The Tumit Model in Nunavut: How Student Support Levels Work

When you ask a Nunavut school about support for your child, the answer will eventually involve something called the Tumit Model. Understanding what Tumit means — and how it determines what help your child receives — is one of the most practical things a Nunavut parent can learn.

Tumit is the Inuktitut word for footprints. The Nunavut Department of Education uses it to describe a tiered framework for student support — five levels of intervention, each with different intensities, different personnel, and different documentation requirements. Where your child lands on this framework determines nearly everything: whether they get an SSA, how many hours, whether they need an IAP or an IEP, and how much access they have to specialist services.

The Five Levels of the Tumit Framework

Tumit Level 1 — Universal Classroom Strategies

Level 1 is for all students. It describes the differentiated instruction and environmental supports that good classroom teaching already provides: varied instruction methods, flexible grouping, visual aids, structured routines. No individual plan is needed at this level. All students benefit from Level 1 supports whether or not they have an identified learning need.

Tumit Level 2 — Targeted Small-Group Intervention

Level 2 applies when a student needs more targeted support than standard classroom instruction provides, but the need is mild enough to be addressed by the classroom teacher using small-group strategies. Level 2 is about pulling a group of three or four students aside for extra reading support, or providing additional check-ins for a student who needs more scaffolding.

No formal ISSP is required at Level 2. The teacher manages this directly. Parents may or may not be formally notified that their child is receiving Level 2 support, though a good teacher will mention it.

If your child has been at Level 2 for more than one academic term without making adequate progress, that is evidence that intervention should escalate.

Tumit Level 3 — IAP Development with SST Involvement

Level 3 is where formal documentation begins. At this level, the Student Support Teacher (SST) becomes involved, and an Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP) is developed for the student. Level 3 is appropriate for students with moderate learning or behavioral needs who can achieve standard curriculum expectations but require specific accommodations to do so.

The IAP at Level 3 documents specific modifications to delivery or assessment format — extra time, a quiet testing environment, access to a scribe — but does not modify the curriculum itself. Courses completed under an IAP at Level 3 appear on the student's transcript without any notation.

Parents become formal members of the school team at Level 3, with rights to review and co-sign the IAP. If you have not been included in IAP development and your child is at Level 3, request immediate involvement.

Tumit Level 4 — IEP with SSA Involvement

Level 4 is a significant escalation. At this level, the student's needs require actual curriculum modification — not just accommodation — and the involvement of a Student Support Assistant (SSA) is typical. An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed, which modifies course competencies based on the student's functional level rather than grade-level expectations.

Level 4 supports require substantial SSA time. The IEP at Level 4 specifies exactly how many minutes per day or per week the SSA provides direct support, in which subject areas, and through what specific interventions. Parents should scrutinize these specifications carefully — vague language like "SSA support as needed" is not adequate. The ISSP should specify "SSA provides 90 minutes of direct 1:1 literacy support daily during periods 2 and 3."

Courses completed under an IEP at Level 4 appear on the student's transcript with modified course codes, which affects eligibility for standard diploma programs and some post-secondary pathways.

Tumit Level 5 — Intensive Specialist Support

Level 5 is for students with severe cognitive, physical, behavioral, or multiple disabilities who require continuous 1:1 SSA support and regular involvement from external clinical specialists — educational psychologists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, behavioral consultants.

The challenge with Level 5 in Nunavut is that the specialist resources it theoretically requires are extremely scarce. An itinerant educational psychologist may visit a remote community twice a year. A speech-language pathologist may visit once. For the most complex students, the territory's resource reality means Level 5 on paper often looks like a modified Level 4 in practice.

Parents of Level 5 students should be aggressive users of the Inuit Child First Initiative to secure federal funding for the specialist services the territory cannot provide within a reasonable timeframe.

How Tumit Levels Are Assigned

Tumit levels are not formally decided by any single test or committee meeting. They emerge from the school team's collaborative assessment of the student's needs, which is supposed to be an ongoing process informed by data:

• Classroom observation data collected by teachers
• Academic performance relative to grade-level expectations
• Behavioral tracking and incident records
• Prior assessment reports (if any exist)
• Parent and Elder input about the child's functioning at home and in the community

In theory, the school team reviews this data, proposes a Tumit level, develops the corresponding ISSP document (IAP or IEP), and presents it to the parents for review and signature.

In practice, the Tumit level often gets assigned informally by the principal and SST based on available SSA hours rather than the student's actual needs. If there is only one SSA in the school and they are already assigned to a Level 5 student, a new Level 4 student may be managed at Level 3 because that is what the school can resource.

This is precisely why parents need to ask explicitly: "What Tumit level has been assigned to my child, and what evidence and data supports that determination?"

What Parents Should Do With This Information

Ask for the Tumit level in writing. Any time your child has an ISSP meeting, confirm in writing what Tumit level has been assigned and what documentation supports it.

Track progress formally. Each ISSP should include measurable goals and a review timeline. If the goals are not being met at the current Tumit level, that is evidence for escalating to the next level.

Know what each level entitles your child to. Levels 4 and 5 entitle your child to SSA support. If your child is at Level 4 and not receiving meaningful SSA hours, the school is not implementing the plan.

Challenge assignments that do not reflect your child's needs. If you believe your child needs Level 4 support but has been assigned Level 3, request a formal school team meeting to review the assignment with specific data. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, you have the right to reject the ISSP and request a Ministerial Review.

Understanding the Tumit framework is not just academic — it is the operational map of how supports get delivered to your child. The Nunavut Special Ed Advocacy Playbook includes the full Tumit framework alongside ISSP preparation checklists and the escalation steps for when the assigned level does not match your child's actual needs.

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