| abstract
| - 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 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. The school now has approximately 700 students. It is accredited by the Solomon Schechter Day School Association and the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. Some highlights of a Schechter education include trips to Israel and travel abroad opportunities. Ninth grade students at Schechter visit Israel for 10 days in September. There they participate in numerous group activities aimed at getting to know Israel better, exploring the students' relationship to the country, experiencing Judaism in an inspiring Jewish atmosphere, as well as allowing students to get to know their friends in the grade in a non-academic setting. The 9th grade trip is a part of a plan to strengthen the connection between SSDSEU teens and Israel by building a living bridge between students and their peers in Israel during the high school years. Students collaborate with their Israeli peers throughout their high school years in various programs. The experience culminates in a get-together during the Neshama program in 12th grade. Schechter students complete the rigorous and challenging High School curriculum in seven semesters. By the end of their seventh semester they have submitted their college applications, completed their academic requirements for graduation and chosen a last semester program. Students have the option of participating in Neshama, a semester-long educational program in Israel and Eastern Europe that provides students with a meaningful experience. This trip has become the highlight experience for all Solomon Schechter students. Students who do not elect to participate in Neshama stay in the area and participate in an intensive work-study experience. Other travel opportunities include a 10th Grade Chilean Exchange Program, which pairs each SSDSEU participant with a Chilean student who attends Instituto Hebreo, in Santiago, Chile. Students in 6th grade participate in an annual Teva trip, a four-day camping excursion, which allows students to learn about ecological matters in a Jewish values context.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)