Restart Jackson Newsletter No. 9
Information for parents, caregivers, and families
WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR CONTACT TRACING, COMMUNICATION?
A confirmed COVID-19 test is needed for proof of diagnosis. Once a student or employee receives confirmation the district must be informed of the positive test. The district then works collaboratively with the Stark County Health Department. The infected individual will be interviewed to determined close contacts (6 feet or less for 15 minutes or more) in the 48 hours before the onset of symptoms.
The district, in conjunction with the Stark County Health Department, will issue exclusion letters anyone deemed a close contact of the infected individual. Close contacts of infected individuals must be excluded from school district activities for 14 days, regardless of COVID testing and symptoms. Individuals may be asymptomatic and may develop COVID-19 during the proceeding 14 days. If any of those individuals are students, and they feel well enough, they can log in to POLARIS 2.0 and transition to eLearning without missing their curriculum and stay in sync with their peers. This is one of the benefits to Jackson Local School District's learning options and the flexibility created in it.
Once close contacts have been identified and informed, within 24 hours the district will notify all students and staff members who shared classroom, activity, or transportation space with the infected individual. Those people should monitor their symptoms closely. If they are symptom-free, they can continue in-person instruction.
After those who shared space with the infected individual are notified, the Jackson Local School District will communicate to ALL families in the district of the positive case.
Our COVID-19 dashboard can be found here. It will be updated in a timely manner.
The flexibility in our learning models and because the Jackson Local School District already implemented a Learning Management System (POLARIS 2.0), learning inside Jackson's rigorous curriculum can continue even as circumstances change.
As always, RestartJackson.com is populated with resources for families.

FLEXIBLE MODELS ALLOWS JLSD TO THRIVE IN-PERSON, eLEARNING 2.0, OR YOUR HYBRID
All the extra cleaning by our faculty and staff, and our teachers remaining vigilant in classrooms to maximize social distance as much as possible, has helped us create an environment that has allowed our in-person students to thrive. However, as we know, we might have to pivot to a remote learning model because of community spread either by classroom, building, district, or county. Stark County recently turned from orange to red, our highest level of community spread since the Ohio Department of Health implemented a color-coding system.
As we have seen, several other Stark County school districts have multiple cases and we know there will be more in our buildings. Two school districts in or near Stark County have had to close either a building or an entire district. Without a Learning Management System (POLARIS), it is difficult to maintain curriculum alignment with remote learners and in-person students.
As cold and flu seasons begin to pick up, it is important to remember the flexibility in our learning models. Students in both Option 1 (in-person learning) and Option 2: eLearning 2.0 (POLARIS) are able to transition between the two options seamlessly. Our learning management system (POLARIS) allows students in both options to remain in complete classroom curriculum alignment as it provides a mechanism for our teachers to store and deliver lessons, tests, and other interactive methods of classroom participation (such as discussion boards or Google Meet calls). As circumstances warrant or as parents and families feel comfortable, students in Option 1 may transition to Option 2 (or vice versa) and complete classroom instruction and assessments at home if they are not well enough to attend in-person instruction but are well enough to complete work at home.
This is a testament to the job our teachers are doing in populating our Learning Management System with curriculum, instruction, and assessments. It also is a testament to the hard work of our cleaning personnel. Finally, it is a testament to the support the Jackson Local School District receives from its family and community in general. We are grateful for the combined efforts of our district and community working together to create a learning environment during this pandemic that allows our children to flourish. Thank you!
