Province to invest in classroom complexity teams

By Lethbridge Herald on February 14, 2026.

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Lethbridge Herald

Premier Danielle Smith, alongside Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides, announced Thursday the Alberta Government will be investing $143 million to establish 476 complexity teams, comprising one teacher and two educational assistants, and dispatching them to 476 Kindergarten to Grade 6 schools.

During the announcement Thursday, Premier Smith said that during the strike in October, many teachers and parents raised concerns over the issue of complexity in classrooms and Minister Nicolaides and her committed to listening and acting on their concerns. 

She said the Government convened a 25 member Action Team last June, to identify the cause of aggression and complexity in classrooms and propose recommendations for overcoming these challenges. 

“The Action Team compiled a report that we released back in November, and the report confirmed that in recent years, schools in Alberta have become more complex, with higher levels of student needs and more pressure on our school system overall,” said Smith. 

She said the report makes it clear that this strain is felt first and most acutely on the front lines in classrooms around the province. And this lines up with what they have heard firsthand from teachers and students. 

Smith added that it was also clear that the scale of the challenge, as well as the urgency of the solutions, was going to need cabinet level leadership to move this work forward. 

“We recognize that our top priority would need to be directing more resources to address large class sizes and class complexity and that we would need to have the clearest possible picture of this issue,” said Smith. 

She said they now have the most comprehensive set of class size and complexity data ever collected in Alberta, and this data tells them that class sizes are significantly higher in some areas than others, with the provincial average of about 25 students. 

“It also shows that complexity is widespread in Alberta school system, the numbers tell us that pressure in schools is coming from the combined impacts of these two factors,” said Smith. “But rising complexity and behavioral incidents are pulling the greatest pressure, putting the greatest pressure on classrooms.”

She said they analyzed data from 89,000 classrooms across Alberta, which enabled them to pinpoint exactly where to direct additional resources to have the most impact. 

“We identified which schools and which classrooms most needed support. The committee also considered how to allocate funding to support these classrooms identified as the most in need,” said Smith. 

Minister Nicolaides said over the past year one message has come through loud and clear, that classrooms are becoming more complex. 

“We’ve also heard this theme through the teacher strike last fall and during the telephone town hall Premier and I had with teachers in December,” said Nicolaides.  

He said they know this reality won’t change overnight, but they also know that action is needed now. And to take meaningful action, they first needed a clearer understanding of what is happening inside Alberta classrooms. 

“The data confirms that overall class size in Alberta appears relatively in good shape. With, of course, areas for improvement. For example, 79 per cent of all K to 3 classrooms have less than 25 students and 65 per cent of all K to 6 classrooms have less than 25 students,” said Nicolaides. 

He added that only one per cent of all reported classrooms over 30 are in the Kindergarten to Grade 3 environment. In fact, 91 per cent of all classrooms over 30 are in Grade 7 to 12. 

“Average class sizes across Alberta are at reasonable levels. We also know that class size alone is not the driving factor of pressure in schools, it is just one of the factors contributing to overall challenges in the classroom,” said Nicolaides. 

He said it is a reality that classes across every region, grade level and school type have complexity factors. The range and intensity of student needs are all contributing factors to complexity, and many classrooms are experiencing several of these factors at one time.

“Complexity is a system wide challenge, not isolated to specific communities or programs. To address these challenges, we are investing a total of $143 million in targeted supports to make a meaningful difference where classroom complexity is the highest,” said Nicolaides. 

He explained that $129,000 million is directed to schools that have been identified as the most complex in the province, and $14 million will go to schools with unique complexity challenges that may require different or additional strategies. 

“Early intervention can change a student’s entire learning trajectory, and this funding ensures that students who need support receive it at this stage of their education when it has the greatest impact,” said Nicolaides. 

He said they will continue to gather data to maintain a full and accurate understanding of the challenges schools are facing and this initial investment is only the first part of their plan to address complexity. 

“We will also continue to deliver on our commitments in Bill 2 to hire 3,000 new teachers over three years and our $300 million commitment to hire 1,500 new EA’s,” said Nicolaides. “By targeting funding to our most complex classrooms and focusing on youngest students, we’re hopeful that this will relieve some of the pressure in our classrooms and improve the daily experience of students and teachers across the province.”