Thousands of students in the Hudson Valley headed back to class Monday morning for in-person learning for the first time in a week.

School officials in numerous districts made the decision to hold off on coming back to the classroom after the holidays due to the spike in COVID-19 cases.

The Yonkers and New Rochelle school districts have been on a remote learning schedule since Jan. 3, the day they were scheduled to return from Christmas break.

Students in New Rochelle returned to school Monday.

It was also the first day back in the classroom since the holiday break for students at Gorton High School in Yonkers. They were supposed to return a week ago, but a spike in COVID cases prompted the district to make the switch to remote learning.

Students of closed Yonkers schools were given state-issued testing kits and required a negative test to return to class Monday.

Officials in New Rochelle and Yonkers say they hope accessible COVID testing will keep students in the classroom amid the Omicron surge.

Some schools are keeping their doors shut this week, like Mount Vernon. The district announced it won't be reopening until Tuesday, Jan 18.