January 9, 2025

Dear School Community Member:

I want to inform you of a recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, the provider of our Student Information System (SIS). PowerSchool has notified us, along with many other school districts across the country, that an unauthorized party gained access to specific data within their system. We understand that this news is unsettling and want to reassure you that we are taking this matter very seriously.

While conducting our own investigation, we have learned that the data that was breached in Park Ridge includes student demographics (age, date of birth, race, and gender), names of parents, guardians, and emergency contacts. This information includes addresses, telephone numbers, and other information, such as case managers and guidance counselors. In addition, medical alert statuses (such as for allergies), as well as the names of doctors were, included. A full list of the fields that were accessed and a brief description of what information would have been included is posted on our Technology homepage.

While the investigation is ongoing, PowerSchool has assured us that the incident is contained, and they have “no evidence of malware or continued unauthorized activity in the PowerSchool environment.” Furthermore, PowerSchool has taken immediate steps to secure the affected data and prevent the data involved “from further unauthorized access or misuse.” To further reassure us, they’ve added, “We do not anticipate the data being shared or made public, and we believe it has been deleted without any further replication or dissemination.”

Currently, the PowerSchool system is fully functional and continues to support our daily operations. We will keep you updated as additional information becomes available. Our district has notified the New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) and the Park Ridge Police Department about the incident, and we are working closely with PowerSchool and our technology department to ensure that any necessary actions are taken.

Please be assured that the Park Ridge School District is treating this incident seriously - cybersecurity and student privacy are the core values of our administration, technology department and entire staff. We are deeply concerned that PowerSchool was compromised in this way and want to assure you that the breach was not a result of data practices in the Park Ridge School District. The breach involved PowerSchool maintenance credentials, which were used to access many districts nationwide. Nevertheless, we will be reviewing our data practices here and taking any further steps necessary to further strengthen our policies. 

In closing, we recognize the anxiety this may cause and appreciate your patience and support as we navigate this situation. The safety and well-being of our community is our top priority, and we are committed to keeping you informed as more details arise.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Gamper, Ed. D.

Superintendent of Schools