Berkeley County Schools is committed to providing all students with an education that will provide them with the tools for success. In order to do so, we must address not only academic needs, but behavioral and mental health needs as well.

The West Virginia Tiered System of Support (WVTSS) is a framework that has been developed to ensure that the myriads of needs are met for each student. This framework supports the whole child. The graphic below was designed by the West Virginia Department of Education and encompasses all the components that support the whole child including mental health, academics, and behavior.

Mental health is a new component to the tiered system of support that has been utilized in the past and includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being that affect how students think, feel, and act. Academics relate to curricular subjects, and behavior is defined as the way an individual acts or behaves in response to other people, stimuli, and situation.

The components described above are supported by the pieces outlined in the graphic’s outer ring which include family & community, culture & climate, leadership & teams, and finally, assessment. All of these pieces are essential to have a successful framework.

WVTSS includes three tiers of support: universal, targeted, and intensive. Below is a brief description of each level of support.

• Tier 1, the universal tier, includes instruction and support that is delivered to ALL students. Every student will receive Tier I instruction regardless of whether they need additional support with Tier 2 or Tier 3. Approximately 75-80% of students should only need this universal tier.

• Tier 2, the targeted tier, supports about 10-20% of students who have not demonstrated success at the universal level. This targeted support can provide more in-depth scaffolding which typically is done in small group sessions (15-30 minutes) two to three times per week. Progress with the targeted tier should be monitored every 2-3 weeks to see if the intervention is appropriate for the students’ needs.

• The intensive tier, Tier 3, should be needed by approximately 5-10% of students who have not shown growth at the end of the targeted level of intervention or are already experiencing mental health distress. Intensive support allows for more personalized attention, longer/more frequent sessions, and progress monitoring every one to two weeks. Some intensive behavioral or mental health support may be provided by outside service providers if parents permit.

Students that show a need for targeted or intensive intervention are notified by the school prior to placement. Typically, a letter is provided to parents with information about the support that the school feels the child can benefit from. If you would like more information about WVTSS, please contact your student’s school principal.