On December 28th, 2024 PowerSchool experienced a security breach, which prevented South Windsor High School students from viewing their grades, schedules and other information typically made available by the app.
Both parents and students were alarmed by this incident, due to the lack of access to grades near the end of a marking period, and the personal information that is made available to the operators of PowerSchool.
In response to the breach, South Windsor’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Kate Carter, issued a message with the purpose of easing anxieties and informing South Windsor residents of the course of action.
The message was as follows, “I am writing to inform you that PowerSchool, the platform we use to manage student information, notified the district of a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access through their customer support portal.”
This incident was experienced across the United States and Canada, with various schools having their information compromised. However, PowerSchool notified our district that “ thorough forensic investigation has confirmed that your organization’s data was not impacted. To note, our data analysis remains ongoing, and should our findings change, we will notify you in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.”
Additional precautions were taken by the South Windsor Director of Technology Systems and Programs, Doug Couture, who temporarily disabled external access to PowerSchool while the district conducted their own investigation.
Although the issue was handled well, students still experienced the initial shock of losing access to their grades.
“I was like woah where did my grades go? I was so confused, especially because I had just turned in a few assignments and was trying to see if my grade went up yet, and they were just gone,” junior Kayleigh Thornton told The Prowl.
PowerSchool is frequently used by students, teachers and parents during the month of December, as the first semester is coming to a close. This amplified the stress experienced by many residents involved in their students’ education.
On the contrary, a handful of students were relieved to hear that PowerSchool was temporarily down, as grade updates were prevented. Additionally, some students are less grade motivated, and didn’t even notice the breach.
“I didn’t really care when it was down because I don’t check it that often, but I wouldn’t say PowerSchool has any affect on my mental health,” sophomore Dhul Ramirez commented.
The heightened emotions around this security incident were resolved promptly, with the site secured that evening. However, the question still hangs in the air of whether South Windsor should remain dependent on PowerSchool.
