PowerSchool Offers Identity Monitoring in Wake of Data Breach

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Families of school-children concerned about the PowerSchool data breach announced last year can sign up for two years of free identity monitoring services paid for by the school information system vendor.
 
Mount Greylock Regional School interim Superintendent Joseph Bergeron mentioned the offer at last week's meeting of the School Committee and said he was hoping to spread the word through as many channels as possible.
 
"We have plenty of folks whose emails have changed," Bergeron said, pointing out the difficulty in reaching every former student or staff member who could have been affected by the data breach.
 
Bergeron said a link has been added to the district’s website to connect people directly to PowerSchool to sign up for the complementary identity monitoring.
 
The PowerSchool website explained that the service is available regardless of whether an individual's data was part of the breach:
 
"PowerSchool is offering complimentary identity protection services including, if applicable, credit monitoring services, for involved students and educators, regardless of whether an individual’s Social Security Number/Social Insurance Number was exfiltrated. In countries outside of the U.S. and Canada where the provider provides such services, PowerSchool is offering two years of complimentary identity protection services for all students and educators whose information was involved, regardless of what information about an individual was exfiltrated."

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St. Stan's Students Spread Holiday Cheer at Williamstown Commons

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Students from St. Stanislaus Kostka School  in Adams brought the holiday spirit to Williamstown Commons on Thursday, delivering handmade Christmas cards and leading residents in a community caroling session.
 
"It honestly means the world to us because it means the world to them," said nursing home Administrator Alex Fox on Thursday morning. "This made their days. This could have even made their weeks. It could have made their Christmas, seeing the children and interacting with the community."
 
Teacher Kate Mendonca said this is the first year her class has visited the facility, noting that the initiative was driven entirely by the students.
 
"This came from the kids. They said they wanted to create something and give back," Mendonca said. "We want our students involved in the community instead of just reading from a religion book."
 
Preparation for the event began in early December, with students crafting bells to accompany their singing. The handmade cards were completed last week.
 
"It's important for them to know that it's not just about them during Christmas," Mendonca said. "It's about everyone, for sure. I hope that they know they really helped a lot of people today and hopefully it brought joy to the residents here."
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