Safety in the Pittsfield Public Schools

Nothing is more important than the safety of our students and staff. Pittsfield Public Schools routinely engages in crisis planning and practicing procedures to minimize risk. All schools within the Pittsfield Public Schools participate in active intruder drills to prepare our students and staff. These drills provide our staff and students with the tools to make instantaneous decisions when faced with an intruder in one of our school buildings.

PPS is very fortunate that former Mayor Tyer and other members of city leadership have heavily invested in our school-based security and camera systems. If an intruder enters one of our buildings, these enterprise-level systems are instantly accessible by members of school and district leadership as well as to leaders in the Pittsfield Police Department (in the case of an emergency only). The Pittsfield Public Schools also provides every educator and administrator with a radio that is carried on their person to assist in facilitating instant communication in case of an emergency. These radios connect to all district leadership so support and guidance can be provided as soon as an incident begins.

We continue to ask that you have conversations with your child and encourage them to report any suspicious activity they see or hear in the community, on social media, or within our schools to you or any staff member at your child’s school. When these concerns are brought to the attention of school leaders, together we can improve safety and respond to the needs of our students.

Mental health professionals are available to you and your children. The School Adjustment Counselor contact is linked here.