There’s no place like your home school

For some private school students, their passion for education has brought them back to their familiar stomping ground. Some have fallen into the role of teaching at their alma maters by accident, others by design. Whatever the reason, these teachers will tell you it is where there were meant to be.

Appleby College in Oakville has been part of the Grant family for three generations, says Fraser Grant, head of school, who was a student in the 1970s and 80s. “My grandfather and father went there. It’s part of our family history.” His daughter Maddy also graduated from Appleby.

His original ambition was to pursue a career in economics. “I had zero plans to teach,” he says. “I wanted to be working on Bay Street.”

A football game with alumni changed his mind. “I was asked if I would be interested in covering my old football coach’s history course. I said sure. I fell in love with working with students, the culture of independent education, and the community feeling. I never left.”

Grant has spent almost three decades at Appleby, moving through a variety of teaching and director roles. As head of school, he continues to teach a class or two. “I still wanted to be in the classroom. At the same time, having my finger on the pulse of all areas of the school is fascinating. I even get to use my economics training in this role.”

He is proud of the school’s commitment to experiential education, positive education and the well being of the students. “More than anything it’s about ensuring graduates are positioned for success, not just academically but as good people who care about their communities.”

When Karen May-kim graduated from Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby in the 1990s, she knew in her heart that she wanted to return. “The school experience was something that stayed with me. All the teachers were so passionate about everything they did. It was like a family. From the moment I graduated I felt I wanted to give back to the school that shaped me into to the woman I am today.”

When an opening at Trafalgar came up, she jumped at the chance. “I was really fortunate because it’s such a tight-knit community. It’s a small school and all the teachers love working there so much, no one leaves.

“It’s such a beautiful old building, it’s like I never left,” she adds. In fact, she is now teaching geography in the same room she took it as a student.

While she loves the fact that the building has maintained its old-school charm, other things have changed for the better. “There’s a much greater focus now on diversity and inclusion and human rights. There’s also our robotics programs and a big focus on women in STEM. I think it’s great to see the way the world is headed.”

Former Branksome Hall student Denise Smith took a more roundabout route to reaching her final career destination. When she graduated from Branksome in the early 1990s, she wasn’t considering teaching as a career. “I was super into athletics and loved coaching,” she says. “When I graduated from university someone suggested teaching as a next step, so I went to teachers’ college.”

She worked with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) teaching physical education and French. Smith and her husband then moved to Bangkok, then Moscow.

Even during her years of travelling, she never lost touch with her former teachers. “They were the first people I emailed in the 1990s. I always kept my connections with them.”

When an old teacher of hers at Branksome reached out asking if her husband would be interested in a design job at Branksome, she jumped at the chance to return to Toronto. “I applied for the first opening that came up.” As the athletic director and health and physical education teacher she can pursue the subjects she loves.

Smith is not the only teacher who attended Branksome as students. “There are a lot of us. That says a lot about the school.”

Even some of her own students have returned. “One girl I taught in Grade 9 is currently working in Admissions.”

Over her 15 years at Branksome, the school has gone through many changes. But one essential element has stayed the same. “When I was there it was a tight-knit community across all grade levels. It still is. Branksome is a place that allows you to grow in so many ways.”