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Golda Och Academy

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Coordinates: 40°46′41″N 74°15′08″W / 40.778007°N 74.252343°W / 40.778007; -74.252343
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Golda Och Academy
Address
Map
1418 Pleasant Valley Way

West Orange
,
Essex County
,
New Jersey
07052

United States
Coordinates40°46′41″N 74°15′08″W / 40.778007°N 74.252343°W / 40.778007; -74.252343
Information
TypePrivate
Religious affiliation(s)Jewish
EstablishedSeptember 1965 as Solomon Schechter Day School Of Essex And Union, January 2011 as Golda Och Academy
NCES School IDA0502343[1]
Principal
  • Eytan Apter (Upper School)
  • Carrie Siegel (Lower School)
Head of SchoolDaniel S. Nevins
Faculty80.8 FTEs[1]
GradesPre-K–12
Enrollment424 (plus 11 in PreK, as of 2021–22)[1]
Student to teacher ratio5.2:1[1]
CampusSuburban
Color(s)
  •   Blue
  •   White
  •   Gold[3]
Athletics conferenceSuper Essex Conference
Team nameRoad Runners[3]
Tuition$33,890 (9–11 for 2022–2023)[2]
Websitewww.goldaochacademy.org

Golda Och Academy is a private Jewish day school that offers secular and religious education for Jewish children from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade at two campuses in West Orange in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Until June 2011 the school was called Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union. The school primarily serves families in Essex and Union counties, but attracts students from all over northern and central New Jersey and also New York.

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 424 students (plus 11 in PreK) and 80.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 5.2:1. The school's student body was 97.4% (413) White, 0.7% (3) Black, 0.7% (3) Asian, 0.7% (3) Hispanic and 0.5% (2) Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander.[1]

On July 1, 2021, Daniel S. Nevins became the 8th Head of School, succeeding Adam Shapiro.[4] Also on that date, Eytan Apter became the Upper School Principal. Carrie Siegel is the Lower School principal.

History

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The school opened in September 1965 at Congregation Beth Shalom in Union, New Jersey, having been founded by its rabbi, Elvin I. Kose, along with Horace Bier and Nat Winter. The first classes were kindergarten and a first grade consisting of 18 children. A new grade was added each year for the initial class, and the first class of nine students graduated from the high school in 1977. This was the first high school affiliated with the Solomon Schechter Day School Association.[5]

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, 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.

The Lower School completed a $7 million renovation that began in 2012, which included an expansion of the building, building of a new wing and refurbishment of existing spaces. Project highlights included the addition of a science discovery lab and outdoor classroom and garden, a new technology lab, synagogue, playground, library, and cafeteria; creation of a specialty space for art and music; updated and wired classrooms; and increased accessibility.[6]

Beginning in 2014, Golda Och Academy has increased its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (collectively STEM) programming, including a new STEM class, an award-winning Robotics club the CodeRunners, and more. In January 2015, the school announced plans for a state-of-the-art STEM facility which was completed in September 2015.[7]

Golda Och Academy has over 1,800 alumni.[citation needed]

Accreditation

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The school is accredited by the Solomon Schechter Day School Association and the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools.[8] It exceeds New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. Golda Och Academy is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Athletics

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The Golda Och Academy Road Runners[3] compete in the Super Essex Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[9] With 95 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools).[10]

Sports include; Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball, Cross-Country, Swimming and Basketball for both boys and girls on a middle school or varsity level. Baseball and Softball are offered as well as a new Lacrosse club.[3]

In 2013, the school's gymnasium was dedicated in honor of gym teacher and coach Sandy Pyonin in celebration of his 40 years at SSDS/GOA. Pyonin has trained more than 30 professional basketball players including Kyrie Irving and has coached three National Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships.[11]

Notable alumni

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See also: Category:Golda Och Academy alumni

