Some 51,000 more New York City students will return to in-person schooling later this month, bringing the total number of students in school buildings to 365,000 out of 960,000 non-charter public school students, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.

�We have just over 50,000 students who have opted in for in-person learning again across all grade levels,� the Democratic mayor said at a virtual news briefing. �They are all welcome back.�

Parents whose children were attending school remotely were given a two-week window ending last Friday for opting back in to classroom learning. De Blasio said he was not surprised that the majority of families choose to stick with remote schooling.

�My view is, a lot of parents were really focused on the scheduling question,� the mayor said. �They had gotten into a schedule that worked for them with remote. The kids had gotten used to and like the teachers they had. And they didn�t want to disrupt that. I think that�s where most parents were at.�

De Blasio added that some parents may still choose online learning next fall, but he expects that �the vast majority of parents are going to want their kids in school five days a week.�

(AP)