Dear Jefferson ISD Parents & Guardians
I hope that this letter finds you well as we all try to wrap our minds around the challenges of COVID-19 (coronavirus). While the health and safety of our students, staff, and community remains our top priority, we also want to help our students learn as much as they can until school is able to resume.
To that end, Jefferson ISD is offering the bulk of our at home learning curriculum through Acellus at www.acellus.com. All Jefferson ISD K-12 students have been set up in Acellus at www.acellus.com for many, if not all, of their core and elective classes. Paper packets are also available upon request for classes not in Acellus or for families who do not have internet to access Acellus. Acellus offers video-based instruction and your child’s teachers will be checking to see how their students are progressing. In addition, our teachers and instructional coaches have created a site filled with content and resources you can use at home during the time we have ceased normal operations. The goal of Acellus and the instructional resources site, at this time, is to expose students to as much content as we can and to prevent students from regressing while we are out. What is provided in the site will certainly not fully replace what our teachers would be able to provide in the classroom, but it does provide basic ways to engage in learning. You can access this portal at www.jeffersonisd.org, then click At Home Learning under the Useful Links tab on the right side of the page. Look for Acellus and the button titled “Acellus Login Instructions for Students”. WiFi hotspots have been set up in the Junior High Bus Run Parking Lot, the JISD Administration Building Parking Lot, and at the Football Field.
You should not be required to print anything. We understand that many of us do not have access to printers or the Internet at home, so we have used a site that is accessible by phone or any other device that your family might have at home.
If the school closure has to go longer than currently expected, we will continue working with Acellus and other resources as needed. Parents/guardians will be updated weekly.
Most of all, please know that we want you to be able to focus on the health and well-being of your family. The goal is not for every student to complete every activity. We just hope that by selecting some of the activities from each course, our students can stay connected and as on-track as possible.
Our teachers, staff, and administrators are all here to help with any questions you may have. In the meantime, stay well!
Sincerely, Lynn Phillips, Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Student Instructions for signing in to Acellus:
1. Go to Jefferson ISD’s homepage (https://jeffersonisd.org/) and click Classlink in top right corner.
2. After clicking SIGN IN WITH GOOGLE, you will sign in using your school account (next step).
3. Enter your Jefferson ISD email/password. Your email is your first initial, middle initial, and last name @jeffersonisd.org Password is (in caps/uppercase) first initial and last initial and their 6-digit lunch/library number with a 0 in front (e.g. AZ012345). Grades K-2 students may also sign in to Classlink using the QR code provided by the school (email Normel Gilliam or Lindsey Whitaker if you need a QR code for your grade K-2 child— requires a camera on the device your child is using to access ClassLink).
4. Access Acellus in the top left corner of Classlink.
5. After clicking on Acellus, a screen will appear which says “ClassLink Browser Extension not installed or enabled”. Press “Install Extension”. It will take you to the Chrome web store. Click “Add to Chrome”. After installing the extension, go back to the tab with Acellus, press “Check Again” and it will log you in!
You may also go to www.acellus.com, click STUDENT SIGN IN at the top right, and use your usual school email credentials to login there. On an iPad or iPhone, you will access Acellus directly through the app you will need to download.
Contact Lynn Phillips at rlphillips@jeffersonisd.org if you have trouble logging in.
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