Ask Gloria Coxford what makes her an award-winning principal and you are more likely to hear about her students, staff and school council than you are to hear about her personal achievements.

"I've got an excellent staff, an excellent school council. Everyone works together and everyone's on the same page,” the principal of Grey Mountain Primary School told the Star Thursday.

"... It's all about team work and the whole school being on the same page and working together for what is best for the kids. Making the school safe, not only physically, but emotionally – and just constantly working to make it better for the kids.”

Coxford is one of Canada's Outstanding Principals of 2011 – as nominated by her staff and chosen by the Learning Partnership.

She has just returned from a five-day workshop with 31 other principals who were also honoured with the award this year.

"We worked unbelievably hard,” she said of the workshops. "The quality of speakers they had in and the quality of discussion was just incredible.

"... It was about getting a different and a wider perspective on education. It was very inspiring. If I had to go to just one (professional development day) in a year, that is the one I would go to.”

With just 64 students in Kindergarten to Grade 3, Coxford's was one of the smaller schools represented at this year's awards.

Although having a small student population comes with many advantages, it isn't necessarily what makes a great school, she said.

"The principal I sat next to one day had 1,900 students – he was an outstanding principal with 1,900 students!” Coxford exclaimed.

"It just knocked my socks off. So it's not about the number of students, it's about the community that's created in the school.”

That said, Coxford likes the size and age of her student population.

"It's wonderful being in a small school. You know every student. You know where everyone is academically. You know everyone's family.”

And although she missed teaching older kids when she first started as the principal of the territory's only primary school seven years ago, now she is content with "the little ones”.

She hasn't had a chance to miss teaching – which she has done for 26 years – because she still teaches half-time in the mornings.

Parents are also very pleased with to send their youngsters to a primary school.

"It's such a nice way for kids to start school. The whole school is geared toward young kids,” she said. "... We get a lot of parents who are out of our catchment area who want their kids to come here.”

And while some parents feel Grade 4 is too soon for their children to graduate to intermediate school, Coxford said the students fare very well once they leave Grey Mountain.

"We get so many compliments from principals when our kids go to other schools – their manners, their behaviour, everything. I can't think of a single time we've had a complaint from a principal about one of our students.”

Students at Grey Mountain also study French for 30 minutes a day, three days a week, an education many Yukon students do not get until as late as Grade 7, "which is probably the worst time,” Coxford said.

"There's no writing, it's all oral,” she said of the style of teaching.

"The kids take well-known fairy tales, learn them in French and then put on a big play. It's a lot of fun and they don't even know they are learning.”

The program has been so successful, that some Grey Mountain graduates are able to go into late French-immersion in Grade 7, Coxford noted.

Asked if she is thinking of using the Outstanding Principal Award to leverage a job at another, larger school, Coxford was almost unequivocal.

"I would never leave Whitehorse, and principal jobs are not exactly lying around,” she said. "I'm perfectly happy here at Grey Mountain.”