Alberta announces $143M for extra staff to support complex classrooms

Alberta is allocating $143 million to add about 1,400 teachers and educational assistants to support strained elementary classrooms, with the funds coming from the ministry's 2025-26 budget.

Alberta's government is allocating $143 million to send about 1,400 additional teachers and educational assistants to elementary classrooms across the province. The announcement says most staff will be placed in Edmonton and Calgary where recent data indicates the greatest needs. The move is part of a pledge to hire 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants over three years and follows a teachers' strike last autumn. Officials said the money comes from the ministry's existing 2025-26 budget and will be released immediately so school boards can begin hiring. Key details: - The $143 million is drawn from the ministry's 2025-26 budget. - About 1,400 extra teachers and educational assistants are to be dispatched, focused on kindergarten to Grade 6 classrooms. - The bulk of placements are meant for schools in Edmonton and Calgary where data shows higher need. - The funding is part of a broader pledge to hire 3,000 new teachers and 1,500 educational assistants over the next three years. - New provincewide data reports an average class size of 25, flags 655 schools and 4,486 classes as "high priority," and plans for 476 "complexity teams." - Each complexity team is to include one teacher and two educational assistants and provide one-on-one support, including managing disruptive students and helping students who are learning English. Summary: The funding is intended to target classrooms identified as most complex and to allow school boards to begin immediate hiring. The province is set to release its next budget on Feb. 26, and officials said they will continue to assess additional schools that require support.