Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Teachers help sculpt our futures.
Instruction, guidance, and compassion our educators give us, helps to give us the foundation to choose our paths in our life, support our goals, and become productive members of society.
Yet, there is still much misinformation about the profession, much of which is coming to light during the 2025 Alberta Teacher’s Strike. Understanding the time-commitment of the profession, the vastly under supported system, and the complexities of the classrooms all help to recognize why educators are currently choosing to strike.
“The school day goes from 8:30 until 3:30 but teachers work doesn’t start when students enter the building and it doesn’t end when the students leave the building,” explains Slave Lake vice-principal Jennifer Taylor.
“(Teachers) prep work for lessons and materials must be done, marking and assessment has to be done, parent communication, coaching extra-curricular teams or clubs, planning field trips. All of these things happen before or after the school day ends.”
Teachers currently are asking to have some extra support, to help deal with complex classrooms that often have more than 30 students. Increasing class sizes and having diverse learning challenges within the classroom require extra assistance, a request that is at the forefront of the current strike.
“The class complexities alone can mean multiple individual programs to plan, implement and oversee,” says Taylor.
“Teachers are not required to coach or plan field trips or run lunchtime clubs, or any after-school clubs like drama. These things are considered extra-curricular and are voluntary. However, teachers understand that these things enhance the experience for kids and if they don’t do them, then the students miss out.”
Each school division has its own pay grid, with all information available to the public to see. The basic model has teachers paid based on the number of years of education they’ve completed (degree, masters, doctorate) and how many years of teaching experience they have. If they have more years of education and more teaching experience, their wage compensation will be higher on the pay grid.
Miscommunication often pegs teachers earning well-over six-figures a year, a number that is grossly exaggerated. An entry level teacher’s salary in Alberta typically ranges just over $50,000 per year, depending on the school board, how many years of post-secondary education they’ve completed, and other agreements. To understand fully what a teacher’s take-home pay is, on top of taxes, employment insurance and Canadian Pension Plan taken out of their cheques, they also have mandatory deductions for Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund, union dues, and various other dental or health benefit plans.
Out of their personal pay, many educators spend their personal money filling in Provincial funding voids, often paying for supplies for their classrooms or items to help make the student’s experience more comfortable.
“Teachers spend (personal) money on bulletin board displays, on desk plates and locker name tags,” explains Taylor.
“Teachers spend money on incentives for classrooms such as classroom economies which allows students to earn money and purchase things with their savings, teachers spend money on Christmas gifts for their students, Halloween, Valentines, Easter treats are purchased by teachers. Teachers purchase extra supplies for students who don’t bring any to school. Teachers purchase extra snacks to have in their classrooms in case students show up with nothing.”
So, why teach? A common sentiment expressed through the strike.
“I knew from a young age I wanted to be a teacher,” says Donnelly’s Georges P. Vanier Junior and Senior High Teacher Robyn Verreault.
“My teachers were my role models who embodied the qualities my parents strove to teach us: kindness, compassion, empathy. I used to make my younger siblings play school in our free time and I would organize lessons to teach them about whatever topic we were interested in.”
Verreault says her favourite part of being a teacher is developing a relationship with students.
G.P. Vanier’s Lindsay Lehman, who also teaches Grade 7 to 12, echoes much of Verreault’s sentiments.
“I was very fortunate to have several teachers cross my path who helped me feel supported, valued, and heard,” Lehman says.
“One of these teachers was a close family friend who had such a natural way of encouraging and uplifting those around her. She helped me build confidence in my learning and showed me that teaching wasn’t just about delivering the curriculum—it was about believing in students and helping them see their own potential.”
Both Lehman and Verreault say some of their favourite parts of teaching include helping guide students out of lessons that may be perplexing them, helping them fully understand the topic at hand, and helping the student celebrate the successes.
“One of my absolute favourite parts of being a teacher is guiding students to those ah ha moments, when something finally clicks for them,” Lehman explains.
“There’s something incredibly rewarding about seeing the light in a student’s eyes when they grasp a concept they’ve been struggling with. I also really enjoy helping students discover strategies that work for them individually. Every student’s learner journey is so different and supporting them as they build confidence and learn how to succeed in their own way—is what makes teaching so meaningful for me.”
But Verreault also acknowledges the many stressors in the world of education. She says she’s often kept up at night concerned about the success of her students and the concern that they were prepared adequately with the material and lessons she’s provided.
