RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. — Randolph County school leaders are holding off on sending elementary students back full-time.

Starting Monday, Oct. 26, pre-K through fifth grade students will be in class four days a week, with Wednesday serving as a remote learning day.

School leaders are hoping this will help teachers who are feeling overwhelmed.

“Look at the way that we can do the things that they’ve asked us to do, like deep cleaning the room and sanitizing, and being able to see our remote students at some point,” said Lisa Louth, a Randolph County Schools teacher.

Teachers say their workload has almost doubled between juggling an A-day/B-day model, teaching remote students, and trying to keep everyone up to speed on using the online platforms

It’s part of the reason teachers were advocating for at least one virtual day.

“If you don’t practice using it, you lose it, and so that kind of keeps them somewhat in the loop of using that sort of learning,” said Shelley Stover, a Randolph County Schools teacher.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Randolph County. Superintendent Dr. Stephen Gainey said as of last week there are 103 positive cases associated with the school system. Over half of those have come in the last four weeks. Dr. Gainey also said 21 student cases and 18 staff cases have directly affected the schools.

Meanwhile, teachers are fighting to give students the education they deserve.

“Trying to do everything we can to support those relationships and to keep our students involved and engaged with their learning,” Stover said.