COVID-19 Information

Hello OCFSD Families,

The Oak Creek Health Department (OCHD) just recently updated the guidance they will provide to families regarding isolation for school-age children who test positive for COVID-19.  We would like to take this opportunity to share this with you so you are aware of what it means for your child and their return to school.

Updated Oak Creek Health Department Isolation Guidance - School-aged children who have tested positive for COVID-19 can end their isolation after 5 days if their symptoms have improved (including not having a fever) and they can reliably wear a mask at all times around others. 

Under this new guidance, students will be allowed to return to school after 5 days of isolation (the date of symptom onset is day 0) if symptoms have improved and they wear a mask for  5 days following isolation.  This new practice will go into effect immediately.

We continue to encourage all students and staff to stay home when sick and to consider wearing a face mask while at school as preventative measures against transmission of the virus to others.

Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding as we continue to navigate this pandemic together and adapt to changing recommendations from public health authorities.

Bridget Kotarak, Assistant Superintendent
b.kotarak@ocfsd.org

Hello OCFSD Families,

We hope you have enjoyed some fun and relaxing time with your children, friends, and family over the holidays and this time off of school. 

As we get closer to welcoming students back on Monday, we’d like to take this opportunity to check in with some reminders regarding our COVID-19 protocols and access to testing.  Thank you for taking the time to review this information carefully.

• If your child(ren) are feeling ill or experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms, please keep them home from school until symptoms have improved and they have been fever free for 24 hours. Please consider having your child(ren) tested for COVID-19 if they are symptomatic.  

• Please do not send your children to school while you are awaiting COVID-19 test results.  This will help to prevent exposure to other individuals should your child test positive.

• If your child(ren) are close contacts to a positive individual, they are not required to quarantine.  However, please monitor them closely for the onset of symptoms.

COVID-19 Testing Locations:

• The COVID-19 testing center located at the District Office will reopen on Monday, January 3 at 7:00 AM and will be open daily until 2:00 PM.  You can save time by pre-registering anyone getting tested by going to:  https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov/

• The South Shore Health Departments also have a mobile COVID-19 testing site in the former K-Mart parking lot, located at 6077 S. Packard Avenue in Cudahy. This site is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone needing to be tested must pre-register at www.testdirectly.com.

Recently updated isolation and quarantine guidelines from the CDC may impact the isolation and quarantine dates you receive from the Oak Creek Health Department should your child test positive or have close contact with a positive individual.

Please do not hesitate to email or call should you have any questions.  We are here to help!

Bridget Kotarak, Assistant Superintendent
b.kotarak@ocfsd.org

Good afternoon OCFSD families,

We can’t wait to welcome our students back for the 2021-2022 school year in less than two weeks! We are looking forward to starting this school year off strong and together. We would like to take this opportunity to remind our families about some important COVID-19 procedures and protocols and share some new information as well related to the upcoming year. 

Please see below (July 28, 2021 Family Message) for information regarding face coverings, contact tracing and quarantine procedures for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Hy-Flex/Remote Learning
If your child tests positive for COVID-19 or is quarantined due to sickness or close contact, your child’s principal and classroom teacher(s) will work together with you to assist your student in accessing instruction remotely during school days they cannot be physically present.  Please contact your school principal immediately if your child will be out of school for a period of time due to the reasons outlined above.

COVID-19 Testing Accessible for Families through DHS Program
Earlier this summer, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced a federally funded COVID-19 testing program available for interested Wisconsin schools this school year. OCFSD has opted into this COVID testing program so we can help provide families with easier access to a COVID-19 test if their child or children are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. By providing easy access to COVID-19 testing in our schools, we can identify cases early, prevent spread and help avoid outbreaks. Having this option available to interested families also helps to ensure all students, teachers and staff have access to testing.

     In School COVID-19 Testing:

• Parents/Guardians will be offered the opportunity to have their child tested when they are contacted to notify them that their child is not feeling well and exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms;

• Health room staff will be trained to administer a rapid, point of care antigen test to students who develop COVID-19 symptoms during the school day;

• Parents/Guardians interested in having their child tested, will need to complete a one-time consent form when they pick up their child before the test will be administered;

• Parents/Guardians will receive test results electronically via email. The Department of Health Services has created a digital system, COVID Connect, to register students and families for testing. This electronic system will automatically email results to the email address provided at the time of testing. 

      Off-Site COVID-19 Testing:

• Students/staff identified as close contacts and symptomatic students/staff can also access COVID-19 testing services through a mobile testing unit provided for through the DHS COVID-19 Testing in Schools Program.

• A mobile COVID-19 testing unit will be available to students, staff, and OCFSD families from 7:00 - 11:00 AM Monday through Friday in the parking lot of the OCFSD District Office (7630 South 10th St.).  

• Parents/Guardians must complete a one-time consent form for testing at the mobile site along with other required registration information.

• Parents/Guardians will receive test results electronically via email. The Department of Health Services has created a digital system, COVID Connect, to register students and families for testing. This electronic system will automatically email results to the email address provided at the time of testing

For more information regarding these COVID-19 testing options, please contact Assistant Superintendent Bridget Kotarak at (414) 768-6150.

Frequently Asked Questions for Families
We know the start of a new school year can be overwhelming, especially during a global pandemic. To make it a little easier to find the answers to your questions we have developed a Frequently Asked Questions For Families document which you can find below. This document will be updated as the school year progresses and if circumstances change so we encourage you to check back frequently for the most current information.

We appreciate your continued support as we work every day to provide successful and healthy learning environments our students deserve. We can’t wait to see our students soon.

