Calgary’s back-to-school season brings new schedules, fees, and faces as the sun sets on summer ahead of the 2026-27 year.

Public students attending Calgary Board of Education (CBE) schools and those enrolled in the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) will head back to their desks on Tuesday, Aug. 31, and Wednesday, Sept. 1, respectively.

Staggered entry will be applied to schools across both districts, with timetable decisions made by each individual elementary, middle, and high school. Parents and guardians have been directed to check their email and school website for more information.

With students being welcomed back before the Labour Day long weekend, the first week will be short for both districts, as doors will be closed the following Monday until classes resume on Tuesday, Sept. 8. 

Calgary’s two publicly funded systems have adopted similar start times and break dates following ongoing modernization attempts. But differences in structure, fees, and transportation remain, making for distinct answers to the same questions. 

Mark your calendars: Key dates to know

Schools will also be closed for the routine statutory holidays, including Thanksgiving Day on Oct. 12, Family Day on Feb. 15, and Victoria Day on May 24. Additionally, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be observed with closures on Sept. 30.

Fall breaks, which the CBE piloted in 2023, have officially been added to both districts’ calendars, following CCSD’s taking feedback last winter. Each district scheduled its break to run from Remembrance Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, through Sunday, Nov. 15.

Winter break will start on Dec. 19 for both districts, with CBE students returning on Jan. 4, 2027, and CCSD students returning on Jan. 5, 2027. Spring break will run from March 20 to 29, 2027, for CBE students, while CCSD students will be off for Easter Break from March 26 to April 4, 2027.

Catholic students will mark two additional days off, with Faith Days happening on Oct. 30 and March 5, 2027. While the CCSD has announced the dates for its parent-teacher conferences, the CBE has yet to list them on its annual calendar.

Students enrolled in both districts should soon, if not already, have access to their D2L Brightspace and institution-monitored Google accounts, where they can communicate and view content. The same goes for PowerSchool for high school students, who will use the same platform to view their pre-selected course schedule. 

Downloadable instructional calendars are available on each district’s website. Those looking for more information can find the CBE’s here, and the CCSD’s here.

Money, money, money: Costs to plan for

Both the public and Catholic school boards separate central fees — transportation and supervision — from school-set fees, which usually include extracurriculars, field trips, and course-specific supplies for options classes.

These figures are set annually with the board’s budget and charged to parents and guardians via MyCBE or Rycor. The second, CCSD’s software, which is also known as Student Quick Pay, will be unavailable between Aug. 23 and Sept. 1. 

CCSD’s central fees are not available online for this year. However, they have not announced any large increases, and based on their prices from two years ago, parents can expect to pay somewhere around the following in general fees:

• Maximum of $80 for kindergarten students.
• Maximum of $85 for elementary students.
• Maximum of $90 for grade 7 students. 
• Maximum of $125 for grade 8, 9, and high school students.

Lunch supervision fees will be approximately $100 per student, per year, with a maximum of $200 per household. While each school may charge additional fees for elective classes, instrument rental fees for band class could be close to $100 per instrument. 

CBE’s central fees have been made available online following the board’s unanimous approval of its annual budget last May, which featured a $137 million jump from last year. Of this, 90 per cent of the district’s funds are provided by the province, while three-and-a-half per cent are paid through fees. 

As with the Catholic district, course-specific fees are set by each school and tend to increase for high school students enrolled in certain option classes. This year, CBE parents can expect to pay the following:

• $20 toward supplies for half-day kindergarten students.
• $40 toward supplies for full-day kindergarten students and grades 1 to 6. 
• $175 toward lunch supervision for alternating-day kindergarten students.
• $350 toward lunch supervision for full-day kindergarten students and grades 1 to 6.

Waivers are available to all families who cannot meet the basic fee payments. Families can apply for this online during the in-session window by submitting proof of income to verify financial eligibility. 

For many families, transportation is perhaps the most important fee, and it has also become more expensive in some cases due to recent changes in both districts.

Growing pains: Bus fees rise to reflect demand

As of July, the CBE projected a total of 143,475 students for the 2026-27 school year, with the CCSD estimating 64,876 students — accounting for over 1,754 more students across both districts than last year.

Rebates for older grades purchasing Calgary Transit passes will continue to be offered to both public and Catholic students, but one symptom of the influx of students is the increased cost of yellow bus transportation, which has risen in one way or another this year. 

Following April’s amendments to the provincial government’s School Transportation Regulation, schools are now permitted to charge for specialized buses. The CCSD has since added an annual $450 fee to these, matching the price of its regular yellow buses, and caps the total at $900 per family.

Despite the CBE not jumping on board with charging for specialized buses, the district’s fees for yellow buses have increased from $360 to $500 per rider — a 40 per cent jump over last year’s price tag.

When the change was introduced in May, trustee Nancy Close said flexible payment options are available to ensure families are not denied service. She acknowledged that the change is a big one, but said that it’s no different from other districts. 

“Although the fee increase is substantial, it could be argued that $500 a year is, in comparison to other school boards and schools, a reasonable amount,” said Close. 

“But context is everything, and we need to recognize the affordability crisis we’re experiencing. Transportation is not the only cost that some families have to pay.”

However, as noted in an earlier LWC article, school districts in neighbouring areas charge significantly less. For example, the Foothills School Division charges $100 per rider, while the Rockyview School Division charges $415. 

Close concluded the spring meeting by saying that having more schools in areas with high enrollment demand would help lower transportation costs by encouraging walking.

Coping with population swell: Calgary to see more schools, staff

In early July, the provincial government announced that 16 of its 41 new school projects will be delivered in Calgary at an accelerated pace. Almost half of the local projects are currently under construction, with the rest sitting in the design stage.

These include new developments and renovations to existing schools, and of all the efforts coming to the city, the CBE will receive 12, with the CCSD being awarded the remaining projects.

Residents living within 1.6 to 2 km of a school are considered to be within the driving distance threshold, meaning they are not eligible for transportation services and must find other means to get to class. 

Alberta’s Minister of Education and Childcare, Demetrios Nicolaides, explained during the original announcement that building more schools will reduce the pressure on both buses and classrooms, which he said have been overcrowded for years.

“Three years ago was a very unique and unprecedented year — we saw the largest increase as a province in total population in our history ever, really not reflective of normal years,” he said. 

“We are forecasting currently about a 1.6 per cent enrollment increase for the upcoming school year, so appears as though things may be tapering off, but we still have a lot of capacity issues.”

Even before these developments come to fruition, both the CBE and CCSD confirmed last month that this school year will see 400 and 640 more teachers hired, respectively. The addition comes as modular classrooms have already been installed and ahead of the opening of new spaces.

Aside from a number of familiar faces staying on the Catholic district’s Board of Trustees, such as Lory Iovinelli, who was re-elected to her third term as trustee, further staffing changes are coming sometime this school year. 

CCSD’s Chief Superintendent Bryan Szumlas retired this summer, and beginning Sept. 1, Jessica Thomas will take over as head of the CCSD.