The Government of Alberta is putting forth $200 million to schools in hope of hiring 1,400 teachers across the province through its Class Size Reduction Grant. Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon. The grant uses data at the classroom level to target funding to schools with the greatest class sizes from Kindergarten to Grade 9. “Class size is one of the most visible signs of the pressure on our education system today, pressure that’s grown out of Alberta’s rapid and near record population growth over the last half-decade,” said Smith. Schools with core classes exceeding a “high threshold” for their grade will receive more funding than others. The Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee analyzed data from more than 108,000 classrooms. “Smaller classrooms will help our teachers manage increasing complexity in the classroom,” said Nicolaides. “This investment will take our provincial class size average down significantly from 25 currently, to 22.” The province intends to hire 3,000 teachers over the next three years. Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling said he will be monitoring to see how school boards use the government’s funding. “We’ll monitor to make sure they’re actually using this funding for what it is meant for,” said Schilling at a virtual press conference. “That they are hiring teachers to reduce class size, that they’re hiring teachers for complexity teams, and not keeping that money at central office for other purposes.” In Budget 2026, the province set aside $10.8 billion for education funding, a seven-per-cent increase from last year. The funding in the budget will go towards hiring a total of 1,600 teachers and 800 support staff, curriculum renewing, reading and math supports, specialized learning needs, and more.