Good morning OCFSD families,

On behalf of all of us in the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, we hope you and your family are enjoying a relaxing and fun summer! I know for me it has been refreshing to get back to some of the activities and gatherings that have been absent from our lives for too long.

On Monday evening, the Board of Education discussed proposed COVID-19 protocols for fall 2021. The Board of Education will vote on these protocols August 9 but we wanted to share them with you now as we know back to school planning is in full swing. 

For the last 18 months, we've had to remain flexible and fluid with our planning as things continue to evolve. While we are thrilled at the progress being made in our community and state, we will continue to stay in-touch with illness rates within each school and the community and evolving guidance from local and national health officials. If we need to adjust mitigation strategies in an effort to keep everyone safe, we will do so and make sure to inform our school communities of any changes. 

COVID-19 Protocols for 2021-2022

Face-Coverings

At this time face coverings will be optional, just like during summer school, for all students, staff and school visitors regardless of vaccination status. However, due to the Federal Transportation Mandate, as of now, masks are required on school buses. 

Contact Tracing and Quarantine Procedures

The following quarantine procedures have been reviewed by the Board of Education and will likely be in place on the first day of the 2021-2022 school year.

• Students with COVID-19 symptoms will be required to remain at home until symptom-free for 24 hours.

• School and District staff will continue to conduct contact tracing in coordination with the Oak Creek Health Department to identify close contacts when we learn of a positive case in a school. The names of those individuals will be forwarded to the Oak Creek Health Department or other appropriate health department who will notify families of their child’s status as a close contact to a positive individual. 

• Individuals who are identified as close contacts to a positive individual in the school setting are encouraged, but not required by the District, to follow the quarantine guidance they receive from their local health department. Currently, vaccinated individuals are not being advised to quarantine.   

• Close contacts will be encouraged to self-monitor symptoms for 14 days following exposure and may consider getting tested on day 6 or 7 after exposure to help identify asymptomatic spread.

OC Virtual
OCFSD’s OC Virtual program will remain in place for the 2021-2022 school year. OC Virtual is a completely online program designed to meet student needs. If you’re interested in enrolling in OC Virtual please contact Dani Palm at d.palm@ocfsd.org.

Other Mitigation Strategies

Our thoughtful cleaning protocols will remain in place as will our hand-washing practices and sanitizing stations in every building, and all school ventilation systems have been updated. 

In addition, our buildings will be open to visitors, which include volunteers and guest speakers. Field trips and school assemblies are also permitted this year.

We can’t wait to welcome our students back to school this fall. The start of every school year brings a sense of excitement, but this year there’s a special spark in the air. We are all ready for a fresh start, a new school year, a new chance for growth and togetherness. And we cannot wait for all that’s to come.

As always, thank you for your continued support and GO KNIGHTS! 

Daniel D. Unertl, J.D.
Superintendent

We strongly encourage all staff and students (who are eligible) to get the vaccine. However, we are not requiring vaccinations of staff or students.

We are not requiring staff members or students to tell the District if they are vaccinated. However, staff and students can voluntarily share this information with their school principal if they would like.

OCFSD staff do not have to share their vaccination status.

Face coverings are strongly encouraged but not required for students, staff or visitors. Unvaccinated individuals are strongly encouraged to wear a face covering when indoors.

As of Monday, February 28, 2022, the federal government will no longer require face coverings on school buses. Students can continue to wear face coverings, but are no longer required to wear face coverings on the bus. 

The District has the same available PPE we had at the close of school last year. Face masks are available for anyone in need of one.

Face masks are encouraged but optional for all staff and students. Individual teachers, coaches, or staff cannot require masks to be worn in their classrooms, programs or activities.

Students and staff who are sick or who have COVID-19 symptoms should remain at home until symptom free. Anyone with symptoms is encouraged to get a COVID-19 test.  

Please notify your school principal if your child tests positive for COVID-19. You will receive further direction regarding access to HyFlex learning and return to school dates.

Any staff or student who tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, must isolate at home for 10 days. Day 1 of the isolation period is the day after the date on which symptoms first started or for asymptomatic individuals the day after the date on which the nasal swab was taken.

The District will continue to aid in contact tracing and in notifying families of their child’s status as a close contact. The District will share the names of positive students and close contacts with the Health Department and encourage families to follow the guidance they receive from them.

The decision to quarantine due to close contact with a positive individual will be a family decision based upon the guidance they receive from the Health Department. Principals and classroom teachers will work together with students/families to assist them in accessing instruction remotely during school days in which they are in quarantine

Anyone identified as a close contact should monitor their personal health for the onset of symptoms for 14 days following exposure. Close contacts could consider getting a COVID-19 test on day 6 or 7 after exposure to help identify asymptomatic spread.

Virtual attendance and virtual participation in education is designed to support students whose families are following the guidance of the Health Department to quarantine their students due to close contact with a positive individual. Any student who tests positive may also participate virtually during their isolation period.

Students will not be kept in consistent cohorts to the same extent they were in 2020-2021.

Yes, teachers can go on field trips with students. Face masks will be required if students will be riding buses as a part of the experience

Staff will not have to spray down student desks in between classes.

Yes, the large hand sanitizing stations will remain in schools for access by students and staff.

Yes, schools can plan and hold all school or large group events, assemblies and celebrations.

Yes, visitors, guest speakers and volunteers are allowed in schools and classrooms this year. Unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to consider wearing face coverings when indoors and working with students.

As we did last spring, the District will continue to track positive cases and staffing numbers. We may temporarily close a school or pivot to remote learning if we cannot staff one or more schools due to increases in staff absences and lack of necessary substitutes or coverage.