Students in Zion Elementary School District 6 are scheduled to return to school on Thursday after a prolonged six-day Thanksgiving break due to a cybersecurity incident discovered Sunday, according to information on the district’s website.
Before- and after-school activities, such as sports and clubs, are scheduled to resume on Thursday as well.
After a three-day Thanksgiving break, which began on Nov. 26, students and staff learned Sunday that they would not return to school at the scheduled end of the holiday vacation because electronic files and servers may have been compromised. The district office was also closed.
Staff returned to the buildings on Wednesday to prepare for the students’ return. There was no mention on the website about any potential damage resulting from the breach, or what needs to be done before students can come back to school.
District officials did not respond to requests for information about the nature of the breach, any compromise of data or how it was discovered.
When school officials discovered the cybersecurity problem on Sunday, they began to respond quickly. They said on the website that the incident may have compromised electronic files and servers throughout the district.
“We are working diligently to determine the credibility and full extent of this potential breach,” the district said on its website. Schools and the district office were closed “to allow for a thorough, immediate investigation of this matter.”
Efforts to restore systems and determine the extent of damage continued Tuesday as “some district services have been suspended,” according to the website.
“We are working diligently with third-party cybersecurity specialists to evaluate the nature and scope of this incident and restore functionality as securely and quickly as possible,” the district said.
The seven-school district has just under 2,100 students, according to the Illinois State Board of Education annual report card released in late October.
There are three elementary schools — Beulah Park, East and Lakeview — for preschoolers through second grade, two elementary schools for third through fifth graders — Elmwood and West — and two middle schools — Shiloh and Zion Central.
Students who attend out-of-district instructional programs continued going to class, and their transportation to and from those locations was not interrupted.
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