MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Learning has gone a bit old school in Berkeley County Schools since a recent cyber attack affected online services.
Berkeley County Schools sent a note out at the end of the week thanking families for their patience, “as we work through the cybersecurity incident, restoration and investigation.”
Berkeley County Schools have been investigating the “cause and scope.” of a a cybersecurity incident in the district that caused a network outage February 3rd and limited IT operations throughout the school system. BCS Schools stated that their team worked quickly to notify law enforcement agencies and began an investigation to determine the cause and scope of the incident.
On Friday, Superintendent Ron Stephens said, “temporarily, the school day looks different … academics, arts, and athletic events and activities continue to keep our students involved and active.”
The superintendent said the school system has implemented tools to monitor academic progress until Schoology is operational again. He acknowledged updates may not be readily available online, but encouraged parents to speak to their child’s teacher.
The Panhandle News Network reached out to the school system for more information and were told by a schools information officer they were unable to offer further comment, saying, “This very important investigation continues, and we would not want to jeopardize it in any way.”
Stephens said ” We are seeing increased engagement with their classmates and our school staff. I could not be prouder of everyone.”
“Like you, I wish this return to normal could occur more quickly, but I know you will agree that a steady, systematic return to operations, while fully respecting the integrity of the ongoing investigation, is the best path forward.”
“The lengthy work of the cybersecurity professionals to restore operations and further the investigation continues,” Superintendent Stephens said. ” I know you want more information, and when we are provided information to share, we will pass it along.”