The bulletin board for America's public schools. Parents, teachers, students, and staff. One community per school.
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·KANKAKEE SD 111·NCES 172076005569

John Kennedy Middle Grade School

1550 W Calista St, Kankakee, IL 60901 · (815) 933-0764 · Kankakee County
GRADES 02–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL519 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 16% of Illinois public elementary schools
  • DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
  • ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.

Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public elementary schools

Enrollment
519
Elementary
DISTRICT 343 · STATE 381
Student : Teacher
19.7:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.5:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
92%
478 students
DISTRICT 90% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 2285%
Grade 3448%
Grade 415530%
Grade 516732%
Grade 612424%
Grade 1210%
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 69% · US 70%
White
8116%
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 45% · US 43%
Hispanic
17634%
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 29% · US 30%
Black
23645%
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 16% · US 15%
Asian
20%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 6% · US 6%
Two+
245%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 5% · US 5%
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
Male
24347%
Female
27653%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
John Kennedy Middle Grade School→Kankakee Junior High School→Kankakee High School
Based on grade levels within Kankakee SD 111. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

Discussions

+ POST

Test scores

IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)
English Language Arts
18.6%
IL avg 51.0% . +6.1pp since 2023
Math
12.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +6.2pp since 2023

What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 19 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 12 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.

IAR + ISA results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2518.6%12.2%
2023-2412.5%6.0%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
17.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
18.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.2pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 17% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 18% 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 →

Schools most like John Kennedy Middle Grade School

John Kennedy Middle Grade School's state test result (17.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
John Kennedy Middle Grade School this school51992.1%17.1%
Annie Jo Gordon Comm Lrning Cntr
Peoria
54292.3%12.9%
Beyer Early Childhood Center
Rockford
49789.5%N/A
Laraway School
Joliet
43390.8%32.1%
King Middle Grade School
Kankakee
38594.3%25.0%
Lewis Lemon Elementary
Rockford
37891.8%5.6%
Matched among Illinois elementary 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 Kennedy Middle Grade School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn IllinoisIn Kankakee County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
17.1%#1,694 of 1,925#14 of 17
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
12.2%#1,826 of 2,077
▼ 10
#15 of 18
▼ 1
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
18.6%#1,954 of 2,077
▼ 99
#15 of 18
▼ 1
Enrollment
ranked largest first
519#476 of 2,419#3 of 22
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
19.7:1#1,982 of 2,035#17 of 19
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
65.2%#349 of 2,042#5 of 19
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
92.1%#230 of 2,132#5 of 21
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-3.9%#1,258 of 1,461#13 of 15
Ranked against other public elementary 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 2024-25
Enrollment
519
+50 (+11%) vs 2020
-35% since 2000-01, when it was 794
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2551926.419.7:192% (478)
2023-2451523.422.0:193% (479)
2022-235433117.5:192% (497)
2020-21469N/AN/AN/A
2017-1854036.414.8:168% (369)
2015-166183915.8:176% (471)
2010-116563817.3:187% (573)
2000-017944019.9:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for John Kennedy Middle Grade School.

Since 2017-18: students down 4% (540 to 519); teachers down 27% (36.4 to 26.4).

About John Kennedy Middle Grade School

John Kennedy Middle Grade School is a medium-sized elementary school in Illinois, with an address in Kankakee. Students in grades 2 through 6 attend the school, which enrolls 519 students. The average among elementary schools in Illinois is roughly 381 students; this school is 36% above that.

District-wide, Kankakee SD 111 has 10 schools and 4,602 students.

At John Kennedy Middle Grade School, the largest share of students is Black, at 45%. Next come 34% Hispanic, 16% White, and 5% multiracial. The county population is about 14% Black. The school's diversity index is 65%, meaning two students picked at random have a 65% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.

The teaching staff at John Kennedy Middle Grade School is 26.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 19.7:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. About 92% of students, or 478, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The rate at public schools in Kankakee County averages 61%, lower than here.

Measured against Illinois public elementary schools, John Kennedy Middle Grade School receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.

BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For John Kennedy Middle Grade School, the prediction is 18.3% and the result is 17.1%.

John Kennedy Middle Grade School is located in Kankakee County, where the median household income is $71,281, about 21% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 9%. Besides John Kennedy Middle Grade School, Kankakee County has 43 other public schools.

The school nearest to John Kennedy Middle Grade School is Taft Primary School, at a distance of about 0.2 miles. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. By average proficiency, John Kennedy Middle Grade School is 5th among 8 schools close by.

John Kennedy Middle Grade School is coded as City: Small in federal locale data.

Enrollment climbed 11% from its 2020-21 level of 469.

Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at John Kennedy Middle Grade School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.

Kankakee County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
106,635
Census ACS
Median income
$71,281
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
44
16,499 students

Quick facts

School name
John Kennedy Middle Grade School
District
Kankakee SD 111
Address
1550 W Calista St, Kankakee, IL 60901
Phone
(815) 933-0764
County
Kankakee County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
02–06
Total enrollment
519
Teachers (FTE)
26
Student–teacher ratio
19.7:1
Free and reduced lunch
478 (92%)
Locale
13-City: Small
NCES ID
172076005569
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Kankakee SD 111
Other schools in Kankakee
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About John Kennedy Middle Grade School
How large is John Kennedy Middle Grade School?
John Kennedy Middle Grade School enrolls approximately 519 students in grades 02-06.
What age range does John Kennedy Middle Grade School serve?
John Kennedy Middle Grade School serves students from grade 02 through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at John Kennedy Middle Grade School?
Approximately 19.7:1 students per teacher at John Kennedy Middle Grade School.
What is the student diversity at John Kennedy Middle Grade School?
Student demographics at John Kennedy Middle Grade School are roughly 16% White, 34% Hispanic, 45% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is John Kennedy Middle Grade School in?
John Kennedy Middle Grade School is part of Kankakee SD 111.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
+ Post