“Did I prepare them for that exam? Was the lesson engaging? What learning strategies would be most effective? What can I do to be better next time?” she questions.
“Secondary to these concerns is the administrative side to education. This is the part that most people do not observe because it takes place over our lunch hours and after school.”
Verreault explains in her first year of teaching she would often work 60-80 hours a week to teach, lesson plan, prep materials, assess students, review Individualized Education Program (IEP), and various tasks.
“I was told by my mentor teachers that it would get easier over the yearsbut the reality is that the workload has not lessened,” she explains.
“Rather than settling into already developed courses it seems that every year I have at least one new course to develop. This year I happened to have five.”
Lehman adds to the conversation, adding one of the main stressors teachers have been encountering, especially in core subject areas that have more specific outcomes related to content, is teaching and creating engaging lessons all while managing an extremely wide range of needs, learning styles, behaviours and abilities in one classroom—especially when you’re the only adult in the room.
“It can be overwhelming at times to differentiate instruction, monitor accommodations, and provide targeted support, all while maintaining classroom management and ensuring that all students are engaged with the lessons,” explains Lehman.
“The reality is that many students need more one-on-one support than a single teacher can reasonably provide during a class period, especially when classroom numbers continue to rise.”
Verreault says many educators are happy to have seen the Province move towards inclusive education over the years, however; the reality is that often students who need additional supports are left to fall through the cracks.
“In my larger classes there is not enough time to give every student more than a minute of individual support (if we’re lucky to get a minute),” Verreault says.
“That means that students who need additional support have to see me outside of class time to get the help they need. With more support staff we would be better equipped to provide those students with direct support,” she adds.
The common consensus from teachers who have vocalized their concerns, having extra support staff and other supports provided from the Province would allow them to have some work-life balance. Some assistance that would benefit every teacher, according to Verreault is protected prep time to plan lessons, develop resources, mark assessments. Having extracurricular resources to support teaching plans, a factor she feels has been severely overlooked since the new curriculum was implemented.
‘Often there isn’t enough time during the week to accomplish everything I need to do,” she notes.
“I will often go into work on Saturday or Sunday to catch up. Particularly around report card time. This semester I have 98 students, which means if I spend five minutes per student writing their comments and reviewing their grade, that’s over eight hours of work per report card (in our school there are four report cards a year).”
Reality for many teachers is continuing their workload after their own families have been settled for the evening, often working until late hours of the evening to catch up on work that couldn’t be completed through the school hours.
Verreault adds teachers are drowning in daily demands of students and many educators are facing severe burnouts, striving to give 100 per cent of their effort to their job. She says help in the classroom would alleviate some of the workload and ensure students are getting the support they need.
Verreault says resources required will be different for every teacher. She says a friend who is teaching a new Grade 5 math curriculum has no textbooks. She says she has the curriculum to guide her, but she has to create all practice questions and teaching materials herself.
“Generally, this issue appears again and again to a different degree,” Verreault explains.
“If a teacher is lucky, they will find others in the same subject area willing to share resources. But if they can’t they are creating teaching materials from scratch.”
Taylor, Verreault, and Lehman agree it is vital to see more funding provided to help support deficiencies in the current system.
“Alberta has the least funding per student in Canada, and it shows in our classrooms that are overcrowded and students with complex needs that are unsupported,” explains Verreault.
“This is by no means the desire of teachers, but simply there is not enough time in a day to dedicate to these students.
“Another indicator that the system has become unmanageable is the teacher attrition rate. In Alberta, 40 per cent of new teachers will quit the profession in the first five years. This is due to burnout or lack of competitive wages in the face of rising inflation. Twice the Government of Alberta has presented a deal that failed to meet these concerns and teachers decided with the power of their vote to take a stand and fight for better classroom conditions for staff and students.”
The educators understand the issues surrounding class size and complexities cannot be solved immediately. They’re hoping to see an actionable plan from the Government of Alberta to address the issues with a realistic timeline and a salary increase that would make Alberta’s teachers’ salaries competitive with teachers in other provinces.
In the end, all teachers feel the same about their profession.
“Teachers teach because they know it makes a difference,” says Taylor.
“Teachers teach because they want to help children grow and succeed. Teachers teach because they want Alberta to grow and have the best education system in the world.
“It takes a special person to be teacher. Teachers have a passion for helping.”