Health Services
Wauwatosa School District Nurses work with students, families, and staff to enhance the student educational process by preventing, removing, or limiting barriers to student learning, while promoting decision-making that leads to an optimal level of health.
If your student has any health needs that will impact them during the school day or during extracurricular activities, please contact the nurse that covers your student’s school.
Direct services are provided to students through the combined efforts of nurses, health aides, school secretaries, designated teachers and instructional assistants.
Minor illness or injury will be taken care of by a trained, designated staff member. In case of a serious illness or injury, trained staff will provide basic first aid and use the emergency medical services by calling 911, when necessary.
Student Health Services include medication administration, health care plans, first aid and illness care, emergency care, immunization records, special health care procedures, vision screening and individual health counseling.
Illness Guidelines
The following guidelines will help you decide whether your child is too ill to attend school. This information does not take the place of consulting a medical provider
Every day your child is absent, a parent/guardian must call the school’s attendance line to report their absence and the reason for the absence.
Make sure to send children to school if they are:
Generally healthy and well.
Participating in usual day-to-day activities.
Children can go to school if they:
Have a mild cold, which may include a runny nose and/or cough.
Have eye drainage without fever, eye pain or eyelid redness.
Have a mild stomach ache.
Have a mild rash with no other symptoms.
Have head lice. Though they are annoying and should be treated, lice are not a reason to exclude a child from school.
Keep your child home if:
What are my symptoms? | When should I stay home? When to seek medical care? | When can I return to school? |
|---|---|---|
Fever | I have a fever of 100.4°F or higher. | If I have not had a fever in 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and I am feeling better. |
Vomiting and/or diarrhea | If I have vomited or had diarrhea 2 or more times in the last 24 hours. Consider seeking medical care if I have stomach cramping and fever, bloody or black stool, or I am showing signs of dehydration (tired and sleepy, dry mouth and not urinating at least once in the last 8 hours). | If I did not vomit or have diarrhea in the past 24 hours and I haven’t had any medicine to stop those symptoms. |
Persistent cough or trouble breathing | Keep me home if I have severe cold symptoms (hacking/harsh cough or a very runny nose) that disrupts normal school activity. Consider seeking medical care if I have a persistent cough, difficulty breathing or trouble catching my breath or if I develop a fever with the cough. | Once I am feeling better and can maintain personal hygiene (catching cough, washing hands and wiping nose). If my symptoms require an inhaler, please make sure that I have permission to use my inhaler at school. |
Rash | If my rash is bleeding or draining and unable to be covered, then I must stay home. Consider seeking medical care if the rash is new or has blisters, is draining, is painful, looks like bruises and/or if I develop a fever. | Rash has healed or I have been cleared for return by my health-care provider. |
Eye irritation | If I have a fever, behavior changes or am constantly rubbing/touching my eye(s). Consider seeking medical care if I have eye swelling, eye pain, trouble seeing, eye drainage, or an eye injury. | Once I can keep my hands away from my eyes. |
Sore throat | If my throat hurts so much that I don’t want to talk or if eating and drinking is so painful I’m not able to eat enough to maintain energy for school. Consider seeking medical care if I have drooling, trouble swallowing or a fever and/or rash. | Once I am feeling better and can talk, eat and drink normally. |
Head Lice, Scabies, Ringworm | I can stay in school until the end of the day and return after the first treatment is completed (exclusion is not necessary before the end of the school day). | Once first treatment is completed, I can return to school |
Children and teenagers may also avoid school due to anxiety. If you are worried that your child may be suffering from anxiety, talk with your child’s teacher, the school nurse, counselor, social worker or other school staff to discuss the challenges and identify what can help your child stay in school.
If your child has a compromised immune system, is at high risk for complications from common illnesses, or has a chronic health condition that has a history of impacting their school attendance more than 2 days a month, please talk to your school nurse about developing a plan with you and your child's health-care provider to keep your child healthy and safe while attending school.
Additional Resources
Contact Information
General Fax: (414) 244-9036
Katelyn Lasse, MPH, BSN, RN, NCSN
District Nurse
Eisenhower Elementary, Montessori, Whitman Middle School, 18-21 Transition Services, County Programs, and Wauwatosa Virtual Academy
(414) 773-1961
Email
Alicia Styka, BSN, RN, NCSN
Jefferson Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary
(414) 773-1962
Email
Pam Ziolkowski, BSN, RN
West High School, Madison Elementary, McKinley Elementary
(414) 773-1969
Email
Kirsten Russell, BSN, RN
Lincoln Elementary School, Longfellow Middle School, Underwood/USTEM
(414) 773-1964
Email
Sonia Pacheco, RN, CPN
East High School, Washington Elementary, Wilson Elementary/WSTEM
(414) 773-1968
Email