Dowling Newsletter - January 30, 2026

From the Front Office

It was a chilly week, and we had 4 days of indoor recess! Brrrr! We hope that families get a chance to get some outdoor fun this weekend to get the wiggles out!

From the Social Worker

Homeless & Out-of-home Placement

Students staying in shelters, hotels, or other temporary living situations and students in foster care, have certain rights and legal protections to ensure access to public education. 

The MPS Homeless/Highly Mobile (HHM) Department works to remove barriers to attendance, school stability and full participation in school during a period of housing instability.

Minneapolis Public Schools is guided by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) These federal laws provide students experiencing homelessness and students in foster care with certain rights so they have access to opportunities that will help them meet the same high academic standards expected of all students in our district.

If you should have any questions, please contact me at kamara.bauman@mpls.k12.mn.us

Dowling Wishlist

Please check out the Dowling wishlist. We’d be very grateful for any donations!

Night of the Arts

Save the Date! Night of the Arts is an evening for 1st and 3rd grade students to share their artistic talents and what they have been learning in Music and Art class throughout the year. This year, Night of the Arts will be on Monday, March 23. 

1st Grade Performance & Art 6:00 p.m.

3rd Grade Performance & Art 6:45 p.m.

Look for more details as the evening approaches or reach out to Allison Cramer if you have questions. 

Allison Cramer, Music Specialist

allison.cramer@mpls.k12.mn.us

From Minneapolis Kids

Mark your calendars! Upcoming registration dates:

SY 2026-27 Minneapolis Kids Jr - Friday, January 30th at 7am

Minneapolis Kids Summer Program - Friday, February 13th at 7am

SY 2026-27 Before and After School Care - Friday, April 17th at 7am for CURRENT FAMILIES; Friday, April 24th at 7am for NEW FAMILIES 

Questions for Maya Christensen, Program Coordinator

maya.christensen@mpls.k12.mn.us 

From the PTO

February at a Glance

2/9-PTO meeting 6:30-7:30 pm hybrid format

2/13-no school for conferences

2/16-no school for Presidents’ Day

2/17-no school for professional development 

School Community Mutual Aid

Students and their families are facing challenges we could not have imagined at the beginning of the school year. Teachers and staff are working overtime to keep our schools safe. In response, our Longfellow Area neighborhood school is raising funds to provide mutual aid for our school community.  Funds will be distributed by the school's PTO to address urgent needs with care and speed. Your financial support, no matter what the amount or where you live, directly supports students and their families. Thank you for standing with our community. If you are in need of funds to cover groceries, rent, utilities, etc. you can reach out to PTO (email below). https://givebutter.com/community2026

Grounds Committee Update

The Grounds Committee will be a meeting with a community forester with the City of Minneapolis and a project manager with MPS Dept of Facilities. A planting plan was made in an effort to expand canopy and replace lost canopy from dead Ash trees that succumbed to Emerald Ash Borer.  However, they do not want to proceed with a plan made without better understanding the vision of school parents and staff. The intention of the meeting is to meet with folks face to face, as well as all be on the same page of what the intentions are for the planting. The time and date of meeting is not set for sure but likely on 2/4 before school (8 ish). Please reach out to Kenneth Bricker for more information or if you have any questions or interested in joining the Ground Committee! Email: brick040@umn.edu 

Get Your Dowling Beanies!

A new batch of Beanies is available to order and we have a new color, sand, joining blue and mustard yellow. Order here: Dowling Merch Store

All proceeds from hat sales go directly to the school to help support additional staff time and more during this difficult period. When you order, note your student’s name and teacher in the note section so we can get them to backpacks when available. 

Read-a-thon start date TBD

We will be delaying the kick-off for read-a-thon this year with the hope that we can start when all students are back to in-person learning format. We are not sure exactly when this will be so please stay tuned to this newsletter and social media accounts (see below). 

Fridays “Stay to Play on the Ramps” from 4:05-5:00 p.m.

Join us for Friday Fun on the Ramps Playground after school to play and catch up with friends. Many thanks to parent volunteer Katie Murray for coordinating this event again!

MembershipToolkit

To get information from the PTO and connect with other families, you'll need to register or update your profile on Membership Toolkit. The district can't share your information, so this is the only way to be included in the school directory and receive important updates.

Register here: https://dowlingpto.membershiptoolkit.com