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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at John F Kennedy High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
681
High
DISTRICT 528 · STATE 627
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 080336000367
John F Kennedy High School
2855 SOUTH LAMAR STREET, DENVER, CO 80227 · (720) 423-4300 · Denver County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL681 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded
This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.2:1 · STATE 16.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
79%
537 students
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 50%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 214 | 31% |
| Grade 10 | 172 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 157 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 138 | 20% |
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
11.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
18.9%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 11% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 19% typical for Colorado schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Colorado's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like John F Kennedy High School
John F Kennedy High School's state test result (11.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| John F Kennedy High School this school | 681 | 78.9% | 11.4% |
| DSST: College View High School DENVER | 533 | 85.7% | 15.3% |
| Thornton High School THORNTON | 1,439 | 78.7% | N/A |
| Alameda International Junior/Senior High School LAKEWOOD | 1,002 | 65.4% | 10.7% |
| Westminster High School WESTMINSTER | 2,010 | 82.0% | 11.3% |
| Mapleton Early Career Preparation THORNTON | 306 | 72.2% | N/A |
Matched among Colorado high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where John F Kennedy High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Denver County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 11.4% | #207 of 231 | #20 of 28 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 681 | #133 of 409 | #11 of 53 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.9:1 | #45 of 250 | #17 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.3% | #175 of 250 | #23 of 34 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 78.9% | #47 of 320 | #25 of 46 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -36.4% | #13 of 139 | #4 of 16 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
681
-203 (-23%) vs 2020
-45% since 1990-91, when it was 1,243
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 14.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 681 | 49 | 13.9:1 | 79% (537) |
| 2023-24 | 707 | 54.2 | 13.1:1 | 78% (550) |
| 2022-23 | 789 | 63 | 12.5:1 | 78% (615) |
| 2020-21 | 884 | 61 | 14.5:1 | 73% (647) |
| 2017-18 | 1,070 | 68.2 | 15.7:1 | 77% (822) |
| 2015-16 | 1,203 | 70 | 17.2:1 | 75% (903) |
| 2010-11 | 1,125 | 58 | 19.4:1 | 66% (746) |
| 2000-01 | 1,660 | 88 | 18.9:1 | 32% (538) |
| 1990-91 | 1,243 | 95 | 13.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for John F Kennedy High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 36% (1,070 to 681); teachers down 28% (68.2 to 49).
About John F Kennedy High School
Among the schools in DENVER, Colorado, is John F Kennedy High School, a mid-sized high school. Its grade span covers grades 9 through 12, with 681 students on the rolls.
The district, Denver Public Schools, operates 198 schools serving 90,471 students.
More than half of enrollment at John F Kennedy High School is Hispanic: 76%. Other groups include 11% White, 7% Asian, 3% Black, and 2% multiracial. The county population is about 28% Hispanic. The diversity index for John F Kennedy High School is 40%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Based on 49 full-time-equivalent teachers, John F Kennedy High School has a ratio of 13.9:1. The average for high schools in Colorado, 16.9:1, is higher. Income data for the school show 79% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Denver County is 63%.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 18.9% at John F Kennedy High School; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 11.4%.
The school is in Denver County, where the median household earns about $94,718 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 57% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. Across Denver County, 206 public schools serve about 91,233 students.
Traylor Academy is about 0.3 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, John F Kennedy High School places 6th out of 6 schools in its immediate area.
For locale, NCES codes John F Kennedy High School as City: Large.
Federal enrollment counts fell from 884 (2020-21) to 681 (2024-25).
Use the discussion section to ask about homework, tutoring, and testing dates at John F Kennedy High School. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Denver County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
718,877
Census ACS
Median income
$94,718
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
57%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
206
91,233 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Denver Public Schools
- East High SchoolHigh · 2,476 students
- Northfield High SchoolHigh · 2,137 students
- South High SchoolHigh · 1,950 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,653 students
- Thomas Jefferson High SchoolHigh · 1,390 students
- McAuliffe International SchoolMiddle · 1,329 students
Other schools in DENVER
- East High SchoolHigh · 2,476 students
- Northfield High SchoolHigh · 2,137 students
- South High SchoolHigh · 1,950 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,653 students
- Thomas Jefferson High SchoolHigh · 1,390 students
- McAuliffe International SchoolMiddle · 1,329 students
Other John F Kennedy High schools
5 other US public schools in 6 states are named John F Kennedy High. John F Kennedy High School is the 4th largest of the 6.
- John F Kennedy High SchoolCedar Rapids, IA · 1,648 students
- JOHN F KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOLBELLMORE, NY · 1,089 students
- John F Kennedy High SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 998 students
- John F Kennedy High SchoolCleveland, OH · 652 students
- John F Kennedy High SchoolMt Angel, OR · 223 students
Nearby schools
- Traylor Academy0.3 mi · 300
- Bear Valley International School0.5 mi · 313
- Addenbrooke Classical Academy1.0 mi · 191
- Sabin World School1.2 mi · 559
- Summit Academy1.3 mi · 236
- Addenbrooke Classical Grammar School1.3 mi · 774
Frequently asked questions
About John F Kennedy High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at John F Kennedy High School?
John F Kennedy High School enrolls approximately 681 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does John F Kennedy High School serve?
John F Kennedy High School serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at John F Kennedy High School?
Approximately 13.9:1 students per teacher at John F Kennedy High School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at John F Kennedy High School?
At John F Kennedy High School, the student body is approximately 11% White, 76% Hispanic, 3% Black, 7% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is John F Kennedy High School public or private?
John F Kennedy High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Denver Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.