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Your B.C. Government

Class Size and Teachers

Your B.C. Government is ensuring that class sizes are set by boards of education in consultation with parents and teachers within hard limits that are set in law. This ensures that all students, regardless of where they live, have the best possible learning conditions.

What your B.C. Government is doing for Class Size:

  • Class size limits were enshrined in law in 2002, along with new measures requiring accountability and transparency, and consultation with parents and teachers in 2006.
  • British Columbia has the most comprehensive class size and composition reporting in the country. 99 per cent of all classes have 32 or fewer students and 95 per cent of all classes have 30 or fewer students.
  • The number of classes in B.C. with more than 30 students has actually decreased since 2005-06 by nearly 64 per cent, from 9,253 to 3,336.
  • There are now 6,277 K-12 classes with 15 or fewer students.
  • There are now 16,351 classes with assigned education assistants - that's 24% of all classes and 972 more classes than last year.
  • In fact, since 2005 the number of classes with education assistants has increased by nearly 30%.
  • Established the Learning Roundtable to discuss class size, class composition and other issues related to learning conditions in the public school system.

What your B.C. Government is doing for Teachers:

  • Your B.C. Government reached the first ever negotiated agreement with the B.C. Teachers Federation in 2006 since province-wide bargaining began in 1994. The negotiated agreement includes a 12% general wage increase to 2011.
  • The Remote Recruitment and Retention Allowance will ensure that rural and remote school districts have a qualified and sustainable teaching workforce. Teachers are eligible to receive an annual allowance. ($2,200.00)
  • Created the annual Teachers’ Congress to allow teachers from public, independent and band schools to communicate directly with the Minister of Education.
  • Developed the Rural Education Network – designed to support rural educators and communities in meeting the unique needs of students through online and face-to-face communication. It has grown in the last three years to become a powerful and vital link in B.C.’s learning community.
  • Your B.C. Government has invested in New Rural Educators Training. The program is in its second year with teachers from rural districts working with mentors to develop the necessary skills to provide effective instruction.
  • LearnNow BC’s online tutoring and virtual classrooms are providing teachers, students and parents with an online education community that is accessible from every corner of the province. In 2007-08, there were more than 163,000 page-visitors (this occurs when a user views a page on the website) to the educator section of the LearnNow BC website.
  • Created the first ever Premier’s Awards for Teaching Excellence, which provide recognition and financial incentives for excellence in teaching.
  • Established a teacher leadership certificate in partnership with post-secondary institutions, fulfilling a 2007 throne speech commitment. Approximately 150 educators are working toward the first leadership certificates to be awarded in 2010.

For more information:
School District Class Size Reports
Learning Roundtable
Teachers’ Congress
Premier’s Awards for Teaching Excellence