Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, issued the following statement upon learning that the government was inviting applications to build a teacher advisory panel.
“There is already an organization that represents and speaks for the province’s 51,000 teachers: the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
We are confident that classroom teachers who might participate in this panel will reiterate what the Association has been saying, clearly and consistently, for years. Before, during and after the largest strike in this province’s history, this message has been communicated persistently: overcrowded and complex classrooms are unsustainable; they prevent students’ needs from being met and contribute directly to teacher burnout.
It seems as if the government needs to hear this again ... and again ... and again. Why hasn’t the government released the class size and complexity information that was already collected and that documents what teachers have been saying about the state of their classrooms? The message is clear: what is missing is effective leadership in using the resources necessary to solve teachers’ concerns in so many of the province’s classrooms.
The government’s own Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team released a report in November 2025 that addressed some of the most pressing problems in public education. Acting on its recommendations would be an obvious place to start.
Albertans deserve action, accountability and results. They deserve progress, not promises.”
CTF study confirms severity of classroom complexity
Ottawa, February 5, 2026 – The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) has released the first findings of the fall 2025 edition of Parachute, its pan-Canadian educator survey series, examining the realities driving Canada’s teacher retention and recruitment crisis. With almost 7,000 completed responses from teachers, principals, vice-principals and education workers across the country, this edition turns its focus to the dual forces now defining public education: class size and classroom complexity.
What the data shows is stark: class sizes are rising, complexity is escalating and the time teachers have to teach is shrinking. Together, these conditions are reshaping the learning environment for millions of students and pushing educators to the brink.
Average class sizes in Canada already sit high at 22–26 students, with some K–6 teachers reporting classes that exceed 40, 50 and even 60 students. But educators are clear: the issue is not size alone. Even small classes are becoming unmanageable as complexity intensifies. Inside a typical K–6 classroom of 22 students, teachers now navigate a multilayered mix of behavioural, learning, emotional, linguistic and socioeconomic needs—often without the supports designed to meet them. Eighty per cent of educators say they lack adequate access to specialized supports like educational assistants, resource teachers, psychologists and behaviour interventionists. And 25 to 30 per cent of educators report that they are rarely or never able to provide the supports outlined in their students’ individualized education plans.
The result is predictable: teachers are spending less time teaching, more time trying to plug widening gaps, and students’ learning potential suffers. Across all grades, direct instruction accounts for just 34 per cent of classroom time. In K–6, one in four minutes is lost to behaviour management.
Educators across the country identified three urgent priorities:
- Enforceable class composition provisions
- Legal standards for student–teacher ratios
- Increased funding for specialized supports
The findings from the fall 2025 Parachute survey reinforce a growing national reality: students who need help aren’t getting it, and teachers cannot continue filling every gap alone. Class size and complexity are inextricable realities. Addressing them requires long-term, incremental systemic shifts to safeguard a profession on the edge of collapse, which are essential to ensuring Canadian public schools remain a sustainable, equitable learning environment for all.
ATA News reader survey
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Have you signed?
Time is running out to sign a teacher-led petition to force a referendum on Alberta’s practice of providing public funding to private schools. The Alberta Funds Public Schools petition campaign is seeking to gather 220,000 signatures by Feb. 11. Visit the “Where Can I Sign?” page on the Alberta Funds Public Schools website to find a list of the locations and times that canvassers will be set up in your area.