Springdale’s make-up days for school days lost to weather will dig into students’ Spring Break, the school district announced Tuesday.
The Springdale School District, along with Northwest Arkansas’ three other largest school districts, called off school for Wednesday, for the third consecutive day, after snow and ice fell on the area over the weekend. Administrators blamed road conditions, saying school buses and parents could not safely travel to school on either day.
"Student safety comes first," Schaeffer said. "You can start talking about how you don't want to go to school on Saturday, but would you rather go to school when your bus may slide off the road? No."
Springdale schools will make up the lost instruction days on Saturday, March 8, along with Monday, March 24, and Tuesday, March 25, the first two days of the previously-designated Spring Break, school officials said.
"If families have vacation plans or something planned that's pre-paid, obviously the schools will work with them," said Rick Schaeffer, communications director for the Springdale School District. "Work will have to be made up, but it's not like they are going say you absolutely can't go. Heavens sake, we understand that."
Schaeffer said it's important for snow days to be made up in March so that students are prepared for testing in April.
"For a student to go in unprepared for any of the testing is not only going to hurt that student, but it's also going to hurt the school and it's going to hurt the district," he said.
The school district had already lost eight instruction days to the weather before this week. School was called off for five days in early December and three days in early January because of snow and ice on the roadways.
Springdale's last scheduled school day is June 3.