San Diego Jewish Academy

Founded in 1979, San Diego Jewish Academy began in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego. Initially offering a program of general and Jewish education to kindergarten through fifth grade students, the Academy expanded its program to middle school students in 1988, then to high school students in 1999.

In 2000, with incredible leadership and passion from our community, a state-of-the art campus on 52 acres in Carmel Valley was built. As our Jewish community has grown, and become stronger and more diverse, so have we. Serving children from preschool through high school, SDJA is the largest Jewish day school in San Diego.

For 38 years, SDJA has been a leader in preschool to 12th grade education – nurturing Jewish values and Jewish life in generations of students, and preparing them to be advocates, entrepreneurs, and leaders in their communities to affect change all over the world.

We instill a deep understanding and respect for the values and insights of Jewish tradition and a love of Israel that will lead students to live lives of Jewish meaning. We embrace a curriculum that brings creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking alive on campus and expands thinking through real-world experience.

It starts here. Here, where our children learn what it means to be an inheritor and designer of the Jewish future. Here, where they learn the tools to make a difference in the world by being an informed learner, listener and leader. Here, where they become part of a community that will continue to serve them long after they have graduated.

At San Diego Jewish Academy, we embrace a curriculum that inspires and explores creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking. Through our intimate learning environment, we recognize our students as individuals, and appreciate their unique talents. We personalize our academics so that our students are not limited in learning by age or grade. Our state-of-the-art facilities provide a place for students to learn through science, music, art and sports, while they explore their interests through our advanced enrichment programs such robotics, debate, green technologies, and more.

At San Diego Jewish Academy we believe that the social-emotional growth of our students is a vital component of their education, helping them to succeed as individuals and as positive members of the community. We have a number of different, but complementary, support services in place to help students achieve these goals both in the Golda Meir Lower School and Maimonides Upper School. On campus, our team of teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, faculty advisors, and learning specialists collaborate to help students cultivate powerful tools with which to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

The Learning Center at San Diego Jewish Academy provides educational assistance, during school hours, for students to increase their success in the classroom. Small-group sessions combine both educational techniques and a global approach to learning. Unlike tutoring, which is often associated with one subject or content area, the learning center method is broader, emphasizing multiple strategies to help children learn more effectively. An integrative approach is taken; while organizing and completing homework or studying for upcoming tests and quizzes, students simultaneously learn the tools needed to become independent learners.

The lower school offers an ESL program for students learning English as a Second Language. The ESL teacher conducts a pull-out program to give students directed lessons that strengthen vocabulary, grammar, reading, and writing skills. Students are pulled out in small groups for approximately 30-45 minutes, three to five days per week with students of like ability and of similar age whenever possible. Because the majority of the school day is spent within the regular classroom among native English speakers, most students require just one or two years of ESL help before being fully integrated into their classrooms.

A guidance counselor is on campus four days per week, and acts as a resource for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. The counselor teaches formal guidance lessons on topics such as resolving conflicts peacefully, peer relationships, and respect. The counselor works with individual and small groups of students to help them problem-solve, and runs social skills groups on an as-needed basis. Other services offered include professional development for staff, and parent coffees on topics involving the social and emotional development of students.

College counseling at San Diego Jewish Academy is grounded in introspection. In the freshman and sophomore years, students and parents meet informally with the Dean of Academic Affairs to discuss matters of academic counseling. Formal college counseling begins in the junior year. A meeting with students and parents is held in late fall, during which an overview of the college selection and application process is offered.

By the end of the process, good matches have been determined, and students go to destinations where they continue to grow. The Counseling Office smiles, just a touch, at each individual’s sense of triumph once the admission season draws to a close every year.