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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at John F Kennedy Middle Sch?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
912
Middle
DISTRICT 787 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PLAINFIELD SD 202·NCES 173174005974
John F Kennedy Middle School
12350 Essington Rd, Plainfield, IL 60585 · (815) 439-8024 · Will County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL912 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
60 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
321 students
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 56%
Community
4
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 296 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 313 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 303 | 33% |
Student demographics
75%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · STATE 69% · 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
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
65.1%
IL avg 51.0% . +5.5pp since 2023
Math
41.5%
IL avg 37.9% . +6.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 65.1% | 41.5% |
| 2023-24 | 59.6% | 34.9% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
54.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.2%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% typical for Illinois 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 Illinois'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 →
Where John F Kennedy Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.7% | #144 of 578 | #21 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.5% | #219 of 640 | #24 of 44 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.1% | #237 of 640 | #31 of 44 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 912 | #42 of 691 | #5 of 44 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.2:1 | #463 of 558 | #36 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 74.9% | #5 of 560 | #1 of 44 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -19.9% | #103 of 440 | #12 of 36 |
Ranked against other public middle 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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
912
-227 (-20%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
was 17.9:1
% White
36%
was 44%
% Hispanic
25%
was 25%
% Black
17%
was 14%
% Asian
15%
was 12%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 912 | 60 | 15.2:1 | 35% (321) |
| 2023-24 | 935 | 59 | 15.8:1 | 35% (329) |
| 2022-23 | 906 | 57.6 | 15.7:1 | 35% (316) |
| 2017-18 | 1,139 | 63.5 | 17.9:1 | 26% (296) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for John F Kennedy Middle School.
About John F Kennedy Middle School
John F Kennedy Middle School is a middle school in Plainfield, Illinois, according to federal school records. Grades offered run from 6 through 8, with 912 students enrolled. The average among middle schools in Illinois is roughly 462 students; this school is 97% bigger than that.
Plainfield SD 202 oversees John F Kennedy Middle School and 29 other schools, with 24,556 students in total.
Federal enrollment data show White students as the largest group at John F Kennedy Middle School, at 36%. Enrollment also includes 25% Hispanic, 17% Black, 15% Asian, and 6% multiracial. Among people living in Will County, the White share is about 62%. The school's diversity index is 75%, meaning two students picked at random have a 75% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.2:1 at John F Kennedy Middle School, with 60 full-time-equivalent teachers. On average, middle schools in Illinois have 13.0:1, compared with 15.2:1 here. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 35% of enrollment. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Will County is 44%.
John F Kennedy Middle School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 54.7% is 3.5 points above the 51.2% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Will County has these Census figures: the median household income is $109,984, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 38%, and about 6% of people live in poverty. In all, Will County has 209 public schools and roughly 113,008 students.
Elizabeth Eichelberger Elementary School is the closest public school, about 0.1 miles away in a straight line. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of John F Kennedy Middle School. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, John F Kennedy Middle School ranks 6th on average proficiency.
Its location is classified as Suburb: Large by the National Center for Education Statistics.
John F Kennedy Middle School's enrollment dropped from 1,139 in 2017-18 to 912 in 2024-25. The largest shift in the student mix was in the White share, which fell from 44% to 36%. In 2017-18, the student-to-teacher ratio was 17.9:1; by 2024-25 it was 15.2:1.
Posts about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Will County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
701,462
Census ACS
Median income
$109,984
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
209
113,008 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Plainfield SD 202
- Plainfield North High SchoolHigh · 2,399 students
- Plainfield South High SchoolHigh · 2,323 students
- Plainfield East High SchoolHigh · 1,825 students
- Plainfield High SchoolHigh · 1,800 students
- Timber Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 885 students
- Richard Ira Jones Middle SchoolMiddle · 851 students
Other schools in Plainfield
- Plainfield North High SchoolHigh · 2,399 students
- Plainfield South High SchoolHigh · 2,323 students
- Plainfield East High SchoolHigh · 1,825 students
- Plainfield High SchoolHigh · 1,800 students
- Timber Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 885 students
- Troy Middle SchoolMiddle · 881 students
Nearby schools
- Elizabeth Eichelberger Elementary School0.1 mi · 548
- Plainfield East High School0.6 mi · 1,825
- Liberty Elementary School0.7 mi · 522
- V Blanche Graham Elementary1.9 mi · 325
- Creekside Elementary School2.0 mi · 472
- Lakewood Falls Elementary School2.1 mi · 543
Frequently asked questions
About John F Kennedy Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at John F Kennedy Middle School?
John F Kennedy Middle School enrolls approximately 912 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does John F Kennedy Middle School serve?
John F Kennedy Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at John F Kennedy Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at John F Kennedy Middle School is approximately 15.2:1 (60 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at John F Kennedy Middle School?
Student demographics at John F Kennedy Middle School are roughly 36% White, 25% Hispanic, 17% Black, 15% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is John F Kennedy Middle School in?
John F Kennedy Middle School is part of Plainfield SD 202.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.