Families & Community

Involvement and support from our families and community are critical to achieving our mission and living our values. We look forward to partnering with you to support students and build a community of lifelong learners.

Family Communication Resources

Attendance

To report my student's absence, you have three ways to choose from to notify Southwest. You only have to chose one below:

1. Call the main number, 612-668-3030, then press #1.

On the voicemail, leave:

Student's name
Student ID number
Date of absence
Reason for absence
Contact information for caregiver requesting the absence

2. Fill out the Google Form.

3. Email Southwest.Attendance@mpls.k12.mn.us.

How do I get my student released for an appointment during the school day?

Call, email, use the Google form or send a note with your student. Include the time they will be leaving school, their student ID # and if they will be returning back to school. Students should come to the office to receive a pass if they are leaving in the middle of a class period.

Students without pre-authorization to leave school are required to have a caregiver come in to the security desk inside Door 1 to be signed out.

List of excused absences

Sick/Injury	Student is sick or injured and cannot attend school.
Appointment	Absence will be excused with documentation from a doctor, dentist, etc. Documentation can be dropped off in the main office, emailed or uploaded to the Google Form.
Family Activity/Vacation	A pre-approved absence form is required for absences for more than two days. The form can be picked up in the main office. When completed and signed by an Assistant Principal, the form should be turned in to the main office.
Family Emergency	Up to 3 days in an academic year.
Funeral	Up to 4 days.
Religious/Cultural	An absence for a religious or cultural activity.

FAQ

Do I need to call in for my student to be excused for sports, choir, band, field trips or in-school testing?	Coaches and teachers send rosters to attendance to excuse students for any early dismissal or missed class periods. Parents do not need to call also.
My student was marked absent by a sub. My student says they were in class.	Have your student work it out with the teacher or sub. The teacher will inform attendance.
My student is 18. Can they call in their own absences?	Only students who are officially emancipated from their parents/guardians and it is documented can call in their own absences.
Can my student go out for lunch?	Only students in the 11th and 12th grade can leave for lunch. They must return through Door #1. Returning late from lunch will result in detention. No student is allowed to return to school after 1:30 pm without a doctor's note.

School Messenger

This app allows you to receive alerts through email or a text on your phone. With this free service, you will receive text messages notifying you of inclement weather, safety alerts and other important information from Minneapolis Public Schools and the SW principal.

To Change Your Preferences

Families can now edit communication preferences – calls, texts, alternate phone numbers, etc. This feature also gives you a place to review messages you may have missed.
If you have multiple children attending MPS, you will be able to add them all to the same account.

To Set Up an Account

Go to go.schoolmessenger.com and click the Sign Up Now link in the top right corner of the page.
You will be taken to the Sign Up page where you will need to enter a valid email address, a password and your name.
Click Sign Up when you are done.
Log in using your email address and password.
Once you’ve activated your account, you’re ready to add your child to your account. Click the Click here to begin button.
Select the option that says, “I do not have an Activation Code and want to activate by phone,” and click Next.
Add your child’s MPS student ID number.
Follow the instructions on the page to call in and activate your account. You will need to be able to call into the system from one of the phone numbers associated with your child’s student record.
When you have finished adding your child to your account, navigate to the Contacts tab and click the edit link to right of your child’s name. Check which types of messages you would like to receive and at which phone number or email address. Make sure that you click Save when you are done making changes.

Visit go.schoolmessenger.com at any time to access your account.

Parent Portal

Portal gives students and families access to class schedules, attendance, grades, test results, transcripts, and teacher contact information.

To get to Infinite Campus, click HERE

If you need your parent portal access code to set up a parent/guardian account, contact Jody Newberg (Front Desk) or Lora Grafenstein-Kinzel (Registrar).

For instructions on setting up a Parent Portal account, click HERE.

Talking Points

TalkingPoints is an app used by both teachers and families. It automatically translates messages from English to families' home languages. Families can use standard text messages or the talking points app to respond to messages from teachers. You can find out more sign up information HERE.

Do I need to download the app to get a TalkingPoints message from my student's teacher?

No. There are two options for how families can receive/send TalkingPoints messages:

Standard text message: As long as the text conversation is started by an MPS employee through the TalkingPoints app, families can reply and send messages through their standard text messaging app on their smartphones.
TalkingPoints for Parents App: There is a free app available to download from the Google Play or Apple app store.
• The app provides additional features, like text-to-speech to read messages out loud (which is very helpful to our Somali community).
• Once families have the app, all text exchanges happen through the app; some caregivers like this option as it keeps their communication with MPS in one easy to access place.