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HHCS: Virus blamed for inappropriate messages within communication app used by students, teachers

HUBER HEIGHTS — Huber Heights City Schools warned parents Wednesday morning of issues within their Seesaw app, mostly utilized by grades K-6 in the district.

Seesaw is a platform for student engagement that uses photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs and links., according to the app’s website.

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In a letter to families, district officials said they had been made aware there was a virus introduced into the app, which they say is causing inappropriate images to be posted within the “messages” section of the app by different users.

The district says that this is a nationwide issue that hundreds of other Seesaw-enabled districts are also experiencing Wednesday morning.

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“We are currently working with Seesaw and our technology team to eliminate this virus from our system and ensure our students are not exposed to inappropriate material. As of this communication, we can assure our families that Huber Heights City Schools has removed the Seesaw login option from all student tablets and Chromebooks until further notice. In addition, we have sent two communications to all district staff to notify them that they should not use Seesaw until the issue is resolved,” district officials said.

The school district is also asking parents to not click on any links in the Seesaw notification emails or use Seesaw for any type of communication at this time

District officials also recommend parents and students remove the app from their phones and other devices until further notice.

“While this virus and any inappropriate content associated with it was not generated by any Huber Heights City Schools students, staff, or parents, we want to remind all students and parents to use caution when clicking on links and entering passwords online,” district officials said.

News Center 7 is working to learn more and we will continue updating this story.