Kennedy High School (Colorado)


John F. Kennedy High School is a public secondary school located in the Bear Valley neighborhood on the southwest side of Denver, Colorado, United States. The school serves about 1,500 students in grades 9-12 in the Denver Public Schools system.
When the school opened with the spring semester of the 1965 - 1966 school year, it served both grades 7 - 9 and grades 10-12. There was no junior high school in the area, so the new school was designed to accommodate both junior and senior high school students.
In 1974, a court ordered the almost 100% white school, along with the rest of Denver's school system, to begin desegregation busing. A large portion of the former attendance area was assigned to Lincoln High School and students from other parts of Denver were assigned to Kennedy. The court-ordered busing was the start of the great white flight out of the Denver Public School System.
WWW jfk.dpsk12.org

Demographics

  • Hispanic 77.4%
  • White 10.3%
  • African American 2.9%
  • Asian 7%
  • Multiple 1.4%
  • Native American <1%
80.1% of Kennedy students are eligible for a free/reduced lunch rate.

International Baccalaureate program

On December 11, 2007 Kennedy became the second high school in Denver to offer the two-year International Baccalaureate program, and is the only school in Denver to offer an authorized IB education for all grade levels.

Athletics

Kennedy offers many after-school sports:
  • Fall sports
  • * Football
  • * Softball
  • * Tennis, boys'
  • * Volleyball, girls'
  • * Cross country, boys' and girls'
  • * Boys' soccer
  • * Cheerleading
  • Winter sports
  • * Basketball, boys' and girls'
  • * Wrestling, boys' and girls'
  • * Cheerleading
  • Spring sports
  • * Baseball
  • * Soccer, girls'
  • * Volleyball, boys'
  • * Tennis, girls'
  • * Track and field
  • * Cheerleading

Teachers honored

The National Association of Biology Teachers, in conjunction with Prentice Hall and the Colorado Biology Teachers Association, gave Kevin Lindauer the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for Colorado for 2008.

Parent support groups

Commander Connection

The mission of the Commander Connection, also known as the Commander Club, is to act as a support group, to enhance the academic, athletic, social and arts & science activities of the students at John F. Kennedy High School, and to promote school spirit & school pride. The Commander Connection provides volunteer support of student activities. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room at Kennedy High School.

KIBPA

KIBPA is the parent support group for IB students and teachers.

Notable alumni