Dear Warrior Family,
I am writing to make you aware of a recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, a software vendor that provides our Student Information System (SIS).
On Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, PowerSchool informed our leadership team that they experienced a nationwide cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain PowerSchool SIS customer data. Unfortunately, PowerSchool confirmed with the district this morning that some student and staff contact information contained within our Student Information System was included in the breach.
PowerSchool informed us that the data breach consisted primarily of parent, student, and staff contact information such as name, address, and/or email. Most importantly, PowerSchool informed us they are confident that the data collected during this breach has already been destroyed without evidence of the data being misused or shared.
The data breach did not affect any other PowerSchool products. It is also important to know that the School Payment Portal that is used to make payments on student’s accounts is not a PowerSchool product. Therefore, no credit card or financial information was accessed.
MCHS does not collect Social Security numbers for our students or family members. Across PowerSchool’s nationwide customer base, some individuals may have had their Social Security numbers impacted, according to PowerSchool. However, our district was not affected in that way.
Protecting our student and staff information is something we take seriously. PowerSchool has already taken many proactive measures to correct the situation and minimize the potential for this type of event to occur again. With PowerSchool’s help, more information and resources will be provided to you as it becomes available.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ryan McTague, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
McHenry Community High School District 156
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