At yesterday’s Fall River School Committee meeting, Superintendent Dr. Tracy Curely announced that internet access at all city schools and buildings has been fully restored, three weeks after the district fell victim to a ransomware attack.
Dr. Curley says that during the shutdown, limited internet access was available, and teachers and administrators were able to provide instruction in accordance with the district’s curriculum.
The superintendent also said the internet outage did impact the taking of this year’s Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests. The district was given an extension to complete the testing, and the delay did not impact students’ participation in taking the test.
Regarding MCAS, Fall River and other districts can now award retroactive diplomas to seniors who may have qualified for graduation, but did not pass the MCAS test. This is the result of the passage of a referendum in November that abolished the requirement that students pass the MCAS as a requirement to graduate. Superintendent Curely provided the school committee with an update on how many Fall River students applied for the retroactive diplomas.
