Monday is an exciting day for some Bronx children in Kipp Academy Middle School as they reenter the classroom for the first time in months.

The middle school is taking a phased approach to keep students safe as the delta variant continues to spread. Principal Tristan Fields says there's several safety precautions in place, such as mask-wearing and hand sanitizer stations.

He says they're also testing select students for COVID-19 each day as needed, and staff will be tested every week as well. The school also reduced class size from 32 students to 22 students in an effort to promote social distancing.

As for lunch, half of the school's students will eat in the cafeteria and the other half will eat in the auditorium.

Staff and parents tell News 12 they feel safe going into this new school year.

"The school sent me email information letting me know about the updated information, so I'm not worried that much, they take good care of him," says Jackelyn Flores, parent.

"I'm so lucky that my staff is bought in and ready to get the kids back, and they were willing to put in the extra hours and the extra effort to make sure that things were safe," Fields says.

As for the vaccine, Fields is encouraging parents to weigh their options this school year and to trust science - saying the vaccine is the answer to keeping students and staff safe.