Gann Academy is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

high school located in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

, United States. It was founded in 1997 and is a member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

and is accredited by the

New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) is a United States' regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation. NEASC serves over 1500 public, independent schools, and technical/career institution ...

History

Gann Academy was founded in 1997 as The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston by former head of school

Daniel Lehmann Rabbi Daniel L. Lehmann (born May 14, 1962) was the President of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, CA from August 1, 2018 until February 2020. Upon his appointment, Lehmann became the first non-Christian to lead the GTU. Previousl ...

. It was originally adjacent to

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

. Lehman intended for the school to be a place to foster a sense of community among students from different forms and expressions of Judaism. Casually nicknamed "New Jew," it opened with 48 students in the 9th and 10th grades. In 1999, the school moved to the top four floors and basement of the Fleet Bank building ( BankBoston at the time) at the intersection of Prospect Street and Main Street in Waltham, seeking larger facilities and a more permanent home. It used the basement of the local Temple Beth Israel for additional classroom space. The school changed its name in 2003 in honor of philanthropist Joseph Gann, who had donated $5,000,000. In 2004, Gann moved into a newly built 110,000 sq. ft. campus building in Waltham. The land the campus was built on was formerly occupied by the

Murphy Army Hospital The Murphy Army Hospital is a former hospital in Waltham, Massachusetts. The hospital grounds, now demolished, is now home to Gann Academy, Bentley University Residence Halls, and City of Waltham Veterans Memorial Park- which contains sport faci ...

. The 2005 documentary ''

Hineini ''Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School'' (2005) is a documentary film by director Irena Fayngold. Plot ''Hineini'' (Hebrew for 'Here I am') chronicles the story of Izen's attempt to establish a gay-straight alliance at a Jewish high school ...

'' focused on the school, and one student's efforts to create a gay–straight alliance there.

Judaism

Gann Academy is a pluralistic day school with students and faculty coming from a number of different denominations of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

. There are students of

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Secular, and non-denominational backgrounds. Students have mandatory

Tefillah Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...

two days a week but have a variety of different options as to what type to attend. The school as a whole keeps vegetarian dairy

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

, and students bring meat into the building.

Academics

The school has a student-teacher ratio of 5:1. In addition to

general studies General Studies is a multidisciplinary subject offered at different levels of education. Its scope varies by country. North America Some North American universities offer the Bachelor of General Studies degree. England, Wales and Northern Ireland ...

such as STEM, language and arts classes, the school's curriculum includes classes which focus on Judaism, Jewish history and the Hebrew language. The school's history program places a heavy emphasis on debate and civics. In 2007, Jonathan Golden, chair of the history department, described the school's approach as "a

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

-inspired experiment in democratic education." The school has an

acapella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group called the ShenaniGanns.

Athletics

Gann Academy offers the following in terms of sport: * Basketball * Yoga * Fitness * Farming * Tennis * Frisbee * Hiking * Table Tennis * Volleyball * Running

Campus

The school's Waltham campus was designed by architect Steve Friedlander.

References

{{authority control Private high schools in Massachusetts Pluralistic Jewish day schools Jewish day schools in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Waltham, Massachusetts Schools in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1997 1997 establishments in Massachusetts