ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Students in Central Florida's largest school district are returning to the classrooms Friday for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic.

And the people who help them get there are preparing for the new school year.

For the new year, school crossing guards have new safety measures in place, including two sets of gloves, a set for the morning and another for the afternoon to stay healthy.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office School Crossing Guard Training Program consists of a 6-hour training that includes stopping real traffic and the classroom setting.

This year's instruction now includes coronavirus safety precautions.

"We tell them not to blow the whistle towards the kids, but towards the traffic," Program Coordinator Bertis Negron said.

She said vacancies leading up to this school year are the lowest she's seen at around 30.

"More people came back, they didn't quit as we expected. I believe the sheriff paying them while they were out for COVID-19 was a big plus," Negron said.

Negron tells us people who've been furloughed have also been looking at the job.

"I'm feeling pretty confident, hopefully the people that are coming to training, will not find other jobs by the time school starts," she said.

Jose Laureano is a trainee in the program who is emerging from retirement to join.

He was inspired watching other guards work around the county.

"Something that I can do good and something I can help other people," Laureano said.

It's more than a job for most crossing guards, it's about making connections from one side of the street to the other.

"It's a job that I really know I can do good," Laureano said.

Guards get their final certification once a trainer visits them on site watching them stop traffic and direct kids.

Right now, there are 298 crossing guards for 474 crossings, so some guards will work an elementary and a middle school to make sure every crosswalk is covered.

WATCH: Sense of Normalcy for Crossing Guards as Students Return

School officials said no crossing guards positions were cut because of the pandemic.

In-person classes started back up in Orange County Friday. A new report shows nearly 200 district employees have tested positive for the virus since June 1.

The district said that's about 4 percent of those working at the time.

Crossing guard Penny Petro was excited to be back at the crosswalk at Brookshire Elementary in Winter Park on Friday, after a health scare.

"I live in the house here on the corner, all the kids know where I live, they were coming by, when you coming back?" Petro said.

She works two schools, with her husband not far away also as a crossing guard.

"The cops kept saying well we're not going to let you do two. I said yes you are. I'll be deciding if I'm not going to do it," Petro said.

Despite the cases in the district, parent Edlira Dursun and her son wanted in-person learning.

"It was having a lot of errors, so I was thinking if I went here, I could improve my grades better," her son Maren Dursin said.

Edlira feels administrators are putting safety first.

"He's aware of what he has to do, so let's hope for the best," she said.