SPIRIT WEEK AND ... BEAT HOOVER

Many students arrived wearing pajamas for Pajama Day, the first day of Spirit Week. Here is the rest of the Spirit Week schedule:
Tuesday: Decade Day (wear dress from your favorite decade, teachers and staff are encouraged to dress from the decade in which they graduated from high school)
Wednesday: Tropical Day (dress in your favorite Hawaiian or tropical gear)
Thursday: Pink Out (October 1 is the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, wear all pink to show your support)
Friday: Purple and Gold Day (Wear purple and gold to cheer on the Bears)
SPIRIT WEEK! The Polar Bear Backers, Jackson Cheerleaders, and student volunteers helped decorate Jackson High School and volunteered several hours of their time on Sunday to deck the halls at JHS. Thank you! | GO BEARS! The Polar Bear Backers, Jackson Cheerleaders, and student volunteers helped decorate Jackson High School and volunteered several hours of their time on Sunday to deck the halls at JHS. Thank you! | BEAT HOOVER! The Polar Bear Backers, Jackson Cheerleaders, and student volunteers helped decorate Jackson High School and volunteered several hours of their time on Sunday to deck the halls at JHS. Thank you! |
SPIRIT WEEK!
GO BEARS!
STUDENT TICKET RAFFLE ... WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Senior class officers at Jackson High School gathered early Monday morning to draw names of seniors who entered a drawing for 25 pairs of student tickets to Friday's home football game vs. Hoover. Because of limitations by the Ohio Department of Health, general students have not been able to attend games this year, until now.
So congratulations to the following students on being selected by your senior class officers in the ticket raffle. Each winner will be able to purchase 2 tickets at $7.00 per ticket. When you purchase your ticket you need to bring your partner to sign off on the guidelines. You will not be able to purchase tickets without signing a waiver. Tickets will be purchased in the main office starting on Tuesday.
Emily Anderson
Chiara Archer
Isabella Colando
Lauren Ferguson
Marco Gagliardi
Kara Gindlesberger
Alex Graybill
Asterin Grey
Garrett Hattery
Kylie Hawke
Brady Hawke
Will Hoover
Ryan Johnson
Emma Kramer
Jessica Mathieu
Andrew McNeill
Alanna Miller
Alexa Natoff
Tithi Patel
Alexis Peterson
Michael Skriotis
Madison Smith
Kirsten Throckmorton
Evan Wilson
Claire Winkhart
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK!
WE NEED YOUR HELP ON YOUTUBE
Our live stream of athletic events has been very popular with students and fans. We are able to live stream boys and girls soccer, football, and volleyball. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel, which is found here. The more subscribers we have, the easier it is for us to deliver the stream on other platforms. You can also get to the live stream from the athletic webpage, found here and if you are following us on Facebook, you can watch our streaming events on that platform as well. Thanks to Akron Auto Auction and The Law Offices of Winkhart and Minor for making this possible.
THIS WEEK'S HOME ATHLETIC EVENTS
Tuesday: Girls volleyball vs. Perry, 7 p.m.
Thursday: Girls volleyball vs. McKinley, 7 p.m.
Friday: Football vs. Hoover, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Boys soccer vs. Cathedral Prep 1 p.m.
Akron Auto Auction / The Law Offices of Winkhart & Minor Live stream available on our YouTube channel.
We are sharing these flyers because they support our curriculum in many cases. The Jackson Local School District does not endorse any outside agency but believes these academic services might support some of our students.
NEW HELP DESK FOR eLEARNERS
The Help Desk can be found by clicking here. For future reference, the Help Desk can be found by the Parents section of the district's website, and and going to POLARIS/eLearning. Click on the link under the eLearning/Help Desk area.
Once you are on the Help Desk site, go to "Open a New Ticket." The first time you are there, you will have to create an account. An authentication email will be sent to you. Click on the link in the email and you can file your first help desk ticket.
WHEN YOUR CHILD CAN RETURN/SEND HOME FROM SCHOOL DECISION TREE
Here are the most commonly asked questions we have answered from parents about the Restart Jackson plan for this school year.
HOW TO REACH US
Striving for Excellence
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Superintendent: Christopher DiLoreto
Board of Education:
Thomas W. Winkhart, president
Scott Gindlesberger
Kenneth J. Douglas
Christopher V. Goff
Tonya M. Wright