Enhancing Public Education Remains a Priority

Colleen Holowaychuk is the Board Chair for Elk Island Public Schools. (Supplied Photo)

It's hard to believe the 2025-26 school year is drawing to a close. It's been an eventful year, not just for the newly elected EIPS Board of Trustees, but also for public education across the province.

For the past several years, the degree of complexity in the classroom has continued to increase—and all public school boards have been actively advocating for additional supports to address this challenge. The Classroom Complexity Committee created by the Government of Alberta last November gathered detailed feedback from school divisions, and in February 2026, announced the creation of complexity teams—each comprised of one teacher and two educational assistants—to provide critical in-class support aimed at reducing classroom disruption and better supporting teaching staff. For EIPS, there will be teams working closely with the schools where the need is greatest.

In March, both Alberta Education and Childcare and Alberta Infrastructure announced planning funds for the Fort Saskatchewan High and Rudolph Henning Junior High replacement school. This is an exciting development, because it means the Division will be able to expand its career and advanced academic education programs to serve the long-term career interests of students in many of the communities we serve. That in turn means EIPS can ultimately help meet workforce demands both locally and across the province by giving students increased access to leading edge equipment and highly trained staff.

Most recently, the Government of Alberta moved forward on its commitment to hire additional teachers to address class sizes in kindergarten through Grade 9. On May 13, we learned EIPS will receive approximately $6 million, which is very welcome news. When the 2026-27 school year starts, there will be about 45 additional teachers in our elementary and junior high schools where class sizes are further contributing to complexity.

The EIPS Board of Trustees has been encouraged over the past year by increased opportunities to meet with the Hon. Demetrios Nicolaides, the Minister of Education and Childcare, as well as both Minister Nate Glubish and Secretary of State Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, to have frank discussions about the challenges educators face in a variety of areas. The conversations have been very much focused on evidence-based, meaningful strategies designed to ensure students have access to the academic and practical knowledge they'll need to succeed both at school and after graduation.

Planning for the next school year has begun in earnest, with the Board approving its new Four-Year Education plan at the end of May. While our results are strong, EIPS consistently seeks opportunities to enhance and improve in delivering on its mission to collaboratively provide high-quality, student-centred education to each child in every one of our schools. The Board of Trustees, along with senior administration, will continue to work closely with key decision makers, school families and community members as we move forward in providing world-class learning and lifelong impact.

Colleen Holowaychuk is the Board Chair for Elk Island Public Schools.