San Diego Jewish Academy

"We moved here from New York about 4 years ago. My children started in the preschool of SDJA and have been there ever since! Currently, our children are in the lower school and are excelling in all areas. For example, my son and daughter are reading above grade level. The small class sizes and constant attention they receive keeps them engaged and on task. The teachers are constantly creating special experiences for the students, and therefore the lessons never get old. For example, with all the rain that San Diego received my daughter’s teacher created a multi-sensory lesson. The students were asked to create small sailboats from materials found in the classroom. The boats were then tested on the makeshift pond that was formed on the playground from all the rain. The students made predictions and took notice on what worked best and what needed to be changed for future sails!"

"I’m a mother of two teenagers who are currently enrolled as students at the San Diego Jewish Academy (SDJA). They absolutely love the school. SDJA provides excellent academics as well as excellent Jewish education. If you want your children to establish a Jewish life style, learn about Jewish culture and follow Jewish traditions; if you want your children to be among other kids who are talented, active, and friendly; if you want your children to be taught by devoted, knowledgeable and kind teachers - San Diego Jewish Academy should be your choice."

"We have had a fantastic experience at SDJA! The teachers and administrators clearly care about each student, and invest a lot of time and energy into addressing their academic, social, and personal needs. We are so glad that we chose SDJA for our son's second grade year, and we're looking forward to third grade."

"2nd grade at SDJA and things are great. The campus is beautiful, the teachers are friendly and so are the families. Class sizes are tiny ... 14-15 kids! Students do PE 3x, science, music, and computers every week, they do gardening, plays and performances, go on field trips and there are after school activities. Keep in mind this is a religious school (but does not feel as religious as something like Chabad)... so there is a large amount of time spent on Hebrew and religious studies ... at least 2 hours per day. Like with any school however, I think education starts at home. We have been reading to our child since she was born so my daughter probably had a head start. But SDJA provides reading assignments, on-line tools, and now assigns book reports. They quickly moved past spelling 5 to 6 letter words with different vowel combinations (ou, ow, oe) and are now doing 8-10 compound words. They teach to the skill level so my second grade student is doing 3rd grade math.... so I don't know what some of the other comments are referring to ... it just isn't true. Like with anything... you have to apply yourself!"

"I have had such a positive experience at SDJA--from the first time I visited the school over 5 years ago and until now, that my children have been there for nearly 3 years. I have one child in elementary school and two in preschool. It is an excellent school with caring and challenging teachers and supportive staff as well as a cohesive and surprisingly diverse family community. My children are happy to go to school each day and I feel good about sending them to what I see is a nurturing and safe environment. Each child is different and my chirldren have bee challenged to meet and exceed their potential and identify weaker areas and work on them, while recognizing and applauding but still challenging stronger areas. My eldest arrived on the first day of kindergarten, having come from another preschool, unable to read anything or even write his name. Quickly, this changed and he was reading at grade level as the school year progressed. Now, he is an avid reader. He was never made to feel dumb or inadequate by teachers or peers. This positive learning environment certainly led to his blossoming as a reader. The small class size and dedicated reading blocks are also very helpful. He was not able to lag behind and got the attention and extra help he needed. The proximity to the preschool allows collaboration and now he is a proud reading buddy to one of his little sister's classmates, helping to plant the love of reading in another child. His sister is entering kindergarten in the fall. She can write clearly not just her name, but every child in her class! But most importantly, it is a pleasure for her to do it! This was not the result of rote repetition. She is proud of her writing ability, though it is not even her favorite area: that would be art class. Her preschool teachers are wonderful and encourage her passion and exceptional ability. The connection to the larger campus and lower school also allows her to benefit from the dedicated lower school art teacher, studio and supplies. The P.E., extracurricular and hot lunch options available to he preschoolers are also a benefit of the proximity to the lower school. My youngest started in the fantastic day care and will continue in preschool next year. She also loves school and her friends and teachers. I am amazed that she has science projects that she is excited to show me and describe to me at pick up. All of the teachers send weekly newsletters, usually with photos, so I can read and see what my children have been up to that week. But the biggest compliment is that at the first parent teacher conference and each regularly scheduled conference for all of my children and with each of their teachers, we did not have too much to discuss because I was always and constantly kept informed of any important issues and had similarly shared my concern areas with them already. They don't wait until the conference; they call or email or tell me at pick up or drop off or ask me to schedule a time to see them. These are dedicated, loving professionals who are truly partners not just in my children's education, but even in raising them. I am very, very happy."