NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Provincial Government Adding 400 Educators to the K-12 School System

Through Budget 2025, the Provincial Government has invested $20 million, growing to over $44 million next year, to add 400 educational resources to the K-12 school system. On June 27, the Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, is announcing an update to the Teacher Allocation Model to meet the needs of the provincial K-12 education system.

Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the following improvements will be implemented:

Class Size

Class sizes for grades 1-9 in the English stream will decrease by two. This change will improve teaching and learning conditions and support increased student engagement and achievement in the early grades. This also aligns Newfoundland and Labrador with average class sizes in other Canadian jurisdictions.

Needs-Based Allocation

There will be an increase to the needs-based allocation of teachers by approximately 70 units for the upcoming school year, growing to over 120 additional units in the 2026-27 school year. These additional educational resources will support the diverse needs of the student population throughout the school system and will be allocated to help students who benefit from additional support.

Teaching and Learning Assistants

An additional 175 teaching and learning assistants will be added in 2025-26 to the needs-based allocation to support teaching and learning in K-12 classrooms. This will grow to 200 in 2026-27. This will double the current allocation of teaching and learning assistants. The addition of teaching and learning assistants to more classrooms will help enhance the learning environment for all students.

English as an Additional Language

An improved ratio will be implemented of one English as an Additional Language teacher to every 15-30 students. This improved ratio will add over 25 English as an Additional Language teachers to the system, growing to a total of over 61 additional units in the 2026-27 school year.

Positive Action for Student Success (PASS)

These dedicated educators play a vital role in keeping students engaged, fostering consistent attendance, and guiding them successfully towards graduation during high school years. This allocation will be doubled to 60 units.

Additional highlights to the updated Teacher Allocation Model include:

• An additional five Speech Language Pathologists and five Educational Psychologists allocated to the school system.
• An increase of six units to the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation, which provides access to online courses primarily to students in rural and remote areas.
• Three teaching units and five teaching and learning assistants allocated to the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial.
• Five units to support the teaching and learning environments in schools that have a significant population of Indigenous students.

These improvements to the Teacher Allocation Model will enhance the educational environment for students and educators throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Quotes

"Educators are the heart of our school system, and these investments ensure they have the support they need to help every student thrive. By reducing class sizes and expanding resources, we're creating stronger, more inclusive learning environments throughout Newfoundland and Labrador."

Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Education of Education and Early Childhood Development

"The NLTA welcomes the deployment of additional teaching units announced in the provincial budget as a positive step toward and, hopefully, sustained commitment to addressing long-standing class size, composition and student support concerns. A well-resourced public education system is essential for student success and teacher well-being. We look forward to continued collaboration to ensure effective implementation. After all, the working conditions of teachers are the learning conditions of students."

Trent Langdon, President, Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association