Members of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education met Thursday to discuss whether or not high school students will begin a blend of remote and in-person learning next week. They reached a decision just before 6:30 p.m.The board adjusted recommendations by the interim Superintendent Tricia McManus. McManus recommended pausing all high school students' return to a mix of in-person and remote learning for three weeks. All grades had been scheduled to begin returning to classrooms for instruction next week.Click the video player above for the latest after the school board vote.The board voted to bring back high school students in all grades in Career and Technical Education (CTE) the week of Jan. 25. These students are required to have hands-on learning to receive their credits. A district spokesperson said schools would communicate with families further. The board voted to bring back freshmen in cohorts starting Feb. 1. This is a one week delay from the initial plan. They'll return in phases. The board also voted to wait to bring back 10th, 11th and 12th-grade students starting Feb. 22. Board members Montsinger and Bramer opposed the motion, but it passed. McManus said the recommendation to pause the Plan B approach came after consulting with health experts and principals. “It’s a more complex return,” McManus said to the board of high schoolers return to in-person learning. “High school is a different beast.”McManus raised concerns about the district’s ability to properly and effectively contract trace when positive cases are identified. Dr. Leslie Alexander, principal of Reynolds High School, said all 17 high school principals agreed that they did not have the staffing to bring students back for in-person learning in cohorts.“A pause is different than a do not return,” McManus said ahead of the vote.When they return to in-person learning, Atkins, Carver, Kennedy, Walkertown and Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy are slated to break students into two cohorts with cohort 1 having in-person learning Monday Tuesday and Cohort in-person on Thursday and Friday.Students at East, Glenn, Mt. Tabor, North, Parkland, Regan, Reynolds and West are broken into four cohorts. Cohorts 1 and 2 would be in-person two days a week for weeks one and three. Cohorts 3 and 4 would be in person two days a week for weeks two and four. The plan is outlined in a table listed on the “Our Safe Return” section of the district website. Click the video player below to see how the changes and limbo are affecting students.For freshman Lillian Pike, remote learning has its challenges, but, for her, it’s the unknowns that are exacerbating the stress she feels. She said right now, she’s spending much of her day in front of a screen, often running into technical problems with Zoom and Canvas. She said she’s struggled in classes like math, where immediate help can be necessary. “I want to go back just so I can learn the way I’m used to,” she said, by Zoom in-between classes Thursday and while trying to navigate a new schedule.For her, lacrosse is an escape. She plays for her high school and on a club team. Her mother said without lacrosse, she doesn’t know how Lillian would have coped with the challenges of this school year. “That’s the only thing I think that has gotten her through the last ten months: lacrosse,” said Jennifer Pike. “Honestly, I don’t know how this would have gone without that outlet."Pike has two children: Lillian and a son who is a senior within WS/FCS. She said she has talked with both of them about the realities of anxiety and depression and the impact remote learning can have on their mental health. “She doesn’t feel like she’s in high school yet," Pike said. "They really didn’t finish middle school. It’s been a hard, difficult year and now our concern is that they’re going to delay high school start or it’s going to be stopped indefinitely.”She said she has both shared and unique worries for her children, as one prepares to start the next chapter of high school while the other prepares for college and whatever comes next.“They’re here navigating remote learning by themselves and issues that come up they’re having to really step up and handle them. It’s lonely. It has been hard,” Pike said.She hopes students would return to in-person learning. “We understand covid is real and people are sick and scared and worried,” Pike said. “I think everyone wants to get to the same place but we all have different ideas on how to get there.”High school students make up about a third of the district’s students, according to a spokesperson for the district. Brent Campbell said planning for the return of in-person learning for high school students has brought additional challenges due to higher transmission rates of COVID-19 among older students, the specialized nature of their class schedules and the sheer number of students who are in high school in the district. In a statement released by the district, interim Superintendent Tricia McManus said, “I think these modifications will be helpful. We must pause and analyze our processes, specifically our contact tracing efforts. Those efforts are crucial and must not be strained by adding more students at this time. We must use the contact tracing strategy effectively if we are to continue to align with the CDC’s recommended mitigation efforts to slow the spread.” Students in Pre-K through grade 8 have already returned to in-person learning. This decision will not affect their schedules.