KENTUCKY — Breckinridge County elementary schools welcomed back students this week, following a couple weeks of virtual learning.

Superintendent Nick Carter says the first day went smoothly.

“Teachers and staff, principals did an excellent job, and just a lot of smiling faces,” Carter said. “I think it’s very important to note our children want to be back in school and so whenever they’re able to be in-person, they’re happy.”

Breckinridge County School District is one of just three districts across the state holding in-person classes for elementary students.

Cloverport Independent School District, also in Breckinridge County, and Crittenden County Schools are the other two.

Cloverport Superintendent Keith Haynes says he was glad to see kids back.

“Things are going really well actually,” Haynes said. “It’s kind of like we picked up where we left off when we were last in person. Kids were very excited to be back, staff, very excited to have them back.”

The last two weeks have included some challenges for districts.

Each superintendent Spectrum News spoke to for this story, including Vince Clark of Crittenden County Schools, said a group of students had issues with internet access.

“We’re a very rural community. We do not have wifi access across our community, but what we have done is we have collaborated with our local fire departments across the county; we have put in hot spots there,” Clark said. “Our community churches have offered up their wifi and their places for folks to come in.”

Top disease specialists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said schools can still handle in-person classes during the pandemic.

And each school is taking precautions with the virus, like alternating schedules or offering a virtual option.

Gov. Andy Beshear says the virus is too widespread for in-person classes, though.

“We cannot pretend, put ourselves in a fairytale that it just can’t spread in one of these facilities,” Beshear said Monday. “And we have to know that those working in them are scared, the number of people they come into contact with everyday.”

Breckinridge County School District had to shut down one of its schools for a week and move to virtual learning after multiple staff members either tested positive or went into quarantine. Carter said a shortage of substitute teachers made keeping in-person classes going a challenge.

He said none of the positive cases associated with staff members originated at the school though, following trends at other schools across the state.

“Schools are not becoming super-spreaders like what we feared in the past,” Carter said.

Each superintendent of the schools open right now believe school could have remained open the past two weeks, but only with the proper precautions.

“Districts are going to protect their students. They’re going to take care of their students and make sure that everyone is safe, mandate or no mandate, there is no doubt in my mind about that,” Haynes said. “But I think as long as we’re fighting within society, outside of school, as far as is everyone going to wear their mask, is everyone going to socially distance and things like that, it’s going to continue to be a struggle.”

Even if schools reopen, the governor’s orders require them to close again if their county falls back into the red zone.

The state releases its coronavirus incidence rate map every week on Thursday. Only seven of Kentucky’s 120 counties were not in the red last week.

Middle schools and high schools are still closed regardless, and all of the orders expire Jan. 3.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron has challenged Beshear’s order prohibiting in-person classes at religious schools to the U.S. Supreme Court. A decision is pending.