November 2025, GAPS high school students were told to change their passwords to a password that is 14-16 characters long. GAPS IT staff member Bernard Milaj, comments on why the passwords had to change. 

With passwords that are 14-16 characters long, it takes longer to break in than passwords with less characters. “It takes years to crack if someone tries to crack it,” Milaj said. The idea is that with the password change, students will be safer and people won’t be able to break into Synergy and get their information. “We want to make sure that all students are safe and secure, that was the main reason,” Milaj said.

 When students don’t change their passwords when teachers tell them they will be put in a “plenty box.” The plenty box restricts a student’s ability to access certain apps on their Chromebooks. The plenty box is not something that GAPS put in, but the reason that it is there is to force students to change their passwords. “They are going to go into the plenty box, which is very restricted…they cannot do as many things on their school devices,” Milaj said. When this happens to a student, they need to go to a teacher to help them fix it and change their passwords. Though seen as not very convenient, the password change is there for everyone’s safety.