LEXINGTON, Ky. — Students across Kentucky are returning to school this month. Instead of heading to the classroom, many school districts are opting for virtual learning.

Wednesday was the first day of classes for students in Fayette County Public Schools.

FCPS says out of 43,000 students, at least 12,000 of them were expected to start the first day of school without a Chromebook.

All 150 kindergarten through second-grade students at the Rise Steam Academy for Girls, which is one of Fayette County's newest schools, received a Chromebook so they could participate in the district’s NTI 2.0 instruction.

"I never would have imagined that we would be looking at the first day of school, in this way,” said Emily Hisle, a first-grade teacher at Rise Steam Academy.

Hisle is one of nearly 3,000 teachers in Fayette County who is starting the brand new year school, either teaching students from home or the inside of an empty classroom.

"I think that it's definitely going to be a learning experience for all of us, and we definitely still take those movement breaks to give them the opportunity to get up and move around. And it's kind of cool that they get to do that in the comfort of their own home. And so they can get up and do what they can," explained Hisel. "I've seen several of them go and talk to their pets, so that's a comfort for them, and so that's really sweet to get to see that side of their life."

Hisle says she never envisioned a scenario where she would teach 22 first graders using a webcam and computer screen. 

However, she says that regardless, she is still excited for the opportunity to get creative and interactive while also remaining true to the Rise Academy’s mission of empowering and introducing her young female scholars to the science, technology, engineering, and math world.

“We do try to be nimble and try to be flexible with our scholars and understanding that they are in that home setting, and it's just going to have a different feel. But we also believe here at Rise that whatever standards we set for our scholars, that's going to be kind of what they rise to and so we do try to set high standards for them, and high expectations for them and be really clear about that," added Hisle.

"We've got it. Together we can really do this and we're here for them. We're here to help them troubleshoot if they're unable to get into a classroom or if they're unable for their screen to not be frozen that we really want to work with them. So we can give our scholars the best start to the school year that we absolutely can,” mentioned Jennifer Jacobs, program director at the Academy.

FCPS says students will not be penalized for not having adequate technology during the first few weeks of school. Instead, it will do all it can to work with every child.

For those in FCPS who have the Chromebooks and/or the internet hotspots, the district has a Technology Help Desk hotline from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Parents and students can also reach support staff by calling 859-381-4410.