I am one of three special education teachers at Dowling Elementary School’s DCD program. I have three wonderful Special Education Assistant staff in my classroom. I also partner with the University of Minnesota’s education department and welcome many of their students into my classroom to gain experiences around teaching and support for students who are in special education.
I have my bachelor’s degree from Augsburg College. I am currently working on my Master’s in Special Education along with a special education license in Physical and Health Disabilities, at Minnesota State Moorhead. I hold an Academic and Behavioral Strategist, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Developmental Disabilities license.
I am excited to be back at Dowling for my second year. I have been with Minneapolis Public Schools for over 20 years.
In my free time, I play hockey, hang out with my dog, and coach club softball. I am also the Head JV softball coach for Minneapolis Roosevelt.
I have been a Special Education Teacher at Minneapolis Public Schools since 2016. I received a Masters of Science degree in Special Education with licensures in Academic Behavioral Strategy (ABS) K-12, Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD) K-12, and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Birth-21 from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
I am a special education teacher at Michael Dowling School community school. My students and colleagues know me as "Connie." I work with a team of licensed teachers and special Education Assistants in the DCD Program. I also collaborate with special education service providers and manage a caseload of students. I have a Master's in Teaching and Learning from the University of Saint Mary’s. I have my special education degree from St. Cloud University with Licenses in Developmental Cognitively Delayed-DCD, Early childhood Special ed( ECSE), Pre K, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I have been teaching with Minneapolis Public Schools since 1993.
Mr. Nielsen has been with Minneapolis School District for 23 years. He has three adult children and one grandchild. His oldest child, David, is 30 and is enrolled in Science graduate school. David's wife, Carly is a speech pathologist who works in a hospital setting. Currently, Carly and David live in Montana. Mr. Nielsen's middle child, Emily is 28 years old and is profoundly deaf. She is a metal health practicioner who lives in MN & works adults who are Deaf. Emily's son, Elijah, has a rare genetic disorder that caused bilateral tumors in his eyes. He is non verbal, has a g-tube, and has additional physical and cognitive delays. He has been a great joy to all who work with him and has touched many lives. Mr. Nielsen's youngest son, age 24, Thomas lives in Hollywood, California. Thomas does film scoring and music production for companies such as Hulu, Netflix and Paramount. He Mr. Nielsen has been a speech-language pathologist at Dowling since 1998. He holds a BA in music from Carroll University and a Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Minnesota. He has earned an additional 30 graduate credits in the area of Special Education (learning disabilities) from the University of Saint Thomas.
Mr. Nielsen provides assessment and intervention of communication disorders in the areas of language, articulation (speech production), voice, and fluency (stuttering).
