MMS named WV PBIS Tier 1 Model School

Moundsville Middle School was named a 2022-2023 West Virginia PBIS Tier 1 Model School by the West Virginia Behavior/Mental Health Technical Assistance Center (WVBMHTAC).

In collaboration with the WV Autism Training Center at Marshall University and the WV Department of Education, the WVBMHTAC oversees, in addition to other initiatives, the state’s school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) project. For the 2022-2023 school year, the WV PBIS Leadership Team began searching for West Virginia PBIS Tier 1 Model Schools in January. The process involves the schools submitting evidence of their work and participating in a site visit for interviews with their staff, students, PBIS teams, and administrators. The evidence of their work can be found in their school and classroom expectations, how they utilize their data, in examples of their positive feedback systems, their planning of how to respond to challenging behaviors, and how they build relationships with all their stakeholders. The leadership is looking for ongoing evidence of a multi-tiered, problem- solving framework that produces positive outcomes.

Moundsville Middle School along with principal Mr. Robert Chavanak and his PBIS team, surpassed our standards to be awarded this recognition. At the site visit with the WV PBIS Leadership team, Moundsville Middle School’s journey to building a consistent PBIS framework was highlighted by the commitment of the team to root their work in data-based decision making. They work consistently to make decisions in true support of their students and recognizing the best ways to meet their needs to drive them towards success. Being a Trojan means understanding what it looks like to be Respectful, Responsible, and Safe and these values are skills that students are learning to support their growth each day.

WV PBIS Coordinator, Alicia Ziman, says “The Model Schools initiative is an integral part of our project. Identifying Model Schools gives us the opportunity to showcase the work these schools have found to be effective. We also have the ability to share their experiences with schools across the state and with outside stakeholders. Model Schools can instill an excitement in others through their passion and dedication to the PBIS Framework that is hard to capture in any training alone.”