Our History
CJA’s story begins more than a century ago, when Calgary’s Jewish community was still small and Jewish education meant gathering wherever space could be found.
In 1910, 19 students attended classes in a one-room Talmud Torah associated with the House of Jacob synagogue. Two years later, Calgary Hebrew School opened. By 1913, it had become an independent institution, beginning a story of growth, change and community commitment that continues at CJA today.
In 1927, another chapter began. A group of parents founded the I.L. Peretz School, creating an educational community rooted in Yiddish language and culture. By 1929, Peretz had established Calgary’s first Jewish day school program and would become an important centre of Jewish cultural life in the city.
For decades, Calgary Hebrew School and I.L. Peretz School followed their own paths. Each had its own philosophy, traditions and community. Each also evolved as Calgary’s Jewish community changed.
Calgary Hebrew School became a full Jewish day school in 1954. In 1959, it opened a new school in Kelvin Grove, on the site that CJA still calls home today. That same year, I.L. Peretz School opened its own new building in Altadore.
The schools grew with the families they served. Classrooms were added. Programs expanded. Calgary Hebrew School introduced Junior High in 1968. Students learned, celebrated holidays, performed, played sports and built friendships. Traditions took root, including some that CJA families still recognize today.
Although the possibility of bringing Calgary’s two Jewish schools together had been discussed over the years, their different histories and educational philosophies had kept them apart.
By the 1980s, both schools had changed, and so had the community around them. Conversations about joining together took on new momentum.
In 1986, Calgary Hebrew School and I.L. Peretz School reached an agreement to merge.
And in September 1987, Calgary Jewish Academy opened its doors.
Students, teachers and traditions from both schools came together under one roof, carrying forward two distinct histories as one school community.
Today, CJA is part of a story of Jewish education in Calgary that stretches back well over a century.
Thousands of students have passed through our schools. Families have returned across generations. Traditions have been handed down, adapted and created anew. The buildings, programs and even the names have changed, but the commitment at the heart of the story has endured: giving Calgary’s Jewish children a place to learn, belong, grow and connect to their Jewish identity.
More than a century later, the story is still being written by every student and family who walks through our doors.