Hinsdale High School District 86 has adjusted its remote learning network to prevent people outside the district from joining online class meetings, after an incident involving nudity happened the second day of school.
Hinsdale High School District 86 reported several online classes at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South high schools were interrupted Tuesday by an eighth-grader exposing his or her bare buttocks and using a racial slur.
A District 86 student sent a link to join the classes to the eighth-grader, who attends a middle school that is one of the feeder schools to District 86, District 86 principals said.
By Thursday, District 86 had restricted access to all its classes to students with a District 86 account, said Keith Bockwoldt, the district’s chief information officer.
The district did not receive its license to use Zoom for conferencing until Aug. 10, due to the demand for the company’s software, Bockwoldt said.
Teachers and staff had been using other software, such as Google Meets, to hold online classes and meetings last school year, Bockwoldt said. But teachers asked for tools, such as the Zoom breakout rooms, in which a small group of students from a class can discuss or work together online, an option that was not available through Google Meets in early August, he said.
Once the license was obtained, training teachers on how to use the software and ensuring students would have access to their classes and materials were top priorities, Bockwoldt said.
Security measures in place were requiring someone know a pass code to join a meeting or first entering a virtual waiting room. A person in the digital waiting room could not join an online session unless the teacher gave them access. But sometimes the sign-on names in the waiting room resembled those of actual students and the teachers would allow them in because they did not want to inadvertently deny access to one of their students. Some students were using their personal email accounts, instead of their school accounts, he said.
After more than four hours of consultation with Zoom software staff, Bockwoldt said anyone without a District 86 account will not be allowed access to an online district meeting or class.
“We have the tightest controls to make sure no Zoom Bombing can occur again,” he said.
When teachers see someone they do not recognize trying to log in, those accounts are sent to Zoom, which can block them, Bockwoldt said.
The technology team will continue to look for ways to improve security.
“We have to continue to pivot and adapt,” Bockwoldt said.
The district also has installed software that simplifies student log-ins using the district-issued email accounts, he said.
More than 4,000 students and staff had already signed on with those accounts, Bockwoldt said Friday.
“It has been very successful.” He said he has received positive feedback from families about students’ live interactions with their teachers during remote learning this week.
The student responsible for interrupting classes Aug. 18 was identified and his or her family, school officials and local police have been notified about the Zoom bombing incident, District 86 principals said in a letter to the community.
“In terms of the racial slur, we will not tolerate the use of hate speech by anyone inside or outside of our organization,” Hinsdale Central High School Principal William Walsh and Hinsdale South Principal Arwen Pokorny Lyp stated in the letter. “We will be vigilant in our fight against any and all forms of racism. We will also continue to stand with and be unwavering in our support of our students, staff and families of color as we work together to ensure that our schools are safe and welcoming places where they are always treated with compassion, respect and dignity.”
The principals called the nude image immature behavior, that is not acceptable.
“Our students and staff are working incredibly hard to remain engaged in quality, meaningful instruction despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19. We will not allow anyone or anything to disrupt, diminish or devalue that work,” Walsh and Pokorny Lyp said.
If parents or guardians have questions about the situation, they should contact the director of deans for their child’s school – Kimm Dever at Hinsdale Central (kdever@hinsdale86.org) or Robin Vannoy from Hinsdale South (rvannoy@hinsdale86.org).
