SECTOR
Schools
CLIENT
School Districts in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont
GOAL
To help affected school districts to provide timely information and context to stakeholders in the wake of a significant data breach.
Background
In early January 2025, an international vendor of student information services announced that its systems had been hacked, potentially exposing personal information about students and teachers in 16,000 school districts across the country.
The vendor waited 10 days to inform its clients about the breach, and another three days before offering generic advice as to how to communicate with their stakeholders. It took several more days for the company to provide a basic strategy. This left their clients, many of whom do not have external communications staff, at a loss as to how to approach the situation from a communications standpoint.
Further, not all districts were affected; these districts were not notified, creating additional confusion.
Concept
JGPR was notified about the breach by a New Hampshire school client, and within an hour, was in communication with the statewide superintendent’s association, also a client. Our crisis strategy was: tell people as much as you can as quickly as you can, and tell them what you are doing about it.
That same day, JGPR crafted a templated statement addressing the issue and provided it to dozens of school clients in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The statement described the situation and the clients’ ongoing efforts to learn more information and provide updates as quickly as possible.
When additional information was available, JGPR supported clients with strategy and written support to more effectively communicate the scope of the situation and internal next steps. While each district’s situation was different, JGPR effectively tailored responses to meet client needs and expectations.
Additionally, JGPR created an FAQ that was provided to all school clients to amplify district efforts and reduce concern among stakeholders.
Impact
By responding quickly and transparently, JGPR successfully positioned its clients as responding proactively and professionally. While parents and staff may have had concerns, timely notification was not one of them. By comparison, some school districts waited more than a week to share information, opening them to criticism about lack of timely notice.