East Panhandle Times

MARTINSBURG — As Martinsburg North Middle School prepares for the upcoming school year after entering a state of emergency, Kevin Pittsnogle takes the reins as the new school principal.

With many years of experience working with Berkeley County Schools, Pittsnogle aims to offer a better educational experience for students.

Pittsnogle started his teaching career at North Middle in 2008 as a special education teacher. Since then, he has held several positions in both Berkeley County and Morgan County, including serving as the assistant principal at Musselman High School. As assistant principal, Pittsnogle was responsible for dealing with disciplinary issues and several other administrative duties.

After seeing this position become available, Pittsnogle thought it would provide a lot of new opportunities and believed he could provide the support the school needs. Pittsnogle will be working closely with Holly Kleppner, who is currently acting as the Berkeley County Board of Education’s representative and is the liaison between the state and the school.

Though Pittsnogle, a Martinsburg High graduate, has just taken the position, he has already had meetings with Kleppner to talk about their plans for the upcoming school year and how they will best serve the students.

“A lot of what I’m trying to incorporate is going to be the structure, the consistency, just being transparent and making sure that we’re doing everything we can do to build our staff to be able to help the students as much as possible,” he said.

Pittsnogle is passionate about education because he values relationships and connecting with students. He hopes to not just focus on discipline but get out of the office and find ways to connect with students and build their trust. He enjoys being able to watch students grow and see what they accomplish in the future and wants to help students at North Middle become good citizens.

As North Middle enters the new school year, Pittsnogle hopes to focus on setting the right expectations for both staff and students and making sure everyone knows what’s expected. The main goal of the school will be to educate incoming students, and Pittsnogle believes the best way to do that is by ensuring everyone is on the same page.

“So, if we can work together and do those things, I think we can be successful,” Pittsnogle said. “But it’s not just going to be me. The misconception is that the principal’s going to fix it all, and that’s just not how it works. It’s going to be a team effort.”

The support needed doesn’t just come from staff but also from community members. Pittsnogle looks forward to being part of something bigger than himself and encourages parents and other community members to learn how they can contribute towards improving North Middle.

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