We want to ensure you and your family have everything you need to be prepared for the first day of school. This edition of our Family News highlights popular back-to-school topics, resources and events. 

We are excited for the upcoming academic year, and offer our continued appreciation for your partnership!

4K, Kindergarten, 1st, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th grades

All grades return 4K-12

– first day of school for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 11th, and 12th grades

26th Annual Back to School Celebration

Where: Alliant Energy Center, Madison, WI

When: Saturday, August 21, 2021

Time: 9 a.m. – Noon

All Dane County elementary and middle school students of limited income families and their parents are invited to participate in this drive through event. Given current health concerns, all families are asked to remain in their cars for this event. Walk up distribution will not be available.

Elementary and middle school students accompanied by their parents will receive a new backpack full of school supplies until materials are exhausted.

And, thanks to our strategic partners at Walmart, COVID-19 vaccinations will be available, free of charge, to all individuals ages 12 and over. Also, representatives of the Madison City Clerk’s Office will be on hand to provide voter registration assistance.

Visit our Website or call (608) 205-8572 for more information.

The 100 Black Men of Madison, Inc., was established in 1994 as a nonprofit civic organization with the mission to make a positive difference in the lives of area youth through mentoring, education, health, and wellness and economic development programs.

Athletics Are Back!

We are underway with all of our fall sports, and competitions have begun. In the fall, we offer football, cheer, girls swim & dive, girls golf, girls tennis, boys and girls cross country, boys soccer, and boys volleyball.

Schedules can be found for all levels and programs at big8conference.net.



All MMSD Students will Receive Free Meals for the 2021-22 School Year

This school year, all MMSD students will receive free meals under the USDA's Summer Seamless Option program. All students 18 years old and younger are eligible for meals at no charge. 



Under this program, we are required to promote and process applications for free and reduced priced meals (we expect the application to be available the week of August 23) because this establishes a household's eligibility for other benefits, such as state reporting, Wisconsin School Day Milk Program, and P-EBT.  



At mmsd.org/food you can find details, as well as breakfast and lunch menus, and information on what mealtimes will look like at schools.

Online Enrollment is Open

MMSD is supporting existing and new families of elementary, middle, and high school students complete the enrollment process 100% virtually.

Families of continuing students will complete the enrollment process fully online, and will be asked to schedule an appointment with their school only if they need to verify date of birth and/or parent-student relationship. 

Families will can use the enrollment checklist as a guide to help them prepare the documents they need for their student’s enrollment. For assistance with online enrollment or computer access, families can visit these locations. 

Masking, Physical Distancing, and Outdoor Activities

As we prepare to come back to school in person, we have strong, layered mitigation strategies in place, including universal masking. These strategies have drastically limited secondary transmission in our schools through spring and summer.

We are all in this together as a community, and we need to continue to lean forward together. The less transmission there is of COVID-19 in the community, the less we will see of the virus entering our schools.

That means scholars in class learning, connecting with friends, being supported, having structures and routines, playing, growing, taking part in activities, and being part of a school community.

Schools will have in place the following health and safety strategies: 

• Requiring masks for students and staff while inside school buildings and traveling on buses.
• Not requiring masks during outdoor activities.
• Not requiring masks while eating or drinking but maintaining six feet of physical distancing (when possible).
• Maintaining a minimum three feet of physical distancing (when possible) for all individuals when masked.
• Scheduling cleaning of buildings throughout the day.
• Following practices of proper handwashing, respiratory etiquette, and monitoring symptoms.
• Continuing our collaboration with state and local health experts, and reviewing Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance in alignment with our planning.
• At this time, MMSD is not permitting visitors inside of schools and district buildings. However, school leaders can determine access to their buildings on a case-by-case basis, in partnership with health staff. Any visitor must follow our health and safety mitigation strategies.
• Schools and afterschool programming will strive to cohort students in groups, but it is not a requirement as long as everyone is wearing a mask.  

Find additional details in the MMSD COVID-19 Safety Plan.

Is Your Child Up to Date on Routine Back-to-School Vaccines?

We know COVID-19 has disrupted routine well-child doctor visits. Unfortunately, this means many children are currently behind on receiving vaccines, and need to get caught up so they aren't excluded from school by state law.

To enter 4K, and for all children 4-6 years old, students are required to be current on their booster shots for:

• DTaP
• Polio
• MMR
• Chicken pox vaccine

Incoming 6th grade students are required to receive the following vaccines:

• Tdap booster 
• HPV
• Meningococcal

If you're unsure if your child is current on their vaccines, you can check the Wisconsin Immunization Registry, or call your child's healthcare provider. To get your child caught up, make an appointment with their healthcare provider soon. 

By law, students who are not current on these vaccines by Friday, October 15, must have a religious or personal waiver on file or they must be excluded from school for 10 days (October 16-October 25). We don't want that to happen! 

To summarize, here is what you need to do: 

1. Check to see if your child is current on vaccinations required for school. 
2. If not, make an appointment with your child's healthcare provider. 
3. If you do not plan to vaccinate your child, contact your school nurse right away to sign a personal or religious waiver. 

Children 12 years and over are eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC recommends that eligible children are vaccinated to prevent serious illness and death from the COVID-19 virus. Please consult with your child's healthcare provider about getting the vaccine for your child.

Help us protect children by doing what you can to get your child caught up on the recommended vaccines today!

School Supply Lists can be found at mmsd.org/supplies and on individual school websites under ‘For Families.’ Please reach out to your child’s school directly if you have any questions.