‘Education system in crisis’: Parents, unions, staff protest P.E.I. classroom strain

Parents, staff, and union leaders protested P.E.I.’s Progressive Conservative leadership forum over concerns about the education system. Mariah Sarrouh reports.

Parents, educators and union leaders in Prince Edward Island say chronic staffing shortages and rising classroom pressures are leaving students without the support they need, prompting protests and renewed calls for the provincial government to intervene.

Dozens held signs inside Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre of the Arts Tuesday evening, where P.E.I.’s final Progressive Conservative leadership forum was taking place.

One of their top concerns is high teacher-to-student ratios, with a single educator expected to manage academic instruction, behavioural support and the emotional needs of up to 30 diverse learners, and in some cases they say, more.

“Our education system is in crisis,” said Jennifer Poirier, a mother of two and advocate. She said she never expected to be organizing a protest but felt pushed to act to protect her children and others.

“Our students, our teachers, our educational assistants, they’re going to school to learn and to work every day, but the system is collapsing in on them. And they need help,” Poirier said.

Parents, staff warn classes are stretched beyond capacity

Parents also say demand for resource teachers and educational assistants (EAs) has outpaced staffing, meaning less individualized attention, particularly for children who need it.

Jen Johnston’s daughter has autism and Type 1 diabetes, and has been granted full-time EA support, but Johnston said it’s been spotty. On Tuesday, her daughter didn’t attend school for that reason.

“The coverage wasn’t there,” Johnston said, adding some EAs were out, as well as the guidance counsellor. “She’s missing out on the quality education she deserves.”

Johnston said her family has been working with their school for about a year to address bullying her daughter has experienced. She said her daughter has recently been diagnosed with depression and has missed about four months of school since last April.

Colleen Jackson, president of CUPE Local 3260, which represents educational assistants as well as other youth services and mental health workers within the Public Schools Branch (PSB), said staff strain is widespread across the Island.

“From tip to tip, every school is complaining about shortages,” Jackson said. “There are often days where I’m hearing that subs are not available and shifts are going unfulfilled.”

Jackson added workers are expressing “extreme frustration” about burnout and increased workload. She said the union has been advocating for a seven-hour workday for years, which would help with recruitment and retention.

“People don’t want to work part-time hours for low pay and be 10-month contract employees,” she said. “We still have yet to get that from the Conservative government. They are dragging their feet.”

CUPE P.E.I. President Ashley Clark said protesting at the debate was about pushing the government to recognize the role it plays in financing and directing the PSB.

“It can be really demoralizing for folks. I mean, these are not new issues,” Clark said. “These are things that our members have been bringing up for years and years, and not having them be addressed, it just feels like you’re screaming at a brick wall sometimes.”

Province points to funding increase

Protesters say the responsibility to make sure accommodations are in place for students with diagnosed disabilities and other needs falls on the province’s Department of Education and Early Years, which funds and determines staff allocations for the PSB.

For example, in a ministerial directive for the 2025-26 school year, Education and Early Years Minister Robin Croucher set class-size targets of 22 students in Grades 1 to 3, 25 in Grades 4 to 6, 28 in Grades 7 to 9 and 30 in Grades 10 to 12.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the department said the province has made “historic investments” in schools over the last seven years. The budget allocation for staffing at P.E.I.’s two school authorities rose from $208 million in 2018-19 to $315 million in 2025-26, which it described as an increase of close to 50 per cent.

According to the department’s figures, 598 full-time equivalent positions have been added, including 281 instructional staff and 252 educational assistants.

And while the student population has grown by 8.4 per cent since 2018-19, staffing has increased by 21.9 per cent over the same period.

“We know there is more to be done to ensure Island students receive the necessary support,” the department said. “We continue to work with the school authorities to ensure the funding we provide results in the right staffing complement to help ensure students are properly supported.”

Parents say they also want additional training for educational assistants and teachers.