ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Back to school and back to normal for kids in the Allentown School District.

After more than a week out of the classroom, students are finally back on the regular schedule.

Because of the snow and then the freezing cold, students had virtual learning all last week. And on Monday, there was a two-hour delay.

School leaders say there were some factors that made the decision obvious, including the lack of parking, and the safety of transportation while getting the kids to and from school.

“It feels great. It’s great to see the kids in person. Great to see our staff in person. Spirits are high and attendance is high, so we’re happy to be back.” said Dieruff High School Principal Geoffrey Schmidt.

Schmidt says the snow influenced every other decision last week. Allentown worked with other districts, including the tech school in coordinating reopening and transportation.

“I think there’s a lot of transportation involved here at the high school,” Schmidt continued. “We have our own bus company. We also have LANTA involved because of the transportation that they provide for our students on the public transportation, and then, of course, you just have the conditions around the city.”

Students say those conditions were challenging.

“My street hasn’t been dug out for a minute. I’ve seen people working like all day, and the snow still piles up, piles up,” said Dieruff High School student Jhalani Stewart.

“No roads were clear, there’s no parking anywhere to this day, so yeah, definitely should have been closed,” said Nyiah Gomez of Allentown.

Students discovered how to learn virtually during COVID and dug into their old bag of tricks last week.

“The good thing about it is that you don’t have the stress of going to school and like finding out where to park. And the bad thing about it is having people show up to the online classes,” said student Jordan Buss.

“The good part was I was able to do schoolwork from the comfort of my home, so I would put time aside for it, and then I would be able to finish everything,” Stewart said.

Allentown’s transportation provider, STA, continues to monitor routes and adjust schedules, but bus delays may still occur.