Aaron Downey was trained to teach through the Queen’s University Concurrent Education Program. After this 5 year degree of practice teaching in Ontario, Aaron moved abroad to teach at the Bilingual European School in Milan, Italy. At BES, Aaron learned how to work with and create curriculum for international students. After 2 years of teaching 3rd grade, he moved on to teach grade 5 and take on new responsibilities. He helped to develop a school-wide writing continuum for ESL students, headed the school’s Book Week program, and lead staff training on international student profiles.

Following these 3 years in Italy, Aaron moved north to Zurich and continued to teach grade five at Zurich International School for 2 years. In this position, Aaron quickly took on further leadership roles within the school. He became the Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator for the primary school, which led to the larger responsibility of writing a school wide assessment of Social Studies Curriculum from Pre-K to grade 12. Additional training in Budapest and Amsterdam gave Aaron the tools required to lead staff-wide training sessions on how to inspire students to take action in their own lives and education.

Currently, Aaron is the Head of Curriculum Development at High Park Day School. Drawing from his international experience, he has created a unique program designed to teach multi-leveled, mixed-age classrooms. With a focus on confidence building and learning skills, he has successfully fostered a new love of learning for our students. His passion and energy are contagious, and we look forward to seeing how the school continues to grow and improve!