By Andrea Arens
On September 10, the Peotone School District 207-U Board held a special meeting in which there was nothing on the agenda except an executive session.
The next day, a notice went out to parents there was a change in school leadership at Peotone Junior High. Long time employee, Wendy Bean, who served as assistant principal for a multitude of years and just recently took the principal position at the junior high, abruptly resigned due to personal reasons, effective immediately.
The district appointed the new assistant principal, Michael McGovern, as principal and Natalie Harden as the assistant principal at the junior high. The move took Harden out of the interim principal role at Peotone Intermediate Center and moved Laura Henderson into the interim principal role.
Exactly two days later, a parent notification was sent indicating an individual had gained unauthorized access to the student information system and a review showed the individual obtained access only to modify class scheduling. The release went on to say, “We have no reason to believe any other information beyond the schedules was accessed and/or altered.” The release said they identified the person responsible and addressed their misconduct.
The student information system holds records for all students for academics, attendance, discipline, health records, IEP, and 504 accommodations, parent/guardian home and work information, and even staff entries regarding noteworthy events regarding students.
In the release, the district went on to clarify they have updated their security protocols and access points to prevent future instances.
In other school news, another threat was found in the bathroom at the junior high on September 16. The threat indicated there would be a bomb on September 17. The release from the school indicated there would be additional police presence and, if the perpetrator was identified, the district wold take appropriate action.