Des Moines Public Schools Cyber Security : Education in 2023

On January 9th, 2023, Des Moines Public Schools’ students, teachers, office managers, security, food service workers, transportation, administration, and many others experienced a loss of their internet connection. No big deal, this happens from time to time, it’ll surely be back up soon. A video from Illustrative Mathematics Chapter 7 that accompanies students’ workbooks pauses as the teacher uses the whiteboard and classroom tools to teach the lesson on dividing by fractions. Class continued for the day, but the district announced on their Facebook, among many other outlets, that there was a cyber security issue, and classes would be cancelled for January 10th as the district keeps the network offline to assess the situation and make fixes.

This information was critical for families of DMPS, yet also created a lightening rod for reactions not only about the situation, but also public schools as a whole. DMPS is the largest district in Iowa with roughly 32,000 students and 5,000 employees. The district is under constant scrutiny and this was the next scenario for people to use in their newest arguments for or against Governor Kim Reynolds new school choice bill.

Here are some of those opinions found on DMPS’ Facebook post:

This was an unprecedented event that happened in Des Moines but is it unprecedented with the fact that hospitals, airlines, and other businesses have been hit in a similar way in the past couple of weeks? My 2 cents on the comment thread are that it is easy to oversimplify what happens in schools by focusing only on the happenings of classrooms and I believe many if not most people have drawn their line in the sand about where they stand on public education in Iowa. Many people do not realize how many safety measures are connected to the internet network. We live in a society that has upgraded in so many ways, but when we lose that upgrade, alternatives are not easy to access. For example, to enter the building, teachers use their badges, this access was offline. Administration in the mornings are supervising students but had to open the doors for teachers and students instead. This means supervision was not at the same level. Security cameras offline, no Infinite Campus Portal for parents to check attendance or grades. Another example, teaching by paper and pencil, is no problem. An issue most teachers noted was that printers and copiers were not accessible due to no network connection. There are so many complex factors that go into a school day with logistics, security, food, not just a teacher and their students sitting in front of them. Though teachers did have very little time to flip their entire lesson plans, assignments, tests, and other activities from being able to use technology to none. That work was not seen by the masses, nor do I think appreciated as I read through the comments of how people view education.

With all this being said, and some insight to how Iowans feel about this latest issue, what does this mean for Kim Reynolds new bill which was announced in the same week? Could DMPS have handled it better? Would a private school have handled it better? Do these comments give us insight that people have already made up their opinion of public education in Iowa? You’re the interim DMPS Superintendent, how would you have handled this situation?

As we prepare for this bill to be talked about at length, I think this cyber security issue is just an appetizer of the oversimplification of public schools, the lack of understanding of the complexities of a school system, and the ugly discourse that comes with it.