Dowling Elementary School
Overview
Dowling Elementary is a Community School built in 1924. Dowling Elementary does have air conditioning in the building and does have its own kitchen. The building does not have a Safe and Welcoming Entrance, as defined by Capital Planning, Construction, and Maintenance. The building is 88,608 square feet in size and has a design enrollment of approximately 470 students.
Between school years 2014 and 2023, Minneapolis Public Schools has invested $5,354,076 in capital expenditures for the building. In 2017, a facilities condition assessment classified the building as being in fair condition. The Operations Division will be conducting another facilities condition assessment in calendar year 2025.
Dowling Elementary had an enrollment of 399 students as of 01 October, 2024, with approximately 37.6% of those students qualifying for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch benefits. Note that families are still submitting Applications for Educational Benefits, so this proportion may change over the course of the school year. Total enrollment is approximately 85% of the building’s designed enrollment, making the current building use efficient [‘efficient’ is defined as enrollment totalling between 70% and 90% of the design enrollment].
Building Use
At direction of the Board of Education, in October 2024 district staff performed a physical space study of all District schools. This included a walkthrough of the buildings that included many different stakeholders – Board directors, principals, teachers, central office staff, custodians, and others. The tables, figures, and plots below are a summary of data collected during the walkthrough of Dowling Elementary.
Classroom Spaces
See Table 1 below for how classrooms and labs are being used in the building.
Plan Use |
Actual Use |
N Rooms |
---|---|---|
Classroom |
Classroom |
20 |
Classroom |
Intervention Room |
1 |
Classroom |
Lab - Art |
1 |
Classroom |
Lab - Vocational |
1 |
Classroom |
Minneapolis Kids |
1 |
Classroom |
Music Room |
1 |
Classroom |
Not in Use |
1 |
Classroom |
OT/PT Room |
1 |
Classroom |
Office - Private |
1 |
Classroom |
Pull Out Space |
2 |
Classroom |
Special Ed Resource Room |
1 |
Classroom |
Special Ed Self Contained Room |
4 |
Classroom |
Storage |
2 |
Office - Private |
Lab - Art |
1 |
Table 1. Classroom and instructional spaces
Building Layout
The below figure[s] are building floorplans as annotated by building staff.
Figure 1. Floorplan for Dowling Elementary, floorplan pages 1 through 1
Guided Discussion
A guided discussion consisting of three questions was held with those who participated in the walkthrough. The major themes are included below, as are more detailed summaries of walkthrough participants’ answers.
- Question 1: In what ways does the physical environment in this building best support learning?
- Question 2: In what way does the physical environment in this building interfere with how we would like learning to happen today and in the future?
- Question 3: What should the district know or appreciate about the physical environment of this building?
Question 1: In what ways does the physical environment in this building best support learning?
Question 2: In what way does the physical environment in this building interfere with how we would like learning to happen today and in the future?
Question 3: What should the district know or appreciate about the physical environment of this building?
Overall Discussion Themes
-
Unique outdoor learning spaces
-
Building is highly accessible
-
Rich history in the community
-
Houses the second-oldest victory garden in the country
-
Building and grounds are used year-round by the community
Survey Results
Fourteen questions were asked of walkthrough participants at the end of the walkthrough. There were 9 respondents to the survey at Dowling Elementary. The questions the participants were asked are included in Table 2 below, and the response breakdowns are included in Plot 1 below.
Question |
Question Short |
Question Text |
---|---|---|
1 |
welcoming main entry |
The main entry is welcoming and able to be used by all students and visitors. |
2 |
physical space design supports program |
Generally, the design of the learning spaces in the building supports the way we teach and learn (e.g. classrooms are large enough to fit student desks, small group work space, etc.; there is storage for necessary curriculum, tools, manipulatives; all students can hear when the teacher is talking). |
3 |
enough classrooms |
The building has enough classrooms to support the number of students enrolled in the program. |
4 |
entire student body can meet together |
The school has a space large enough for the entire student body to be together. |
5 |
adequate academic intervention space |
The school has sufficient pull-out space to support instructional needs. |
6 |
adequate regulation space |
The school has sufficient pull-out space to respond to student behaviors. |
7 |
adequate SPED space |
There are sufficient spaces to meet the needs of the school’s Special Education programming. |
8 |
mental health space |
There are sufficient spaces to meet the mental health needs of students. |
9 |
adequate lunch room |
The cafeteria can accommodate the entire student body in three lunch services. |
10 |
gyms large enough |
The gyms are large enough to meet the needs of the program. |
11 |
enough admin space |
There is enough administrative space to meet the needs of the program. |
12 |
functional outdoor space |
The outdoor environment provides space for both learning and play. |
13 |
adequate restrooms |
The restrooms in the building meet the needs of the student body in terms of location, quantity, and inclusion. |
14 |
building feels bright and welcoming |
The building feels bright, welcoming, and efficient. |
Table 2. Survey questions
Plot 1. Survey results for Dowling Elementary