESPA Home > Honors > Minnesota Schools of Excellence > 2011-2012 Validations > Michael Dowling School | | | Michael Dowling School, Urban Environmental Magnet | | 2011-2012 MESPA
MN School of Excellence,
Minneapolis Public Schools,
Special School District #0001
“Our distinction is our environmental involvement, our special education
programs, a highly qualified and stable staff, our history, and our
unparalleled desire to have fun with learning.”
Joe Rossow is the principal of Michael Dowling School, Urban Environmental Magnet, located on West River Parkway overlooking the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Dowling serves a diverse group of 500 Kindergarten through fifth grade students. It features 18 acres of land with environmental diversity: including several large playgrounds areas, a greenhouse, a secluded nature area, an orchard, and the second oldest community garden in the United States. The Dowling staff, parents and community, working as teams, developed an environmental education scope and sequence for the school year. In addition, staff attends numerous staff development classes focused on environmental education.
Rossow stated: “Our distinction is our environmental involvement, our special education programs, a highly qualified and stable staff, our history, and our unparalleled desire to have fun with learning.” In 1937 President Franklin Roosevelt came to Dowling and dedicated the school’s therapeutic swimming pool. Since that time thousands of students have learned to swim in it. Dowling remains one of the strongest schools in the metro area in the area of special education, serving children with a wide variety of disabilities mainstreamed with regular education classes.
The mission at Dowling Urban Environmental School is to inspire and educate students in a supportive, inclusive setting, which promotes academic excellence, confidence, the arts, history, and geography, and relates them to real-world settings. The school’s purpose is to provide a balanced comprehensive program that maximizes each student’s learning and fosters a supportive, respectful atmosphere in which individual strengths are developed to encourage competence, independence, and enhance dignity while valuing others and the importance of everyone in the school community.
Dowling creates and fosters a community of learners through professional learning communities (PLCs) – with the goal to improve instructional practices through action planning, collaboration, and professional development that is based on student achievement data. Staff meet weekly in PLCs made up of grade level, cross-grade, specialist, special education and administration. Topics are chosen by the PLC group to connect to the site School Improvement Plan or the District Improvement Goals.
Dowling has the support of highly involved parents, and practices shared leadership to expand and continue that support. The Dowling Leadership Council is the decision-making body of the school and is comprised of staff, parents, and community members. Also, the school provides resources and tools to help all parents be involved in their child’s education, and reaches out to parents not actively involved in school.
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| | To visit Michael Dowling School, Urban Environmental Magnet (via Web), click on the Minnesota School of Excellence logo.
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| Joe Rossow | Principal
Michael Dowling School
Urban Environmental Magnet
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| MN School of Excellence Team | The
MN School of Excellence validation process was conducted and written by: - Joe
Rossow
- Liz Frisby
- Beth Ness
With support and contributions made by the
Michael Dowling School Leadership Council, PTO, Dowling staff, and community.
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| Celebrate in January | Members of the Michael Dowling School, Urban Environmental Magnet, MN School of Excellence committee plan a winter celebration.
Two celebrations will take place at Dowling in January 2012:
Friday, January 27
2 p.m.
for students
Monday, January 30
6:30-8 p.m.
for the community
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