Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) alerted parents Thursday evening to a cybersecurity incident impacting PowerSchool, the company that provides the district's student information management software. TCAPS said its own district data wasn't impacted, but Northwest Education Services informed its community that PowerSchool would be mailing a letter to anyone whose personal information was potentially impacted.

"We understand that on December 28, 2024, PowerSchool discovered unauthorized access to certain customer data," TCAPS wrote. "However, TCAPS has been informed that it did not impact our district data. As always, our number one priority is to ensure the safety and security of our students and staff. Should we receive further information, we will share as applicable."

Earlier Thursday, Northwest Education Services sent out the following message to parents of students who participate in North Ed programming, including some TCAPS students:

"Dear North Ed Community: PowerSchool recently notified us that Northwest Education Services' information may have been impacted by a recent cyber incident impacting PowerSchool’s systems. We are actively working with PowerSchool to obtain additional information about the incident. Based on their current communication, I expect that if your personal information was potentially impacted, PowerSchool will mail you a letter.  Please know that we take this situation very seriously, and that the privacy and security of information is of the utmost importance to North Ed. We do not have any additional information to share at this time, but we will keep you apprised of any relevant developments as the investigation continues."

Cybersecurity issues remain an ongoing threat for school districts, municipalities, and other organizations and businesses across the country. TCAPS was previously the victim of a ransomware attack in 2024 that forced the district to cancel classes for multiple days and resulted in employee personal data being leaked online.