Zacharias John Williams Memorial School

Home of the Hawks

Greetings from Zacharias John Williams School in Napaskiak, Alaska, home of the Hawks. If you are lucky enough to make it to beautiful Napaskiak you will notice that we are located 400 air miles from Anchorage and about 7 miles from Bethel, the regional hub on the Kuskokwim River. You can fly, boat on the river, or drive on the ice-road to get here.

Napaskiak is a Yup'ik native community with approximately 450 residents. In addition to employment in the village and in Bethel, most people in the village live a subsistence lifestyle: hunting, fishing, and gathering berries and plants in the areas around the village.

ZJ Williams is a K-12 school with about 150 students. There are 30 employees at the school, 15 of which are teachers. In K-6th, students are taught in both English and the Yup'ik language. Our school is a Positive Behavior Support school using the CHAMPS protocol, emphasizing Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Perseverance. We support our students with engaging instruction that focuses on student-centered approaches with an emphasis on rigor and high expectations to prepare our students to "prosper and contribute as responsible and independent citizens."

Our students excel in both the academic and athletic arenas. Students participate in Robotics, Speech, and Science Fair competitions along with Basketball and Wrestling. Our Student Council is also active and helps to guide student decision-making at the school. ZJW was the first and only school in the district to win the state 1A basketball championship and was regional champions in wrestling during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. In the coming years, we will be focusing on becoming a Trauma-Informed school using Restorative Justice practices to enable student voice and responsibility. 

ZJ Williams Memorial School realizes that "the education of our children is the responsibility of the entire community" and as a result works closely with parents to meet the needs of our students both now and for the future. Come and see for yourself! 

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