Pelly Crossing school issues being fixed: official

Yukon's Education Department says it is working to fix serious problems at Eliza Van Bibber School in Pelly Crossing, which has seen low student attendance and high turnover in its top staff position.

The K-12 school is currently on its fifth principal in the past 1½ years, and attendance has slumped, said Greg Storey, the department's superintendent of schools for central and northern Yukon.

Keith Clark from Golden Horn School in Whitehorse has been seconded to Pelly Crossing as acting principal, and he's already making a difference after just a few weeks on the job, Storey said.

"Attendance is not what we would like to be, but the attendance actually has gone up markedly over the last month," Storey told CBC News on Tuesday.

Storey said a posting for the principal's job at Eliza Van Bibber School will be going up soon.

Whoever gets the job will have to build relationships with teachers and staff, as well as take on the challenges that come with rural education.

"It's really important to get a fit. Some of our rural communities are small, they have a number of challenges — small class sizes, but often multi-grades," he said.

As well, Storey said the new principal will need to establish relationships in Pelly Crossing. That process can take a lot of time and effort, but the rewards can be enormous for educators who make the effort, he added.

"The partnership has to be really strong with First Nations and with community itself to try to create a school that has links with the community and is a true community school," he said.