Alberta school divisions are telling families not to send students to school on Monday as the largest teacher strike in provincial¹ history cancels classes at around 2,000 schools.

Classroom conditions and pay are sticking points for teachers, who have rejected two offers.

A speaker at a podium looks onto a sea of people, who are holding signs and flags outdoors.

Alberta school divisions are telling families not to send students to school on Monday as the largest teacher strike in provincial history cancels classes at around 2,000 schools.

Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) members who work at the province’s public, Catholic and francophone schools are expected to walk off the job after the association was unable to reach an agreement with employers that teachers would accept.

More than 730,000 students across the province, from kindergarten to Grade 12, are affected² by the strike and class cancellations.

School boards have told students’ families not to drop children off at school buildings or take them to bus stops. With a lack of clarity about how long a strike might last, school divisions last week told parents and guardians³ to bring home any student belongings⁴ that might be needed.