This is a joint news release between the Government of Yukon and the First Nation School Board.
Keeping with its commitment to reconciliation and true collaboration with Yukon First Nations, the Government of Yukon is providing more than $35 million in funding to the First Nation School Board over the next 15 months for operations, maintenance and the development of language and cultural educational programs.
This significant funding agreement will help address commitments outlined in the Framework Agreement with the Chiefs Committee on Education, the Joint Education Action Plan and recommendations from the 2019 Auditor General of Canada Report to improve education outcomes for Indigenous and rural students and implement systemic changes that incorporate Yukon First Nations culture and languages in the Yukon’s education system.
The agreement includes funding for not only operations and maintenance of First Nation School Board schools, but also for the establishment of school board organizational capacity and for the development of Yukon First Nations language and culture curricula and educational programs that will benefit all schools operated by the Department of Education.
Schools operating within the First Nation School Board are committed to an inclusive, student-centered model, delivering the British Columbia Curriculum through a Yukon First Nations worldview, often incorporating land-based learning, family and Elder engagement and increased instruction in the local First Nation languages.
I am proud to support the Yukon First Nation School Board in their goal to provide high-quality education rooted in Yukon First Nations culture and language. This funding agreement represents our government’s commitment to reconciliation and our belief that every child in the Yukon deserves access to an education that celebrates diversity and promotes inclusivity. It is another historic step for our government as, together with our partners, we continue writing a new chapter on education in the Yukon and building a brighter future for the territory.
Minister of Education Jeanie McLean
This funding ensures that all students in our schools are provided an enriched learning environment that incorporates localized and Yukon First Nations worldview and sets them up for success in life. We are celebrating the ability to fully implement the vision laid out in the First Nation School Board Agreement, ideas formally laid out in Together Today for our Children Tomorrow. This funding also strengthens the new partnership between Yukon government and the First Nation School Board with respect to education in the Yukon and we look forward to this growing and developing this relationship in the years ahead.
First Nation School Board Chair Dana Tizya-Tramm
Under the Education Act, the Minister of Education has oversight of all public schools and school boards in the Yukon.
The Yukon has two school boards: the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon and the First Nation School Board.
The First Nation School Board is currently operating eight schools under its authority for the 2022-2023 school year. An additional three schools will fall under the First Nation School Board’s authority at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, bringing the total to 11 schools.
Renée Francoeur
Cabinet Communications
867-334-9194
renee.francoeur@yukon.ca
Sophie Best
Communications, Education
867-332-6225
sophie.best@yukon.ca
Katharine Sandiford
Communications, FNSB
867-333-4011
communications@fnsb.ca