Students and teachers in Fort Saskatchewan will see changes in their classrooms this coming school year thanks to new provincial funding aimed at reducing class sizes. The Government of Alberta announced on May 13, 2026, that it is providing $200 million through the Class Size Reduction Grant to hire more than 1,400 teachers for kindergarten through Grade 9 across the province.
The Elk Island Public Schools division, which serves Fort Saskatchewan, is set to receive 45 new teaching positions through this grant. This allocation is worth over $6 million and marks the sixth-largest investment among all 61 school divisions in Alberta. This funding is specifically directed at areas dealing with significant enrolment pressures, as Fort Saskatchewan has been identified as the fastest-growing community within the division.
According to the provincial government, the initiative is intended to lower the average class size from 25 students down to 22 for kindergarten to Grade 9. This latest investment builds upon a previous $143 million commitment announced in February 2026, which focused on creating teams of teachers and educational assistants to support more complex classroom environments.
The grant comes following a period of significant growth for Alberta, which has seen its student population increase by nearly 90,000 over the past four years. The province is managing this growth as it works to address educational needs following a major teachers’ strike that occurred in October 2025.
