University School of Milwaukee looks forward to welcoming students and families back to school for in-person learning starting Tuesday, Aug. 31, following a highly successful 2020–21 school year and a summer full of in-person programming. The school's leadership team, along with Kathleen Roebber, head school nurse, has been working with several medical advisors over the past 16 months to create its COVID-19 protocols. In early March, Head of School Steve Hancock announced plans to return fully to on-campus learning for the 2021–22 school year, with limited usage of distance learning as needed. Among our many learnings during the pandemic, we have reaffirmed that a USM education is most impactful when teachers can deliver it face-to-face with their students. The 2021–22 plan information was first shared with the community on Friday, Aug. 13, and an update about testing and the school's on-campus testing site was shared on Wednesday, Aug. 25.

The health and safety of the entire USM community continues to be the primary driver in all decision making. The leadership team and the school's medical advisors continue to review and discuss the ongoing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS), and our local health departments, with the school making policy and protocol decisions it believes to be in the best interests of the entire USM community.

The links above provide additional information about many of USM’s efforts in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 in our community, as well as how the school continues to provide an exceptional educational experience for all students during the 2021–22 school year. The spirit of the community is strong, and the systems in place at USM have kept the school community safe. Please continue to support USM as we work together to navigate the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 virus.

USM provides updates on all school days showing how the pandemic is impacting our school community, broken down by each area of the school, as shown below, based on test results from USM's on-campus testing site as well as information shared by families.

* New positive tests listed below are since the previous dashboard reporting on Monday, Sept. 20.

Do you have additional questions regarding the school’s COVID-19 protocols, learning modes, or other things related to the school’s operations during the pandemic? If so, please email your questions or comments to covid@usm.org.