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e School data for Golda Och Academy, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2023.
  2. ^ 2022-2023 Tuition, Golda Och Academy. Accessed May 9, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Golda Och Academy, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "Welcome from the Head of School"
  5. ^ Our History Archived May 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Golda Och Academy. Accessed June 14, 2011.
  6. ^ Ginsberg, Johanna. "Golda Och breaks ground on major renovation; Wilf family kickstarts construction to update 1950s lower school", New Jersey Jewish News, May 23, 2012. Accessed May 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "Golda Och Academy Of West Orange To See New State-Of-The-Art STEM Center". West Orange, New Jersey Patch.
  8. ^ Golda Och Academy, New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. Accessed January 14, 2017.
  9. ^ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  10. ^ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
  11. ^ Teicher, Jordan. "The NBA's Jewish Playmaker; Sandy Pyonin helped stars like Kyrie Irving and Al Harrington go pro. Why doesn't he have a Wikipedia page?", Tablet (magazine), January 8, 2013. Accessed December 15, 2015. "But with Pyonin, legacy comes down to one number: 34. That's the number of his players who have made it to the NBA.... In September, Golda Och held a ceremony to rename their basketball court the 'Sandy Pyonin Court.'"
  12. ^ Ginsberg, Johanna. "Faster, faster; Golda Och alum at Olympic swimming trials", New Jersey Jewish News, July 13, 2016. Accessed October 27, 2017. "Jessica Antiles of South Orange stood behind the block at the Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Neb., on June 26, and closed her eyes, visualizing herself doing her best. She repeated her mantra, 'Try 100 percent. The rest is up to God.'... Antiles, 19, a graduate of Golda Och Academy in West Orange and a member of the Maplewood Jewish Center where her father is president, qualified for the Olympic trials two summers ago while swimming with a club team in Israel, for the 400-meter long course individual medley (two laps each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle)."
  13. ^ Scheinfeld, Jillian. "Spotlight On: Fashion Designer Rachel Antonoff; Talking to Antonoff about her family, inspiration, and journey to becoming a successful designer", Jewcy, October 15, 2013. Accessed January 14, 2017.
  14. ^ Mandell, Meredith. "Down to the River: Newly Minted Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop Plans Big; From Goldman Sachs to the Marine Corps to mayor of New York's sixth borough", Observer.com, July 30, 2013. Accessed December 15, 2015. "Livingston is adjacent to West Orange, which is home to the Solomon Schechter day school that Mr. Fulop attended."
  15. ^ Aberback, Brian. "As Band Says Goodbye, Armor for Sleep Frontman Reflects on Teaneck Roots; Rock and pop-punk band's farewell tour includes New York City show July 14", Teaneck Patch, July 8, 2012. Accessed November 11, 2014. "Influenced by pop-punk, indie rock and emo bands such as New Brunswick's Lifetime, Princeton's Saves the Day and Floridians New Found Glory, Jorgensen formed the punk band Random Task with friends from Solomon Schechter Upper School in West Orange."
  16. ^ Ginsberg, Johanna. "Day school endowment hits $20 million mark; On first anniversary, schools see funding for tuition, high tech", New Jersey Jewish News, September 11, 2008. Accessed April 4, 2013. "Daniel Och, one of the first students to attend SSDS, is chief executive officer and chair of the board of directors at Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, a global institutional alternative asset management firm with approximately $30 billion in assets."
  17. ^ Rubin, Debra. "Day school and punk rock collide in teen novel", New Jersey Jewish News, December 6, 2010. Accessed October 8, 2018. "In her latest book, So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint your Mother), Ostow, a graduate of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union in West Orange, outlines the misadventures of four New Jersey suburban day school teens who form a punk rock band and make a splash on the bar mitzva circuit."
  18. ^ Barshad, Amos. "Q&A: A Short, Strange Chat With Adam Pally About Writing for Himself, Confidence-Building Through Bombing, and the Future of the Knicks", Grantland, August 18, 2015. Accessed December 15, 2015. "Well, I went to [Jewish day school] Solomon Schechter. I see an A-M-O-S I'm gonna say 'Ahmos.'"
  19. ^ Biography Archived May 28, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Ultimate Gabe Saporta. Accessed June 2, 2015. "In 1996 Gabe and his friends Chris Delvecchio and Joshua Scott-Dicker (which he met at the 'Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union' in New Jersey) formed the Band Humble Beginnings."
  20. ^ Wiener, Robert. "Jersey-bred filmmaker delves into world of chasidim Joshua Weinstein says viewers see ‘Menashe’ as ‘loving portrait’", New Jersey Jewish News, August 2, 2017. Accessed September 12, 2019. "While he was growing up in a Conservative Jewish family in Morristown, and attending what was then Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union in West Orange (now the Golda Och Academy), few would have suspected that Joshua Weinstein would become heavily entrenched in the chasidic communities of Brooklyn."
  21. ^ "Alumni Profile: Josh Weinstein '01; The writer/director discusses his newly released Yiddish-language film, Menashe", Schechter / Golda Och Academy Alumni Society News, Spring 2017. Accessed September 13, 2019. ""There was a band called Random Task made up of four students from the Class of '01: Matt Goldman, Evan Winiker, Jeremiah Glazer and Ben Jorgensen.""
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