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Gann Academy is Greater Boston's Pluralistic Jewish High School
From powerful learning in Jewish Studies and Hebrew classes to immersive holiday experiences, Jewish life is the foundation of the Gann community. We celebrate the wide range of Jewish beliefs and practices students bring to our community. Fun and joyful celebrations include Shabbatonim (Shabbat experiences), holiday festivals, social justice experiences, and a trip to Israel. You will graduate with a strong set of Jewish values which will provide the solid foundation for combatting antisemitism and answering life’s big questions.
Pluralism
Gann’s vibrant and thriving community is rooted in shared Jewish values, history, and text. Our intentionally pluralistic environment encourages students to deepen their understanding of their own Jewish identity and to strive to understand others’ experiences, beliefs, and perspectives.
Through interdisciplinary learning opportunities and meaningful Jewish practice, students from a broad range of backgrounds cultivate critical skills – including empathy, appreciation for multiple perspectives, and curiosity about others – that enable them to find commonalities, and engage respectfully with difference.
Through interdisciplinary learning opportunities and meaningful Jewish practice, students from a broad range of backgrounds cultivate critical skills – including empathy, appreciation for multiple perspectives, and curiosity about others – that enable them to find commonalities, and engage respectfully with difference.
Text Study
Talmud study in particular fosters questioning, argumentation, and critical thinking skills. Through Jewish text study, Gann students build resilience and prepare to meet challenges to their identity and practice as they make their way in the world.
Israel Education
Gann celebrates the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, which offers the unparalleled opportunity for the Jewish people to exercise self-determination and build a vibrant democracy and a sustainable future for the Jewish people. Gann students explore the rich and complex history of the Jewish people’s deep connection to Israel and to Hebrew language, as expressed in its *Declaration of Independence. Gann prepares students to participate in robust discussions about Israel as they form their own views on and relationships to the people of Israel, the state of Israel, and the land of Israel.
*Quote from Declaration of Independence:
“THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”
Identity Formation
Gann supports students in deepening their connection to themselves, to others, and to their larger Jewish community. We meet students where they are on their unique Jewish journey and nurture their curiosity and confidence to find personal relevance in shared Jewish experience.
Over four years, Gann students build a deep repository of Jewish values, knowledge, and content that enable them to better understand themselves, and the world around them. They explore essential aspects of development and identity-building – including mental health, gender, and equity – through a Jewish lens. They comfortably situate themselves within Jewish history and identify with the Jewish story, past and present. A diverse range of offerings in Jewish life, ritual, and practice inspire students to find meaning and community.
Gann students creatively apply their Jewish learning and shared values to the questions and challenges they encounter as they walk through the world. Inspired by their Jewish experience at Gann, graduates emerge prepared for an ongoing journey of growth, exploration, and becoming.
