Students, parents of DSHA and Marquette High protest Milwaukee's school reopening strategy

MILWAUKEE -- Roughly 50 people associated with two major private schools in Milwaukee were protesting downtown Monday morning. It's not something you'd expect to see.

Of those who gathered, many of them were high school students, protesting the city of Milwaukee to allow them to attend fall classes in-person.

"I'm fully capable of washing my hands, wearing the mask, and following any guidelines that are put in place this fall," Audrey Ellis said.

Ellis, a student at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School says it shouldn't be this hard to go to class.

"They're trying to keep us as safe as possible," said Ellis.

This protest comes days after the city's health department announced that class cannot be allowed to resume in-person this fall since the city has not met the appropriate health requirements.

"Our schools have been working all summer and they have protocols in place," a parent said.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with DSHA community members are students, and parents, from Marquette University High School.

"We're not going to stop until we get out schools back in session in-person this Fall," one parent said.

As this protest finds its legs, marching around city hall, a school administrator with DSHA says doing anything less than allowing a return to class will be heartbreaking.

'We put a plan together where we were going to keep every girl, and every faculty member, six feet apart. We were mandating masks. We spent a lot of money to put safety precautions into our school," said Katie Konieczny, President of Divine Savior Holy Angels High School. "Safety has to be the lead, and if I felt that we did not have a safe plan in place then I'd slow down and I'd relook at it."

Most here agree that they, and city health officials, want the same thing —to stay safe at school.

But the form that takes is the topic debate.

In a statement from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee -- they say they are in  "collaboration with advisors and other entities -- assessing options that would allow physical reopening in some form to occur."