PITTSFIELD (MA)
WCVB - ABC 5 [Boston MA]
August 17, 2026
By Karen Anderson
Prosecutors say she knew about inappropriate conduct between a teacher and students
The former head of Miss Hall’s School was arraigned on one count of reckless endangerment of a child in court on Monday for her alleged role in the teacher abuse scandal that has already seen a former teacher indicted for rape.
Jeannie Norris, who is 80 and now lives in North Carolina, appeared for the arraignment via Zoom in Berkshire Superior Court. She hardly spoke during the proceedings.
Prosecutors allege Norris received multiple reports of inappropriate conduct between a teacher, Matthew Rutledge, and his students.
Rutledge was indicted earlier this year on three counts of rape involving two former students.
Prosecutors say Norris’s lack of action created a substantial risk of harm to children in her care.
Berkshire County District Attorney Timothy J. Shugrue previously told 5 Investigates that an investigation is ongoing, and he expects more charges against Norris, who was the headmaster at the all-girls school from 1996 to 2012.
Shugrue said an investigation has found that as Norris was alerted to red flags about Rutledge’s behavior, she appeared focused on the harm the allegations could cause the school’s reputation instead of the victims.
In the case of one girl, Shugrue said she seemed to encourage Rutledge and one of the students to grow closer when Norris learned the girl was considering leaving the school, and Norris was concerned about losing the tuition, Shugrue said.
Hilary Simon and Melissa Fares, two of Rutledge’s former students whom he is charged with raping, said in a joint statement, “Abusers do not operate alone. They operate inside institutions and systems that decide, over and over, that reputation matters more than the child.”
The statement read, “For decades, the story of institutional abuse has been that the abuser is the problem and the institution is the victim. It is not. Abuse like this survives because adults with power receive reports and decide to protect the adult in front of them instead of the student.”
Norris’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea on her behalf. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for November.