23ABC understands many of you are agonizing over the upcoming school year and we want to help you and your family go safely back to school.

The Bakersfield City School District is introducing a new distance learning model that teachers and staff have been fine-tuning for the start of the fall semester. 23ABC caught up with some students at College Heights Elementary in East Bakersfield to hear their expectations and how the end of last year helped to prepare them.

BCSD Superintendent Doc Ervin addressed a virtual town hall last week, laying out the plan to start the new year at a distance. And that's just fine with incoming 6th grader Nathalie Rivera. She said distance learning at the end of last year took some time to get used to but then she started to succeed in classes she used to struggle with.

Juliana and her brother Jasinto Alva said they missed socializing with their friends and teachers but they learned all about the virus at home.

The district has laid out an online schedule that will have students attending a virtual classroom. For Rivera, she was able to keep up with a more home-schooling style last year. And even though there will be more teacher-student involvement this fall for Jasinto it might be a little easier than having mom as his teacher.

And the work will be graded this fall leaving behind the pass/fail system from the end of last year.