San Diego Jewish Academy


San Diego Jewish Academy is an independent Jewish day school currently located in the Carmel Valley community of San Diego, California. The school is composed of three schools: SDJA Early Childhood Center, Golda Meir Lower School for grades K-5, and Maimonides Upper School for grades 6-12.
As a pluralistic Jewish day school, SDJA is not affiliated with any one synagogue or movement of Judaism. SDJA is a pluralistic school and has "compacts" with a number of San Diego synagogues.

History

SDJA began as a small neighborhood school in rented facilities on the property of Congregation Tifereth Israel in 1979.
In 1999, San Diego Jewish Academy built a 40-acre campus in Carmel Valley. The school is still located on this property, which has since been named the Jaffe Campus following a $7 million donation by the Jaffe family. As of 2013, SDJA is a 56-acre campus.

Football

In 2009, the San Diego Jewish Academy Lions were the first ever Jewish football teams in the United States. The team is made up of 11 players who have taken 25th place in their league and made an appearance in the CIF playoffs. In 2018, the Lions made it to the Finals of the CIF championship.

Notable alumni