Calgary public school board’s staff wellness survey showed results that contrasted with early studies across the province. 

At a Nov. 3 Board of Trustees meeting, the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) presented results from its Employee Well-Being Survey for the 2025-26 school year, revealing both reasons to celebrate and areas of growth. 

The first-of-its-kind survey follows the May launch of a related strategy and drew responses from more than 6,700 staff members, with teachers accounting for more than half of all respondents. 

For all 13 indicators, the CBE passed with flying colours, showing full compliance with board-approved standards. Areas like teacher retention, with more than 90 per cent of educators having surpassed their second anniversary, and overall staff mental health were major triumphs.

Data on the latter showed workplace distress improved by 14 per cent last year after staff attended short-term counselling services through the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP). 

Trustee Jenny Regal, representing Wards 1 and 2, celebrated this, saying that “hearing about that improvement is a good thing,” but questioned whether this aligned with the counselling provider’s data. 

“The outcomes of that data from previous and current providers are not directly comparable,” explained Sumana Dasgupta, superintendent of human resources.

“We will, of course, will continue to monitor these measures over time and determine whether those improvements are sustained.”

Although fewer employees obtained counselling last year than the school year prior, the utilization rate remained two per cent above the industry average, not to mention how the survey itself is missing responses from more than half of the board’s staff. 

Trustees raise concerns over low participation

The total number of respondents was just 40 per cent of all employees, a participation rate that Wards 11 and 13 Trustee Nancy Close, questioned, provided it serves as the baseline for future surveys. 

Dasgupta defended the figure as “relatively similar” to turnout in other CBE surveys, and said the high completion rate among those who did fill out the form is a victory in its own right.

“That’s important because we want to make sure that the survey is at the right length and not too difficult for people just to abandon the survey,” she said. 

When asked about the leading reasons for pursuing counselling services, Dasgupta said that personal stress claimed the podium, with relationship concerns, anxiety, workplace issues, and grief coming after. 

However, a handful of surveys conducted or endorsed by the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) show a very different picture — one drawn from the perspectives of thousands of instructional staff across the province.

Province-wide surveys show a different story

An international survey conducted annually by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development in 2024 found that Alberta’s teachers have the highest occupational stress worldwide. 

More recently, a fall 2025 ATA study built on this, naming areas such as classroom complexity, insufficient funding for staff and resources, and “poorly” implemented policy mandates as driving factors.

From its comprehensive response pool of over 5,700 teachers and principals, it found that 95 per cent felt stressed on the job, with nearly three-quarters saying they “do not feel hopeful” about their work or recovery after the strike. 

“Many teachers, across ages and experience, expressed a sense of hopelessness and even an intent to leave the profession,” the report read. 

“These metrics paint a picture of a profoundly fatigued and demoralized workforce struggling to find solid ground.”

What’s more, nearly 80 per cent of teachers said students’ social, emotional, and behavioural needs added complexity and contributed to “multi-layered” burnout in overpopulated classrooms facing “chronic underfunding.”

“The evidence signals a profession at a tipping point,” the report read.

“Without swift and meaningful intervention, Alberta faces a heightened risk of teacher burnout and widespread attrition.”

Dasgupta, the CBE’s superintendent of human resources, said the CBE and local ATA chapter will stay connected on the operational impacts of complexity issues as the school year continues.