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(Image Credit: Chinook's Edge School Division/Supplied)
Staff Health and Wellness Steering Committee

Chinook’s Edge School Division putting staff feedback to work

Nov 4, 2026 | 1:16 PM

Chinook’s Edge School Division has made staff wellness a priority by putting staff feedback to work.

The Staff Health and Wellness Steering Committee reports that there is a three-year plan built from what staff said they needed in a 2025 staff survey.

The division says the committee listens to what staff say they need, sets the priorities, and supports the work that follows.

Its job is to keep staff well-being on the agenda and to make sure division priorities show up in schools and departments across the division.

Among the committee members are a wellness coordinator, a senior leader, school administrators, support staff and teachers, along with three external partners: the Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP), Primary Care Alberta and Recovery Alberta. They also meet three times a year.

Every school also has an identified Wellness Champion, who meets twice a year to share resources, ideas and what is working across the division. They then return to their own buildings to support the people they work beside every day.

“Across Alberta, school divisions are placing greater emphasis on staff wellness as a key organizational priority,” said Jackie Tomalty, Primary Care Health Promotion Facilitator with Primary Care Alberta. “CESD has emerged as a leader in this area by intentionally creating an atmosphere where staff truly matter. Their wellness plan is regarded as innovative and a leading practice, with other school divisions looking to replicate and adapt its approach to strengthen their own staff wellness initiatives.”

Per the Chinook’s Edge School Division, the committee’s work so far includes:

  • Developing the three-year Staff Health and Wellness Plan
  • Building and supporting the School Wellness Champion network, which keeps the conversation alive across the division
  • Making it easier for staff to find the supports already available to them
  • Creating opportunities for staff connection, movement and shared wellness activities
  • Asking staff what they need and letting those answers set the priorities