OHIO — The first day of school across the state of Ohio will certainly be one for the history books as many started the year off virtually. Like many around the state, districts within the Ohio Eight Coalition had highs and lows.

What You Need To Know

  • Power outages interrupted things for a short time for some

  • Families still need to pick up devices

  • Toledo Public schools faced a cyber attack and now the FBI is investigating

  • Some high school students aren't showing up for class online

  • Students are still enrolling in schools, which has prompted districts to purchase more hotspots

If we had to sum it up within the Ohio 8, it could be said that they were were met with frustration, criticism and grace all at the same time. Most say the first day went well considering the pandemic. Technological difficulties were the biggest issue, which was to be expected. For some, it was more magnified than others.

Labor weekend weather set the tone for the first day of school for some across the state.

“We woke up to the first day of school—there were like three schools with no power so we were able to however, move those teachers who were going to teach in our classrooms to other classrooms. So we were able to fix that glitch. However, some families in their own homes didn't have power, we did have some minor issues there," said Columbus City Schools Superintendent Talisa Dixon said. 
 
But power outages weren’t the only reasons students couldn’t get online. In places like Dayton Public Schools, Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said they had glitches but there was another reason teachers didn't see some students online the first day.

“Many high school students did not show up to classes, so the district will need to be in contact with them," Lolli said.

That's in addition to the fact that families had just arrived to pick up their technology and ready packs. 

Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon told parents, “We had a number of families still in need of technology, in need of password assistance. Students who needed help with logging into clever and the learning management system.”

It's a system that allows students to access their online learning programs and resources. 
 
CMSD wasn’t alone as the others like Canton and Youngstown City Schools took the week to continue giving out devices, but perhaps the biggest challenge came for Toledo Public Schools as hackers hit their systems. District officials released this statement saying, “Unfortunately, just before noon, the district suffered an unavoidable cyberattack and because of that, internet connectivity and email has been disrupted.”

In a message to parents on the district’s social media page, they let everyone know that internet and email was restored by late afternoon and that they were working with the FBI and a cyber forensics company to address the problem. 
 
While districts in the Ohio 8 indicated they’ve got software on computers to handle potential threats, Akron Public Schools said their software has an instant alert system for parents and school officials. As districts continue to resolve technology issues and train parents on how to maneuver through the virtual platforms, they’re also managing an increase in enrollment.

“Now since we're seeing more students that are enrolling, we're having to order additional hot spots, so they have their devices, but we have to make sure that they're able to connect," Dixon said. 
 
Although most of the Ohio 8 had some challenges to start, they’re confident that they’ll have the kinks worked out and can be up and running as smooth as possible sooner than later. Cincinnati Public Schools is the only district, which indicated they did not have any glitches or issues with functionality of devices.

Based on a spike in cyber crime cases dating back to March when the pandemic forced schools online, the FBI anticipated that hackers would target education platforms. So, they began encouraging districts to research vendor cyber breaches, which could expose security vulnerabilities. Now, the FBI continues to encourage teachers and students to take part in the safe online surfing program which teaches about cyber safety so kids can stay protected.