San Diego Jewish Academy

Awful school with ridiculously inflated reviews. Do not be deceived by SDJA's marketing and administration's smooth talking. My daughter was excited to be in kindergarten but had a beyond disappointing time last year with an unqualified teacher unaware of how to work with such young children. My daughter ended the year barely able to read, write, or do basic math. Additionally, SDJA is wildly overpriced for a lack of resources. For almost $30,000 annual tuition, there should be a campus library and computer lab. Neither exists. My daughter had to rely on a limited selection of outdated books from her teacher. There is also no indoor gym, only unshaded blacktop, for the lower school, so my daughter came home several days complaining of overwhelming heat or canceled PE because of rain. The school has far too many uncertified teachers and simpering administrators Allie Hauser and Danielle Heyde are spineless and brush problems under the rug. Do NOT go here.

We just moved to SD from LA and our son was in daycare for his entire 4 years. Our four year old son did the SDJA summer program and had trouble adjusting to the older and strict teachers. He’d cry at drop off and on the way home from pickup saying his teachers were mean. The schedule is also not play based and more structured. We were told within 2 weeks of attending we should get him screened for learning disabilities. After spending over $2k to see his pediatrician, therapist, and psychologist, we were told he has a high IQ and that the new behavior issues is probably from the trauma of moving and the stringent school structure. We shared this update with the school on 8/18 and by 8/22, we were kicked out of school since he bit a student and teacher. Obviously, biting is never okay, but there’s a root cause that was ignored by the school. I do not feel the school is capable of handling gifted children, let alone energetic boys. This school is more geared towards calm kids who enjoy classroom actives.

The plethora of 5 star reviews are ludicrous and must have been written by employees or board members. Because bottom line: SDJA is awful, a complete joke. and without a single redeemable quality. 1) Scholastics/education: ridiculously behind standards in California, with unaccredited, incompetent teachers; 2) extracurricular/athletics: non-existent or embarrassingly pathetic. 3) social: cliques based on jewish cultural heritage - eg Mexican jews, South African jews, Israeli jews, etc. The more money a family has, the more power they wield. no fun dances or normal activities one should experience during formative years (eg valentines day and halloween dress-up are disallowed because considered 'pagan')I had my kids there for far too long (kindergarten through high school) but finally had enough when I heard first hand what their classes were like (listening in during zoom/quarantine year of covid). it was appallingly bad and couldn't believe this was what my enrollment fees provided (!20,000 per child!) Switched both of my children to the public school system and have been shocked at how much better it is in all aspects. it's truly as if my kids never even attended an actual school prior to this year - more like day care for spoiled children who are coddled and enabled. My advice: save your money and go to public school. You'll be doing the best thing for your child and won't regret the decision.

Amazing. Has far surpassed our expectations. We can’t wait to send our other children there.

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!