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A Brief History
Solomon Schechter Day School of Albuquerque was founded in 1996 by a group of parents and community leaders who felt it was important for the Jewish community of Albuquerque to have a Jewish Day School. Financial assistance was received in the form of an endowment established by Morris Gusowsky, of blessed memory. The founding Board of Trustees decided to establish the school as an affiliate of the Schechter Day School Network which has over fifty schools in North America.
SSDS was originally housed at Congregation B’nai Israel on Indian School where it operated until the year 2000. In the fall of 2000, the school moved into its beautiful, new 12,000 sq. ft. home on the campus of the Jewish Community Center on Wyoming Blvd. just south of Academy.
The school began with grades 1-3 and continued growing, adding a new grade each year, until reaching fifth grade. In 2000, SSDS received a PEJE Grant (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education) to begin a middle school. After four years, the middle school was phased out and a kindergarten was started to create a complete elementary school offering and provide a stepping stone from the JCC preschool on the same campus.
The school’s founding principal, Melanie Berman, guided the school from 1996 to the end of the 2000-2001 school year. The current Head of School, Dr. Kathryn Weil, joined the staff in the summer of 2001.
SSDS is run by a Board of Trustees made up of parents, community members and leaders. SSDS serves the Jewish Community of Greater Albuquerque and beyond and seeks to make Jewish Day School education available to any family that wants it. To offset the cost of financial aid, SSDS raises money, is a beneficiary of the Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque, and receives donations and support from many members of the Jewish community.
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