Martinsburg North Middle School Makes Gains after State of Emergency
Charleston, W.Va. – When Martinsburg North Middle School (MNMS) was placed under a state of emergency by the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) in 2024, Berkeley County Schools (BCS) took important steps to prioritize large-scale change at the school. The intervention required county leaders to invest in and restore a healthy school culture and to hold everyone accountable for a vision of safety and success. Working with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE), BCS dedicated the time, resources and unrelenting focus to the existing challenges. In just 12 months, the school was headed in a positive direction and the WVBE lifted the intervention.
When the WVBE issued the State of Emergency at MNMS, immediate and urgent action was necessary. The county took steps to stabilize the school environment making sure students, educators and staff could thrive in a safe learning climate. This included the transition to new leadership at the school.
Executive Director of Secondary School Leadership Holly Kleppner served as the liaison to the WVDE early in the process. She supported the county superintendent’s decision to hire Kevin Pittsnogle, former West Virginia University (WVU) basketball standout and WVU Sports Hall of Fame inductee, as the school’s new principal starting in the 2024-25 school year. The shift led a culture of change at the school through a relationship-first, student-centered approach.
Pittsnogle’s background as a special education teacher at MNMS and an assistant principal at Musselman High School fueled his passion for working with students. Earning the trust of students has motivated him to continue shaping the school culture in a way that produces positive outcomes.
"From my perspective, the biggest things that have changed for us as a school are the expectation and accountability pieces,” Pittsnogle said. “The expectation is that adults will hold kids accountable, and the administration will hold the adults accountable to the same extent. We are still building the culture and creating a team atmosphere where no one is above someone else," Pittsnogle said.
The turnaround has breathed new life into MNMS, and the efforts continue with students, families, educators and staff supporting a healthy environment where the school community can thrive. The school uses a team approach to prioritize accountability across relationships, discipline, teacher pedagogy and academics.
“The story of Martinsburg North Middle School is inspiring, and we are proud of the commitment Berkeley County Schools made to this community,” said State Superintendent of Schools Michele L. Blatt. “The progress we have seen there often takes many years, but they moved with intention and would not let the circumstances dictate the future of the students, educators and staff. I commend the county and school leadership for the important strides, and you will see even more students succeed because of this leadership.”
The WVBE lifted the state of emergency in May 2025. Later that year, results from the West Virginia General Summative Assessment released in September showed that the school achieved notable gains in both academic achievement and academic progress. English language arts (ELA) proficiency increased by 5% and math proficiency by 6%. Even more significant, the school’s ELA and math progress indicators rose by 15% and 13%, respectively. These improvements demonstrate that students were not only reaching higher levels of proficiency but were also showing greater overall growth than at any point since the school was identified as a Comprehensive Support and Improvement school in 2022.
The WVDE, working in collaboration with BCS, is proud to celebrate Public Schools Week by sharing another story about the important role our public schools play in West Virginia.