Fort McMurray Public School Division Responds to PowerSchool Data Breach

FORT MCMURRAY, AB. — Parents, guardians, students, and staff of the Fort McMurray Public School Division (FMPSD) may soon be contacted by the US-based PowerSchool.

The company, which provides data and student information services to schools across North America, was hacked on December 28, 2024, causing the personal information of hundreds of thousands of individuals across North America to be compromised.  PowerSchool says personal information belonging to students, parents, and educators within the FMPSD was part of the breach.

In an email, FMPSD informed parents and families that PowerSchool would be offering identity protection and credit monitoring services to those whose data was exposed.

 “PowerSchool has engaged TransUnion and Experian, trusted credit reporting agencies, to offer two years of complimentary identity protection services for all students and educators whose information from our PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS) was involved,” the email stated.

Affected individuals will receive official notifications from PowerSchool in the coming weeks. The company will also provide a phone number for those seeking further information about the incident.

While details on the extent of the breach remain unclear, the school division is encouraging families to stay informed by visiting PowerSchool’s cybersecurity incident webpage.