History
Maxwell International School was established in 1988 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada in honour of May and William Sutherland Maxwell, two of the earliest Bahá’ís in Canada. William Maxwell was one of Canada's premier architects in the late 19th century and was responsible for many buildings. The Château Frontenac in Quebec was one he and his brother worked on while the Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, Israel was his last design.
In 1988 the school was opened with guest of honour Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum (Mary Maxwell, daughter of May and Sutherland) and wife of the Bahá'í Faith's Guardian Shoghi Effendi. A tree was planted in dedication to the opening of the school. In the early 2006-2007 school year, the school board decided to drop "Bahá'í" from its name, changing it to "Maxwell International School".
On 22 November 2007, the Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial reported that the school was to close in June 2008.
The school did close in 2008 leaving many of its students, faculty members and alumnus saddened. The school was directed to close by the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada after it was decided that the NSA could no longer afford to operate the school at such a large deficit. Initially the Parent Teachers Association put together a proposal to recreate the school as a private enterprise/corporation independent of the funds of the Baha'i Faith, however their attempts ultimately proved to be in vain. In 2009, the school property was sold to new owners from the Dwight School who opened Dwight School Canada on the former Maxwell School site.
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