Granada Islamic School

Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms in our GIS family! 🤍

JazakAllahu Khairan for everything you do. May Allah bless and honor you always. ✨

Granada Islamic School has received reaffirmation of WASC accreditation through June 2029!

The Mid-cycle Visiting Committee identified three areas of schoolwide strength:
- Progress on our 2023–2029 Action Plan
- Student achievement gains driven by direct instruction - Integrated MTSS/SEL/Character Education, and the quality of our leadership, faculty, and community.

For families considering GIS and partners supporting our work: this is the standard we hold ourselves to, and the standard an independent body has affirmed.

Grateful to our staff and community. The work continues. 📚

Just back from a three-day local college tour with our 9th graders — and what made it unforgettable was the alumni who showed up for us at every stop.
Walking through SJSU, Santa Clara, Berkeley, Zaytuna, Sac State, and UC Davis with Granadians who once sat in the same classrooms our students sit in now — it’s hard to put into words. They gave tours, shared honest advice, and reminded our students what’s possible when you stay grounded in your deen while pursuing your goals.
A heartfelt shukran to our alumni guides:
SJSU — Isha & Toolien
Santa Clara — Sarah H.
UC Berkeley — Raneem, Eman & Muhammed
Zaytuna College, Sac State — Tasneem & Lana Abed
UC Davis — Maryam Siddiqui
And a special thank you to Eman and Rayyan, who joined us as chaperones and poured into our students the entire trip.
May Allah SWT protect each of them and bless this experience for our current students. Ameen.

From local science fairs to the California State Fair, our students continue to show what curiosity, rigor, and faith-driven learning look like in action.

Imani Islam took 5th place in the Junior Division Environmental Engineering category at the California State Fair for The Soil Saver 3000, a composting project tackling food waste at the source.

Tasneem Ismaili was featured for her Talk to the Hand project, an ASL gesture-recognition glove that translates sign language through a computer interface — a beautiful intersection of engineering and human connection.

These aren’t isolated wins. They reflect a culture at Granada where students are encouraged to ask hard questions, build real solutions, and carry their faith into every field they enter — including the sciences.

Mabrook to Imani, Tasneem, and every student who represented GIS this year. We’re proud of you. 🫶🏻

DC and Philadelphia were the classroom. Our students showed up ready. 🕌🇺🇸

Over 5 days, they debated live bills on the Congressional floor, explored American history firsthand, and connected with students from across the country. When questions about Islam came up, they answered with knowledge and confidence. When it was time to pray, they made jama’ah — in public, without hesitation.

Alhamdulillah. This is what it looks like when Islamic identity and civic engagement grow together. MashaAllah to every student who represented Granada with grace.

(And yes, there are a lot of photos. Five days, no shortage of moments.)

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Some fun art by our students to welcome Spring! 🌱🌻

Running a marathon in Antarctica takes years of preparation, thousands of miles of training, and more willpower than most of us can imagine. Ejaj Ahmad — a father to one of our students, brought that entire journey into our Grade 1 classroom.
He shared what he expected vs. what he actually experienced, how he prepared, what the Antarctic continent looks like up close, and what it means to push through when your body wants to quit. The students heard about teamwork on the ice, the wildlife that calls that frozen place home, and why the continent’s future matters to all of ours.
The message they took home: dreaming big has no age limit. Alhamdulillah for community members who bring the world into our classrooms. 🌍

GuestSpeaker DreamBig