PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee will take a historic vote on the structure of Pittsfield Public Schools on Wednesday. 

On the agenda is a "vote on the middle school grade plan" restructuring, which would create an upper elementary school for grades 5-6 and a junior high school for Grades 7-8 by the 2026-2027 academic year. This would modify current school attendance zones away from assigning students to a middle school based on their home address. 

"The reconfiguration aims to provide more targeted academic programming, age-appropriate social-emotional supports, and expanded elective options," the district wrote in a notice for a public hearing on the proposal earlier this month. 

In this model, Grades 5-6 would see an extended elementary experience with a similar program structure, fewer transitions throughout the day, a smaller group of educators, and rotating specialists so that students can explore elective courses.

Grades 7-8 would see a high school readiness curriculum with required coursework, opportunities for advanced coursework, career and college exploration, and support for families while selecting a high school program.

During community forums in May, community members were mostly concerned with transportation and busing, transitions and students anxiety, behavioral and social emotional learning needs, and the district's reputation and equity. 

They also saw opportunities in smaller learning communities, expanded programming, and stronger onboarding for students. 

During the hearing on June 11, former middle school administrator Michele Rivers-Murphy voiced concerns about the number of building transitions this model includes. 

"This new configuration will require students to transition a total of three times within six years. In fact, multiple studies associate school transition with negative impacts to our students," she said. 

"Decreased academic achievement, harmful student social-emotional outcomes, an increase in negative student behavior, bullying, discipline interactions, suspensions, expulsions, fewer positive student teacher relationships, which are so critical in our times, it only takes one adult to be a support system to a student and change the trajectory of their experience, and of course, instruction. The continuity of instruction, collaboration, and communication among more grade levels will be lost. There's also unnecessary cultural challenges, such as school families being broken up and loss of parent support." 

Middle School Restructuring Committee member Sarah Muil appreciated the feedback, "But I feel like, having been part of the restructuring committee, people don't respect the amount of time and effort that we put into this whole thing."

"We did consider all of the things that people are bringing up, and that there are plans that are being made in the moment right now for bussing, for all of the concerns that are being brought up, and I think as far as bringing CTE into the middle schools, that's also part of the curriculum that we discussed in our restructuring committee meetings," she continued.

"So I just want people to maybe step back and look at those minutes and read through the things that we've already been working through as a group of people. There were 20 of us, maybe more, that worked on the restructuring committee, and we really dedicated our free time to doing this and I want people to respect the fact that we took the time to think of all of these things, and that's why we have these open forums for people to come and talk about their concerns." 

The Middle School Restructuring Committee first met in September 2024.  According to the district's website, the charge of the committee is to "form small working groups that are tasked with providing well-informed recommendations to the Pittsfield School Committee on a range of critical areas," including the grade span of PPS middle schools, educational models, and police adaptations that support the recommendations. 

"The committee's goal is to ensure that any changes made are aligned with the district's commitment to providing high-quality education and meeting the diverse needs of all students," it reads. 

Running parallel to this effort is the proposed rebuild of Silvio O. Conte Community School and John C. Crosby Elementary on the West Street site with shared facilities. Last week, the City Council's finance subcommittee supported borrowing up to $2 million for a feasibility study. 

"It's a very involved process. We went to several meetings. The City Council went to several meetings, including we toured the facilities. This is the next step in the process. If I recall we haven't built a new elementary school since 1970-something," Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren said at the finance subcommittee meeting last week. 

"… So long and short of it is those who are coming in late, it may look like a lot of money, and I guarantee you, there will be people who have alternatives that the city should have looked at, which actually they already did. So I think we've got to move Pittsfield forward. I think we need new buildings." 

The study, estimated to cost about $1.5 million, is a part of the 80 percent reimbursable costs from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which accepted the project into its queue late last year.
The Crosby/Conte plan has the potential to house grades prekindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another, with both maintaining their own identities and administrations. 

When the project was proposed last year, officials and community members toured the approximately 69,000-square-foot schools that are more than 50 years old. Crosby, built as a middle school, boasts cracked windows that were repaired with duct tape, and Conte is an open-concept school that doesn't align with modern safety and educational needs.

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