Second-graders at Jefferson Elementary School started school Monday.

NEW ULM — For the first time in over five months, students returned to New Ulm public schools Monday.

In-person classes were held at Washington Learning Center, Jefferson Elementary, the Middle School and the High School.

The first sign that school is back was the long line of vehicles on Garden Street, dropping off students. The line of cars was longer than usual.

Superintendent Jeff Bertrang said more parents chose to drop off students during the first week. Overall, Bertrang said, the school year was off to a great start.

The first week of class will be dedicated to teaching students a new routine, learning under greater health scrutiny.

“We’re all learning a new routine,” Bertrang said. “We have to establish a routine before we can get to academics.”

Students and staff were required to wear masks while in the buildings. One of the early challenges for young students was determining which teacher was talking. With face masks covering moving mouths it can be difficult to know who is speaking.

“We’re going to become good at reading eyes,” Bertrang said.

New Ulm schools were allowed to open for full in-person learning due to the low COVID infection rate in Brown County. State guidelines allow schools to do in-person learning if the positive COVID cases are under 10 per 10,000 over the previous two weeks. Brown County was under this limit and was approved for in-person learning a week ago.

The first week of school will be a learning experience for everyone. Staff will be tweaking the school routines and procedures to meet the new reality. But the staff is excited to have students back in school again for face-to-face learning, even if that face is covered by a mask.

New Ulm Area Catholic Schools were also scheduled to start Monday, but Sunday evening the NUACS administration was notified a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19. The staff member developed symptoms within 24 hours of being tested. The school decided to delay reopening until Wednesday.

NUACS Superintendent John Kimec said it was decided to contact Brown County Public Health for further guidance before reopening.

“We think it is better to take precaution on the front end before committing to starting another great school year,” Kimec said.

NUACS schools are scheduled to open Wednesday, Sept. 2.