LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Many schools in Arkansas are already closing for Thursday, including Little Rock School District (LRSD) and North Little Rock School District (NLRSD) too.
Many of the state's school districts were in a difficult spot on Wednesday, as the weather conditions quickly changed weather, causing them to make the tough call to send kids home.
Early on Wednesday morning, multiple schools announced they were either closing completely or would be using yet another AMI/virtual day.
This all took place while other districts around central Arkansas called early dismissal.
It's a decision that administrators, like Jessica Duff with Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD), said they're having to make more than they're used to.
"This has been a very difficult spring semester, considering we've maybe had one or two weeks where the kids have actually been in school for all five instructional days," she said.
Another school day cut short for Arkansas students, as winter weather takes center stage for the second time this month.
"Who knew in Arkansas that we would be worried about 60-degree weather on Monday and then snow a couple days later, now two years in a row. That's not something that we're used to," Isabella Bradley, with Benton School District, said.
While it's out of the ordinary, it's something schools have to be ready for at any time, according to Duff.
"Starting at about 6:15 a.m., I was on a call with our superintendent, our Director of Operations, and Transportation Director," she said.
Duff said they are the ones who analyze the road conditions, which ultimately leads them to make the call on whether to let school out early.
"If there's a chance of icy roads, when we're supposed to typically be dismissing, we're not going to risk that. We're not going to risk our students or our staff getting stuck or injured," she said.
Putting safety first and instruction second, this is what the Benton School District did too.
And getting the word out about the decision is something that the district has a system for, according to Bradley.
"The first thing that we do is make sure our staff is aware, so that they get that first email along with the principals and then it trickles down from there. We want to make sure that parents, they know right away, so that they can make plans," she said.
While it's still unknown what Thursday will bring, school administrators said they're ready to pivot, like they have for the past several years.
"We kind of have this down to a science now. We know what needs to be done. We know who needs to be told right away and then we know we need to get kids home safe," Bradley said.
When it comes to AMI days, every school is different, but it's been said that administrators are not worried about running out of them.