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'It's not an easy decision' | Some Guilford County Schools parents sending kids back to school, others opt to keep students remote

Guilford County Schools will welcome grades 3 through 5 back to class Tuesday, but some parents are keeping their kids virtual as COVID-19 cases surge.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The decision on whether to send kids back to school is something that didn't come easy to parents, and a decision parents said the school district didn't take lightly either. 

Guilford County Schools will continue rolling out their reentry plan Tuesday, welcoming back third through fifth graders for in-person learning. 

Parent Amanda Burch said it wasn't an easy decision for her to keep her daughter in the virtual academy, especially since she wants to go back to school. 

"It was a hard decision because here she is wanting to go back to school so you're having to be the bad guy and kind of break the news and say, 'No you're staying at home and sitting in front of a computer for six hours a day,'" said Burch. 

RELATED: 'It's devastating': Parents react to Guilford County Schools decision to delay middle school reentry

Parent Lelah Delgado is in the same boat. She said her kids want to go back to the classroom, but they ultimately decided to keep them virtual. 

"You make your pros and cons list and you look at what the best scenario is," said Delgado.

Delgado said she thinks the district and Northern Guilford Elementary would do a good job at keeping her fourth grade son safe, but the 'what-if' factors worry her. 

"There's a lot of what-if factors and those are factors I cant really control and protect my kids from and I feel like this day and age they kind of need that protection," said Delgado. 

Bernetta Terry is a healthcare worker and a single mom and is sending her third-grader back to school tomorrow. 

"It was not that hard of a decision for me. I'm a single parent and I work 10-hour shifts, sometimes 12," said Terry, "I've been paying childcare and I don't have extra money to continue to pay for childcare." 

She said her son has been struggling in school with virtual learning. 

"He's been struggling in school the whole time he's been in virtual. He was an all-A student before and now he's getting C's, and I want him to do better in school and this will help him get back to where he needs to be," Terry said.

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