Chief Zzeh Gittlit School
Nakhwanyàa’in geenjit shòh ìidìlii
Located in Teechik (Old Crow), Chief Zzeh Gittlit School (CZGS) is Yukon's northernmost school. It serves Learners from Early Learning (K4) through Grade 12.
Land-based, experiential learning is an important part of education, so all CZGS Learners study the Gwich’in language and take part in cultural activities.
Teechik is a fly-in community north of the Arctic Circle near the junction of the Chyah Njik (Crow River) and the Ch’oodeenjik (Porcupine River).
We acknowledge and respect that Chief Zzeh Gittlit School is on the Territory of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.
We honour our responsibility to live and work on Gwich’in Land in a good way.
School Growth Plan
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Literacy
We will work to cultivate a community of proficient, confident, and enthusiastic readers, ensuring every Learner achieves literacy success by developing strong foundational reading skills and the fluency necessary to read for meaning and lifelong learning, alongside working towards improving literacy through University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) programs and reading fluency initiatives with a clear, guided set of goals and a compelling vision rooted in the Science of Reading.
We will also utilize UFLI programming and the Science of Reading approach to help develop and grow Learners’ pronunciation of word sounds in the Gwich'in language.
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Numeracy
We support Learners’ numeracy skills through programs like Mathology, while focusing on hands-on learning that encourages Learners to build deep conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and a positive mathematical identity.
This approach aligns with best practices in Education, like the Concrete-Representational-Abstract model.
Our numeracy strategy is built around three core pillars: Conceptual Mastery, Procedural Fluency, and Positive Engagement.
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Whole Child
By working closely with our Land and Language Connector and Whole Child Coaches, we will ensure land-based activities and outside education, a cross-cultural curricular lens with instructional pedagogy, and rich, supportive school-community learning environments.
We will utilize pedagogical outdoor education and local Gwich’in ways of knowing to meet all CZGS Learners’ needs. reach every child and their needs.
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Land and Language
Land-based learning and Gwich’in language and culture are integral to all programming at CZGS — from Early Learning through Grade 12.
We focus on improving Learners’ academic success by enhancing and expanding Gwich’in language education through local Gwich’in ways of knowing, and by fostering Learners’ living connections to the Land.
School Calendar
Chief Zzeh Gittlit School
Our calendar is structured to reflect local Gwich’in ways of knowing and doing.
The school year starts in August, and we have extended breaks throughout the year to spend time with families while engaged in cultural activities.
What makes FNSB schools different
Accountability
We take the words of past reports and the wisdom of our communities seriously. The Auditor General Reports of 2009 and 2019, the Joint Education Action Plan (JEAP), and the various reports from the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate (YCAO) have given us a clear map with checkpoints to ensure the needs of our Learners are met and our communities are heard and empowered. An overarching theme of these reports is accountability. You cannot have accountability without objective data and transparency.
Through our Yukon First Nation values, we have built all aspects of FNSB around this, especially how our schools operate and support our Learners' education. Everything from our school growth plans, to teacher evaluations, academic assessments, and the development of new data measures for cultural connection and belonging, FNSB is ensuring we are accountable to our Learners, families, First Nations, communities, and the public.
Together with local First Nations
We are changing what education looks like at Chief Zzeh Gittlit School because local First Nation citizens are involved and leading everything from staffing and budgets to school rules and programming. Our school is a part of the community, not separate from it. Our Leadership Team includes education leaders from Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, and our localized governance model of Community Committees, made up of citizens and families, enables our community to genuinely share the delivery of public education.
High Expectations, High Support
Chief Zzeh Gittlit School follows the BC Curriculum, and we work with Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation to integrate local knowledge, histories, languages, and cultures with high academic rigour. We know true learning engages minds by reflecting lived experiences and fostering a sense of belonging. Our community should maintain high expectations of our Learners, and the Educators and School Teams entrusted to teach them. In reciprocity, all Learners, Educators, and families are supported through a localized First Nations approach, which is strengths-based and wraps around the whole person, not only one aspect.
Inclusive of all
All Learners, Educators, and families are welcome at Chief Zzeh Gittlit School. Every decision we make holds our Learners and families at the centre. We provide education grounded in reconciliation. A Yukon First Nations model puts the whole Learner first through a strengths-based and community-centred approach. We all hold the privilege and the responsibility to learn about and from the people, teachings, and languages of this land.
