History

Honoring tradition, Embracing diversity,
and meeting the cutting-edge

Following World War II, New York’s Jewish population began spreading out towards Long Island, and Great Neck became home to a burgeoning Orthodox Jewish community. With a new generation of Jewish children, the community recognized the need for a Jewish school that promoted academic excellence and inclusivity, Yiddishkeit and Jewish learning.

In 1954, Great Neck Synagogue hired Rabbi Ephraim Wolf to serve as both the community’s rabbi and the principal of the new yeshiva day school, North Shore Hebrew Academy. In its first year, Rabbi Wolf not only laid the foundation for the new school, developing a competitive curriculum and recruiting dedicated teachers. He also set out each morning in a minibus, picking up NSHA’s students and bringing them to school.

NSHA developed a reputation of distinction, with a General Studies curriculum competitive with that of Great Neck’s leading public schools and a Jewish Studies curriculum that instilled Hebrew and Torah fluency in its students. As Jewish families flocked to Great Neck and enrolled their children in NSHA, Jewish institutions sprang up in the surrounding area. Kosher restaurants, Jewish bookstores, and new synagogues opened their doors, making Great Neck a bastion of Jewish life.

In 1968, NSHA moved from Great Neck Synagogue to a separate building next door to accommodate its growing student body. In 1969, Rabbi Nathan Horowitz became the principal of NSHA and grew the NSHA community to over 500 students. The school continued to expand, and in the late 1970s, NSHA adopted a third building in Kings Point.

In 2000, NSHA fulfilled a longtime dream by launching a state-of-the-art high school. Here, NSHA students continue to receive a superior Jewish and General education, which emphasizes individualized courses of study, a love of Israel and the Jewish and global community.

We’ve come a long way in our nearly 70 year history.  Today, our four campuses across Great Neck welcome over 1100 students and 250+ faculty from all over the Long Island and Metro NY area.  We are a community of learners and leaders forging paths anchored by  an inspiring education at every developmental level and making an impact on our Jewish and global communities.