LRSD gets new support teams
Alberta is investing $100 million in new classroom supports for students with complex learning, behavioural and safety needs, including one new Grades 7 to 12 complexity team for Livingstone Range School Division.
The province announced the funding June 29, saying the investment will help school authorities hire more teachers, educational assistants and specialized support staff to respond to increasing classroom complexity across Alberta. The funding is primarily aimed at expanding supports into junior and senior high schools while continuing support for younger students.
Final allocation details released July 3 followed the announcement. The province initially announced 221 new teams, but final allocations added two more Grades 7 to 12 teams, bringing the total to 223 new complexity teams across Alberta. Of those, 160 are for Grades 7 to 12 and 63 are for kindergarten to Grade 6.
Livingstone Range School Division will receive one new Grades 7 to 12 complexity team and no new kindergarten to Grade 6 team under the latest allocation list.
The division includes schools in the Crowsnest Pass area, including Crowsnest Consolidated High School, Horace Allen School, Isabelle Sellon School and Livingstone School.
Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the funding is intended to give schools more tools to support students and staff.
“Every student deserves a safe, supportive classroom, and every teacher deserves the tools to succeed,” said Nicolaides in the provincial release. “This money will strengthen supports, improve safety and ensure teachers have the resources to manage increasingly complex classrooms.”
According to the province, Grades 7 to 12 complexity teams will include one teacher and one educational assistant, with access to behaviour specialists, social workers and other specialists. Teams can be deployed across schools within a school authority based on need.
The province said the Grades 7 to 12 teams will support up to 158 new teachers and 158 educational assistants, with access to additional specialists. Kindergarten to Grade 6 teams typically include one teacher and two educational assistants and focus on early, school-based support for younger students in complex classrooms.
The $100-million investment includes $75 million for the new complexity teams and $25 million for targeted supports, including training, capacity building and improved access to specialized supports in rural and remote communities.
Targeted training will focus on classroom complexity and safety, including preventing, de-escalating and responding to behavioural challenges, for teachers, school-based staff, complexity teams and administrators.
All public, separate and francophone school authorities will receive at least one additional complexity team, with larger boards receiving more teams based on enrolment and measures of complexity.
The funding is part of Budget 2026, which includes $355 million for class size reduction and classroom complexity in the 2026-27 school year, including $200 million for more than 1,400 teachers, $100 million for complexity funding and $55 million to continue the Classroom Complexity Grant.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association welcomed the expansion but said more work is needed.
“We will continue to advocate for sustained investment, predictable staffing and smaller class sizes to ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed and every teacher has the support needed to meet the growing complexity of Alberta’s classrooms,” the association said in a statement.
The new classroom complexity teams are expected to support schools during the 2026-27 school year.