Founded by a group of dedicated professionals and parents, the Downtown Jewish Day School was borne of a need to provide a high quality intensive Jewish education to the children of Toronto's dynamic and expanding downtown Jewish community. Even before opening its doors, the unique plan for a pluralistic school with an integrated and arts enhanced curriculum was recognized by the Partnership for E
xcellence in Jewish Education, which awarded us start-up funding to develop our challenging academic program. Since our doors were first opened, we have expanded from 10 to over 170 students. The enthusiasm for the school has grown along with our numbers. Our students will continue to benefit from the challenging integrated curriculum and meaningful Jewish experiences they have come to expect from the Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School. Driven by its values - inspiring curiosity, honouring diversity, and creating community – Paul Penna DJDS maintains the highest academic standards, surpassing the skills and knowledge outlined by the Ontario Ministry of Education. Uniquely integrated curricula weave together the Jewish and general facets of children’s lives to develop a meaningful Jewish identity, commitment to social justice, and downtown sensibility. In an arts-enhanced approach, creative expression becomes a tool for learning where music, drama, visual arts, and dance are used to explore the widest range of subject areas. Jewish students of all backgrounds and family configurations are fully accepted members of our community.
