Gann Academy


Founded in 1997, Gann Academy is a coeducational Jewish high school located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

History

Gann Academy was founded in 1997 as The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston, and was originally adjacent to Brandeis University. The school, casually nicknamed "New Jew," opened with 48 students in the 9th and 10th grades. Seeking larger facilities and a more permanent home, it moved to the top four floors and basement of the Fleet Bank building at the intersection of Prospect Street and Main Street in Waltham, and 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 the fall of 2003, Gann moved into its current building in Waltham, on land formerly occupied by the Murphy Army Hospital.

Judaism

Gann Academy is a pluralistic day school with students and faculty coming from a number of different denominations of Judaism. There are students of Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Secular, and non-denominational backgrounds.
Students have mandatory Tefillah 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, and students do not bring meat into the building.