John F. Kennedy High School (Paterson, New Jersey)

John F. Kennedy Educational Complex (or John F. Kennedy High School) is a four-year public high school in Paterson, United States, that serves the western section of Paterson. Kennedy High School, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grade, is a part of the Paterson Public Schools. 93% of the students are of minority races, and a majority of them speak either a non-English language at home or are very limited in English. The school uses the Infinite Campus school management system for tasks such as student attendance and grading, and full online grade access is available online.

In 2011, the school was split into theme schools, with four smaller academies operating within the high school, in order to give students a choice in areas they wanted to pursue. These schools are:
* School of Architecture and Construction Trades (ACT)
* School of Business, Technology, Marketing and Finance (BTMF)
* School of Education and Training (SET)
* School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1928. It has suffered low rankings when it comes to official lists of top public schools in New Jersey, as well as accusations of violence and poor conduct by the school's instructors and the Paterson Education Association.

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,202 students and 168.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.1:1. There were 1,234 students (56.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 3 (0.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for John F. Kennedy High School
National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.

History

The school was constructed at a cost of $7 million (equivalent to $ million in ) and named in memory of President John F. Kennedy. The school opened with an enrollment of 2,800 and could accommodate up to 3,500 students.

Demographics and achievement

Kennedy High School is 54% Hispanic of various Latin American nationalities, 34% Black, 7% White American, and 5% Asian. 35% of the school speaks Spanish in their homes, 3% speak Bengali, 2% speak Arabic, 2% speak Turkish, 0.2% speak Italian and 0.1% speak Albanian. There are also limited English proficient students or LEPs who compose 11% of the school. Limited English Proficient students cannot speak, read, or write in English. 50% of the students participate in the free or reduced price lunch program. The average class size is 25 students, excluding special education. The school's ratio of computers to students is 7 to 1 while the state average is 4 to 1.

Based on data from the 2010 New Jersey School Report Card, on the Language Arts section of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), 2010 graduates scored 43.3% proficient and 55.6% scored partial. On the Math section of the test, 28.5% scored proficient and 69.4% scored partial. The average SAT score is 1139 out of 2400. The Advanced Placement (AP) participation rate is 4.6%. The average attendance rate is 87.2%. As of the 2010 school year, Kennedy High School had a suspension rate of 47%. 71.1% of John F. Kennedy High School seniors graduated. Roughly 20.0% of the graduating seniors planned to go on to four-year colleges and another 49.3% of the graduating seniors go on to two year colleges.John F. Kennedy High School's 2010 School Report Card
New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 17, 2011.

The student to faculty ratio is 7.3 to 1. The faculty gets paid $56,733 a year while the state average is $61,840. The administrators get paid $108,105 as the state average is $117,895.

The school is in a "special needs" or one of the Abbott Districts. The district receives 82% of its budget from the state and spends an average of $16,575 per pupil.

The school is home to th
JFK Robotics/College Prep Team
To join, one must have a GPA of 3.5; have a desire to go to college, be motivated and most of all respectful to teachers and fellow students, though less than 1% make it into the team. The sole purpose of the program designed by teachers and staff is to get every child to college. While its membership is limited to only high achievers in terms of grades and merit, the team recruits from every academy in the school. Numbering around 25 students the team is filled with children that are given extra educational work and enrichment programs to boost their chances in getting into college, with the opportunity to participate in Upward Bound programs, to college credit classes at Passaic County Community College.

Athletics

The John F. Kennedy High School KnightsJohn F. Kennedy High School
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Big North Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Bergen and Passaic counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. For the 2009–10 season, the school competed in the North Jersey Tri-County Conference, an interim conference established to facilitate realignment. Prior to that, the school had previously participated in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL), an athletic conference consisting of public and private high schools located in Bergen County

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