With road conditions looking much improved, the four largest school districts in Northwest Arkansas will resume classes Thursday.
Rogers, Bentonville, Fayetteville and Springdale will be open for the first time since snow and ice rolled into the area last Thursday (Dec. 5) and Friday. Many neighboring and smaller school districts will remain closed Thursday because of road conditions.
"I've seen a lot of improvement today, so we are really excited that we are able to open tomorrow," said Ashley Siwiec, spokeswoman for Rogers Public Schools.
Michael Poore, the Bentonville Public Schools superintendent, said administrators take weather reports and road conditions into consideration when making the decision to close or open school.
"We actually go out and drive the roads ourselves to look at the conditions," said Poore. "We try and get the first-hand experience of what it is going to be like for our kids and bus drivers."
With some roads in outlying areas still in poor condition and iced over, school officials in Rogers, Fayetteville and Bentonville said they will have limited bus service Thursday.
"We are going to have three our four key places where people can bring their children," said Poore. "We will then pick them up and transport them into the school district."
For students who cannot make it to school in Bentonville on Thursday because of road conditions, Poore said the schools will work with them to reach a solution.
"Our teachers do a good job of reaching out to their students virtually and on the phone," said Poore. "We think that we will be able to stay connected with them, support them and help them."
The school districts' staff said their top priority is always the safety of their students.
"We will of course be urging everyone to drive with caution and to evaluate their particular roads," said Siwiec.