Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union
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Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union (SSDSEU) is a private Jewish day school that offers primary and religious education for Jewish children from pre-K through 12th grade. It has campuses in West Orange and Cranford, and primarily serves families in Essex and Union counties, but attracts students from all over northern and central New Jersey.
The school was named after Solomon Schechter, a Romanian who was educated in Austria and Germany. He was the Chief Architect of Conservative Judaism in the United States.
The school was founded for the school year that started in September of 1965 in provisional facilities co-located with Congregation Beth Shalom in Union, New Jersey with a first grade consisting of 18 children. A class was added each year for the initial class, and there were nine remaining to graduate from high school in 1977. This was the first high school affiliated with the Solomon Schechter Day School Association.
The school moved into its own facilities in 1979 for the first time with the acquisition of the former Roosevelt School in Cranford. Classes were held in various locations in Union and Essex counties. That was followed seven years later in 1986 by the purchase of the Irving Laurie Building in West Orange. In September 1991, with a great deal of pride and celebration, the Upper School moved into a newly constructed building on Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, which in 1995 became the Eric F. Ross Campus. Because of the growth of the student population and the large geographical spread, finding adequate space for the growing school population continues to be a challenge. (See Sec. 1 - Changes for the 2008-2009 school year and beyond.)
The school now has approximately 850 students from about 500 families. It is accredited by the Solomon Schechter Day School Association and the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools.
Notable graduates of Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union include Jessica Shaw, an Editor for Entertainment Weekly magazine and Gil Schorr a noted agronomist, formerly of New York and now based in the Northern district of Peru.
Led by Dr. Gil Schorr groups of Schechter alumni have undertaken high altitude botanical research in the search for new plant species suitable for biofuel production. Tertiary level testing of recent finds is in process with peer review research to be published in the near term. Dr. Gil Schorr and the Schechter alumni state that the Schechter instilled value of Tikkun Olam motivates their research in this area.
Every year the school sends the senior class on a trip to Israel during their second semester. This trip has become the highlight experience for all Solomon Schechter students. If a student elects not to attend the Israel trip, the school facilitates internships for the student to complete instead.
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[edit] Changes for the 2008-2009 school year and beyond
Almost 30 years after first moving into the former Roosevelt School, the Cranford campus is slated to be closed permanently at the end of the 2007-2008 academic school year. All grades currently housed in the Cranford building (K-5) will be merged into the West Orange Lower School Campus located in the Irving Laurie Building. The closing of the Cranford campus has been blamed on decreasing enrollment, however, the current kindergarten class is the largest in years. The deliberations and decisions surrounding the closing were shrouded in secrecy. No school official would openly discuss the possibility that the campus would be closing even after the decision had been made. The closure will effectively leave Union County without a Conservative Jewish Day School. Many current Cranford campus students will be unable to commute to the Essex County campus and will essentially be forced to abandon their hopes for a Jewish Day School education. The young age of the student population combined with the long commute to the West Orange campus will effectively preclude their attendance.
According to the school's own web site Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union the Cranford campus serves the following communities: Berkeley Heights, Bound Brook, Clark, Cranford, Edison, Elizabeth, Fanwood, Greenbrook, Linden, Maplewood, Martinsville, Metuchen, New Providence, The Plainfields, Roselle, Roselle Park, Scotch Plains, Springfield, Summit, Union, Warren, Watchung, Westfield, and Staten Island. Most of these locations are too far from the West Orange campus to make it a viable alternative to the Cranford location.
[edit] Head of School
Joyce Raynor is the head of school of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union. Raynor was principal of the upper school for 16 years. Raynor joined Schechter in 1984 as a part-time teacher of Bible. She has served as teacher and administrator and sent her own children to the school.
[edit] Accreditation
Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union is accredited by the Solomon Schechter Day School Association and the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. We meet or exceed New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards. SSDS is a beneficiary agency of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest News Jersey, the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
[edit] Principals
SSDSEU has had many principals. Cranford had Janice Naldi. However, in 06-07, Naldi retired. She was replaced by Moshe Rudin. The principal of West Orange is Gloria Kron.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Jessica Shaw, an Editor for Entertainment Weekly Magazine.
- Gil Schorr, a noted agronomist.
- Josh Jashinski, Co-Writer of Pipeline.
- Evan Winiker, Bass Player from the band Steel Train.
- Gabe Saporta, Lead singer and primary creative force behind the band Cobra Starship
