ABOUT
Our Mission & Values
OUR MISSION
The mission of Gann Academy is to educate, to inspire, and to empower intellectually confident, passionately engaged, ethically responsible Jews who, through critical thinking and the contribution of their unique voices, will create a vibrant Jewish future and build a better world where human dignity will flourish.
Core Values
B’Tzelem Elohim: All People Are Created in the Image of God
One of the most powerful and important ideas in Judaism, B’Tzelem Elohim, instructs us to honor the image of God in all others, valuing equally those who are different from us in their religious practices, gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, or any other identity. B’Tzelem Elohim means we don’t use any language that is demeaning, dehumanizing, or intentionally inflammatory. We are cautious about generalizing or making assumptions about groups of people and, at all moments, we practice empathy. When in dialogue with others, we employ conversational moves that support constructive discourse. We take care in understanding the richness of others’ journeys and experiences.
Simcha: Joy
Living in a community that is characterized by joy, humor, and shared experiences is fundamental to our school culture. While we work hard, Shabbat and our Jewish holidays provide a natural rhythm for celebration, shared meals, and festive occasions. As a school, we value building deep, intentional relationships which foster lightness, warmth, humor, and joy.
Chesed: Loving-Kindness
We go out of our way to be generous and inclusive, welcoming new classmates enthusiastically, inviting others to join us for meals and conversation, and seeking new partners for group work. We are socially aware, always looking to see who might be sitting alone or feeling on the outside of the group. We avoid discussing or posting about social plans in ways that leave classmates feeling excluded. Before we speak, text, post, or act, we think: How might others react to what I am about to say? Will others feel the warmth and kindness that makes our community distinct? How do I extend myself for others?
Teshuvah: Forgiveness
The Jewish idea of Teshuva teaches that how we recover from a mistake is sometimes as important as the mistake itself. Acknowledging our own errors, we seek repair, ask for forgiveness, and aspire to learn from our inevitable moments of failure. In that spirit, we also offer others another chance, aware that we all stumble at times in our interactions with one another.
Amiyut: Peoplehood
The concept of Amiyut expresses our Jewish peoplehood – our shared history and sense of community as Jews. We possess a unique culture, language, land, and ethical tradition that has sustained us for thousands of years. We are all part of Klal Yisrael – the whole worldwide Jewish family. We have a special responsibility to support our Jewish brothers and sisters in times of need and to celebrate with them in times of joy. We come together at Gann to learn about the richness and diversity of our multi-faceted Jewish story and to prepare to help lead the Jewish people into the future.
Kavanah: Intention and Presence
Learning, a sacred act in the Jewish tradition, requires our full presence. All of us—students and adults alike—are on a lifelong journey to maintain attention and be fully present. In school, we signal our Kavanah by making eye contact, greeting others with a hello, and holding doors open. In class, we minimize our breaks to signal our full focus and attention and use our laptops only for instructional purposes. To be fully present for one another, we avoid uses of technology that distract us from experiencing all that our school has to offer, both in and out of the classroom.
Kavod: Respect
We respect ourselves when we take intellectual risks, persevere in the face of challenges, and act with integrity. We respect others when we listen attentively, honor others’ experiences, and are careful in our speech, text, and postings. We respect our school’s mission of Jewish pluralism, as well as our seriousness of purpose, by how we dress and how we speak. We respect the campus by being considerate of all school property. We show respect for the school community by how we behave in group settings.
Yosher: Integrity or Uprightness
We act ethically and honestly, even when doing so seems to come at a cost. With the courage to admit our own errors, we tell the truth, and committed to the principles of academic integrity, we ensure that our academic work is our own.
Da’at: Knowledge
Our learning community is a community rooted in intellectual integrity. We value the discipline and precision that is required to advance scholarship and knowledge. We celebrate the classroom and other learning environments as “brave spaces” where students are supported in asking rigorous and penetrating questions, engage in analytical thinking, build evidence-based claims, and challenge each other to consider and critique a wide range of ideas. Gann stands for freedom of thought, bounded by empathic expression and respect for core values.
Tikkun Olam: Repair of the World
The emphasis on repairing the world speaks to something centrally Jewish: our belief in human responsibility. We are empowered and expected to act to improve our local and global communities. While we celebrate our achievements, we are humbled by how much more work there is to be done. Tikkun Olam applies equally at the micro level (how to serve those in our school community) as it does at a macro level (how to address hunger and homelessness).
