*** If you need to email me: jennifer.milano@mpls.k12.mn.us

Dear Kindergarten Families,

Welcome to Dowling School! My name is Jennifer Milano (“Ms. Jen”) and I’m very excited to be your child’s kindergarten teacher this year! Dowling is a wonderful school for your child to learn and grow!

A little bit about me:

I've been an educator for over 20 years. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California where I taught preschool, kindergarten and third grade (Los Angeles Unified School District) for several years prior to coming to Minnesota in 2008. I have a degree in Art and I'm licensed both in Elementary Education and English as a Second Language (in California and Minnesota). When I first arrived in Minnesota, I started teaching at Northrop Urban Environmental School where I spent 8 wonderful years both as a Literacy/Instructional Specialist and as a third grade teacher. I consider myself extremely lucky to be in my 4^th year at Dowling School and to be part of an amazing Kindergarten Team.

Outside of school, I love spending time with family and friends. I have two amazing daughters; one is in high school and the other is in middle school! It's unbelievable how fast children grow up. We love going to our home state of California or to Florida's beaches (when it’s possible).  I enjoy dance, music, language, and art. I've been continously trying to improve my Spanish as well! I have a strong passion for the environment and believe all people are responsible for caring for it and understanding how much we need nature. I am definitely a major tree and bee advocate and hope to strengthen my students' understanding of the importance of both.

We have a fabulous kindergarten team and plan to make communication between home and school a priority in order to support your student’s learning. Each week, our team will send updates to families regarding programming and other important information. We will also post updates on our team and classroom webpages. If you have questions or concerns about any of the information you receive or about your child’s performance, please do not hesitate to contact me (use the Remind app or e-mail).

Thank you in advance for your support, and thanks for reading!

Love, 

Ms. Jen :-)