What Happened?

On December 28, 2024, PowerSchool became aware of a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized exfiltration of certain personal information from PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS) environments through one of our community-focused customer support portals, PowerSource.

What Information Was Involved?

Due to differences in customer requirements, the information exfiltrated for any given individual varied across their customer base.  For involved individuals, the types of information exfiltrated in the incident included one or more of the following, which varied by person: the individual’s name, contact information, date of birth, limited medical alert information, Social Security Number, and other related information.

This security breach was not specific to Alamogordo Public Schools. APS does not have any additional information beyond what PowerSchool has provided. The letters below were sent to all currently enrolled APS families, and similar letters were sent to all current staff. You can learn more on the PowerSchool website at the link below.

January 11, 2025

Dear APS Families,

We want to inform you of a recent incident involving PowerSchool, the vendor that provides our Student Information System (SIS). On January 10, 2025, PowerSchool notified us of unauthorized access to some of its customer data, which included a portion of data from its broader customer base. This was not an incident originating within Alamogordo Public Schools.

PowerSchool has assured us that the vulnerability has been patched, and their system is secure. The accessed data primarily includes contact details such as names and addresses of parents and students. No social security numbers (SSNs) or medical information related to students or parents in our district were impacted. 

To support anyone potentially affected, PowerSchool is offering resources, including:

• Credit Monitoring and Identity Protection: PowerSchool is providing credit monitoring services for those impacted, which will be communicated when available.

• Dedicated Support Channels: PowerSchool is establishing support channels to guide and assist those affected by this incident.

At this time, PowerSchool has no reason to believe the accessed data will be made public or misused.

We take protecting your information seriously and are monitoring the situation closely. We will share more details as they become available. In the meantime, we encourage everyone to remain vigilant by monitoring accounts and leveraging the resources PowerSchool will make available.

Thank you for your understanding and partnership as we work together to ensure your information is protected.

Michael Crabtree
​​​​​​​Interim Superintendent
Alamogordo Public Schools

January 30, 2025

Dear APS Families, 

We are writing to update you regarding the recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, the software vendor that provides our Student Information System (SIS).

PowerSchool has initiated the process of notifying individuals whose information was determined to be involved.

PowerSchool has engaged Experian, a trusted credit reporting agency, to provide complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services to current and former students and educators who had information exfiltrated from PowerSchool SIS. PowerSchool is doing this regardless of whether an individual’s Social Security Number was exfiltrated. In the coming weeks, Experian (on behalf of PowerSchool) will be distributing direct email notifications to involved individuals (or their parent/guardian, as applicable) for whom PowerSchool has sufficient contact information.

Additionally, PowerSchool has worked with Experian to set up a dedicated, toll-free call center to answer any questions associated with these offerings and the incident. All the information regarding the activation of and access to these services will be included in the email sent to you by Experian. Whether or not you receive an email, you may also visit PowerSchool’s website to learn how to activate the offering from Experian, linked here: http://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/.

Protecting our students and teachers remains our top priority. Thank you again for all of your support and understanding during this time.

Michael Crabtree
Interim Superintendent
Alamogordo Public Schools