Boston Public Schools enhances security and efficiency with Clever IDM

Boston Public Schools tackles digital access challenges: A critical upgrade to password management for 50,000 students

Boston Public Schools (BPS) is the largest school district in Massachusetts, serving 50,000 students across 124 schools. With a diverse student population and a broad range of educational programs, ensuring secure and efficient digital access is crucial. IT leadership at BPS identified a critical need to upgrade their password management approach. They wanted to transition to more secure password formats, but the journey proved to be long and complex.

The challenge: Outdated password practices among rising risks

Boston Public Schools faced multiple challenges related to account security and password management:

• Outdated password formats: The district was using generic and easily guessable password formats, making them vulnerable to both internal and external threats.
• External threats and student misuse: Weak passwords increased the risk of student-on-student hacking incidents and external cyber threats targeting the district’s systems.
• Overwhelmed help desk: The existing password reset tools were cumbersome, leading to a high volume of support tickets. The help desk team was stretched thin, struggling to keep up with password-related issues, which took time away from addressing other critical IT concerns.

The district needed a solution that would not only improve security but also streamline the password management process for both students and staff.

Improving our password policies and having delegated password reset tools with Clever IDM was important to us because there was stuff happening and we could see it. It was very easy for kids to send mail from someone else’s account and this caused a lot of problems.”

Judi Velluci, Director of Help Desk Support, Boston Public Schools

The solution: Choose a familiar tool to enhance password security and simplify resets

Boston Public Schools turned to Clever IDM to address their challenges, leveraging its automated identity and access management capabilities. This solution offered seamless integration with their existing systems, providing automated lifecycle management for all 50,000 student accounts. However, the real game-changer was the self-service password reset feature located directly into the Clever Portal, a familiar platform already widely used by students and teachers across the district.

Key highlights of the Clever IDM implementation included:

• Centralized account management: Clever IDM enabled Boston Public Schools to manage account provisioning, updates, and deactivation from a single platform. By integrating with both Google Workspace and Active Directory, it ensured passwords were consistently synchronized across systems.
• Self-service password reset: Students gained the ability to reset their own passwords directly within the Clever Portal and teachers could reset students passwords too. This not only reduced the dependency on the help desk but also empowered users to resolve access issues on their own, minimizing classroom disruptions.
• Customizable password complexity settings: With Boston able to determine their own level of complexity for reset passwords in Clever, the IT team no longer had to worry about teachers and students choosing weak or insecure passwords to protect their accounts. 
• Ease of adoption: Since Boston was already heavily using the Clever Portal for everyday digital learning activities, the transition to using Clever IDM for password management was smooth, with minimal learning curve.

To learn more about implementing Clever IDM in your district, contact a specialist 

Benefits and outcomes

The deployment of Clever IDM brought immediate and impactful benefits for Boston Public Schools:

• Reduced Help Desk burden: The help desk team saw a significant reduction in password reset requests, freeing them up to address other pressing IT issues. This led to faster response times and improved support for both staff and students.
• Seamless rollout: BPS was able to implement the Clever IDM solution seamlessly during the school year. Without the urgent deadline of back to school, they were able to take their time over the winter, partnering with Clever to ensure the roll out went smoothly. As a result, the district experienced one of its smoothest Back to School seasons in recent years.
• Improved classroom control: Teachers gained more control over their classrooms by having the tools to assist students with password issues directly, reducing downtime and maintaining the flow of lessons.
• Enhanced security: By moving away from generic passwords to more secure, yet manageable formats, the district saw a reduction in student-on-student hacks and improved defenses against external cyber threats.
• Delegated administration: The system’s delegated administration capabilities allowed IT to empower teachers to handle password resets within their classrooms, further decreasing the workload on central IT staff.

Clever IDM has been a life improvement for the service desk. I think it’s ease of use for the teachers. Clever was familiar, and if you have to change things, keeping something familiar is a good thing.”

Judi Velluci, Director of Help Desk Support, Boston Public Schools

Impact: BPS enhances security and efficiency with Clever IDM

Boston Public Schools, serving a vast network of schools and students, faced significant challenges with outdated password management that left them vulnerable to security breaches. By adopting Clever IDM, they not only streamlined their account management process but also enhanced their overall security posture. The integration of self-service password resets into a familiar platform like the Clever Portal provided a seamless user experience, leading to greater adoption and satisfaction among students and teachers. The help desk team, teachers, and students all benefited from more efficient and secure access, resulting in less classroom disruption and more focus on learning.

Key takeaways for other districts

The BPS team’s approach offers valuable insights for other districts looking to enhance security, boost efficiency, and lighten the load on IT resources.

1. Leverage familiar tools for better adoption and enhanced security: Implementing new solutions within platforms that are already familiar to students and staff can lead to faster and smoother adoption. Plus reducing your technical footprint with a consolidated service provider helps tighten up security.
2. Plan ahead for rollouts: Start exploring and planning for new technology solutions before the school year gets busy. Early preparation allowed Boston to have a seamless deployment and a stress-free start to the school year.
3. Empower educators and students with delegated administration: Delegating password management to teachers can significantly reduce the burden on IT teams while also minimizing classroom disruptions. Providing tools for teachers to directly assist students with account access improves the overall learning experience.

To learn more about implementing Clever IDM in your district, contact a specialist