COVID-19 Cases Confirmed at Reid and PHS

The Pittsfield Public Schools has two more confirmed cases of COVID-19. The Public Schools, in partnership with The City of Pittsfield Department of Health, was notified that a staff member at Reid Middle School as well as a student at Pittsfield High School have tested positive for COVID-19. These recent positive tests come on the heels of a staff member at Conte Community School in Pittsfield testing positive several days ago and then news that someone had tested positive at Drury High School in North Adams. A staff member at Hoosac Valley Elementary School has also tested positive.

According to a press release from Interim Superintendent Joseph Curtis, the confirmed case at Reid Middle School involves a staff member who works in a contained classroom and who was most recently physically in attendance at the Reid Middle School facilities on November 6th.

The Pittsfield Department of Health is reaching out to each staff, student and family member that has been identified as potentially being in close contact with the infected individual. Via school district and tracing protocols, information related to specific circumstances, action steps, requirements, and recommendations, have been communicated – and will continue to be communicated – to any Reid School staff and students identified as potentially being in close contact with the infected individual.

As with the Conte situation, the Pittsfield Public Schools will not close the entire school. Due to the nature and operation of this classroom, students, and staff in the one affected classroom at Reid will participate in remote learning through November 20th. They will resume in person learning on November 23rd.

Per established protocols, all areas of the building that the individual accessed in the days preceding their positive test result will be thoroughly and re-sanitized before school resumes on November 12th. All buses are thoroughly sanitized twice daily as part of regularly established protocols.

The confirmed case at Pittsfield High School involves a student who was most recently physically in attendance at the Pittsfield High School facilities on November 2nd. The Pittsfield Department of Health is similarly reaching out to staff, students, and family members that have been identified as potentially being in close contact with the infected individual.

PHS will remain open as well. With nine calendar days passing since the student last attended, and as of today, no students in any of the student’s classes reporting symptoms, we will continue to operate school following the protocols that have been in place since the arrival back into the school buildings.

The Pittsfield Public Schools will continue to monitor community absentee rates, reports of illness, and test positivity daily incidence rate metrics, to determine if school closure or in-person education initiatives require modification at Pittsfield High School.