BC's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 68
68
BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
St. George’s School leads with care for employees
D
avid Young had just
moved from Ontario
to Vancouver to
become head of
school at St. George’s
School, an independent day and
boarding school for boys. “It was
hard, and my family was feeling
overwhelmed and isolated,” he
says. Then something uplifting
happened.
“In my first week, there was
a knock on my front door and a
colleague, his wife, and two
children were there with a
welcome gift package. It was an
acknowledgement that it must
be a big thing we were going
through,” Young recalls.
People will just reach
out. I am confident
that most people in
the school community
would share a similar
anecdote about how
they felt upheld by their
colleagues.
— David Young
Head of School
“And that would be an example
I’ve experienced time and again.
People will just reach out. I am
confident that most people in the
school community would share a
similar anecdote about how they
felt upheld by their colleagues.”
Indeed, science teacher
Giovanni Calderwood says he
brought up some concerns about
the position when he had his job
interview. After he was hired, “the
Giovanni Calderwood, science teacher (left) and David Young, head of school, at St. George’s School.
senior school principal checked
in, remembering what I had
said in the interview. He came
back a few times throughout the
year and asked how I felt about
things. That’s something I have
never really seen — that level of
attention,” he says.
Calderwood says the school
strongly supports staff and faculty
mental health and diversity
through specific human resources
benefits and events, and goes even
further.
“It is common to have a special
event or to provide mental health
benefits, which are great. But what
is uncommon is how this is just
part of the culture,” Calderwood
says. “The directors and principals
are attentive to everyone’s
needs. They are very involved in
supporting people.”
He also appreciates how
the school does not make any
distinction between faculty and
staff. “Everyone is a colleague.
Whether you’re part-time or fulltime staff or faculty or head of
school, everyone is welcome at all
events and treated the same,” he
says.
Young says St. George’s School
is very deliberate about how it
looks after “the well-being of the
people who give a lot of time and
effort towards the organization.”
In addition to more common
employee benefits, the school
provides financial support for staff
or faculty who take public transit
or cycle to work, as well as its own
bus service. It holds fitness classes
and has two gyms, which can be
used after hours or on breaks.
It also provides food service
for breakfast and lunch for
colleagues. “You can take food
