CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Thousands of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students will have a lighter load in their backpacks next week after the school board voted to switch K-12 students back to all remote learning.

Students will go all remote starting December 14, lasting through at least January 15.

“This is a heartbreaking decision for a lot of people because they don't have the luxury to work from home,” says Renee Vesci, who has two kids learning through the remote academy in CMS. “But for my family, I saw this coming....watching the behaviors of people in this area not wearing masks, not complying...I'm glad that we are staying put. And for us, it's business as usual.”

“I think it was the smart, informed choice. I think it was the empathetic, data-based choice,” says CMS teacher Sara Bryan.

“Me, personally, I was already in the full remote academy so it didn't affect me that much. However, when I was speaking to my friends, they were really upset because they want to go back to school due to interactions,” says North Mecklenburg High School student and incoming school board student advisor Breana Fowler.

And they aren't the only ones. Dozens of people gathered Tuesday evening to push for in-person learning.

The school board's decision does not change instruction for prekindergarten students.

Some question whether or not this will change when 2021 comes around.

“I will be shocked that anyone will be ready to truly return in a safe and secure manner by mid-to-late January,” Bryan says.

This means those hours long school board meetings aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Some middle and high school students will still take in-person tests next week.

Students are scheduled to return to school buildings on January 19, following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.