Our History

Maple Leaf Academy was founded in 1991 by Zen and Toko Ishikawa.

Zen and Toko moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada from Kichijoji, Japan. They knew very little English, and had no experience with the frigid Canadian winters. They packed all their belongings into 4 wooden boxes and arrived in Calgary on September 20, 1967. Zen quickly found work as a skilled labourer on a construction site.

One day he showed up for work and no one was there, he was able to get a hold of his supervisor, who told him there would be no more work until the spring when the weather was better. Having no work and only a small amount of money to support themselves, Zen and Toko spent their first winter bundled up in one room in their meager home. Slowly, they learned more about their new home.

There was little support for newcomers to Canada in 1967, but they made great friends through church. Toko learnt how to cook with Canadian ingredients and Zen went to school to refine his construction skills. They worked hard over the years to support their growing family of five girls. Toko found work in a flower shop and used her sewing skills to make clothes for her children. Zen built a playhouse in the backyard for his girls and each winter he would put up a makeshift ice rink using 2×4’s and a plastic sheet.

Once they established their life in Calgary, Zen and Toko decided they wanted to do more to give back to their community, so they opened an English as a Second Language school. On September 12, 1991 Maple Leaf Academy Ltd. was created, almost 24 years to the day when they first arrived in Calgary.

They started out with 3 students and have since grown to helping thousands of international students and newcomers to Canada gain language and culture skills to benefit their lives. Toko still comes to the school everyday to work, and Zen comes when he has some jobs to do. They have dedicated their lives to the staff and students of Maple Leaf Academy and continue to work tirelessly to give anyone in need a hand up.

English is your future, Maple Leaf Academy is the key!