Alberta teachers’ union says UCP’s classroom complexity report supports more funding

The head of the Alberta Teachers’ Association says a report on classroom aggression and complexity largely vindicates the association’s long-standing calls for more supports and funding.

Jason Schilling says Premier Danielle Smith’s government needs to fund and follow through with key recommendations from the report.

The report describes schools “operating in crisis mode,” with frequent behavioural incidents and teachers and staff facing “emotional exhaustion, safety risks, and unsustainable workloads.”

It urges hiring more staff to lower student-to-teacher ratios, and expanding access to specialized grants for young children with severe disabilities.

Smith says her government needs to collect class size data first, identify the classrooms that need help the most, and develop a new pol