John F Kennedy Elementary School

Located at 2900 NORWOOD AVENUE, in SOUTH PLAINFIELD, New Jersey, John F Kennedy Elementary School is a small elementary school that teaches 256 students (grades K through 4), run under South Plainfield School District. Enrollment runs roughly 37% smaller than the state mean of about 405.

Within South Plainfield School District, which oversees 9 schools and 3,767 students, John F Kennedy Elementary School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, John F Kennedy Elementary School reports that the most-represented group is White (44%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school reports 29% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 7% Black, 4% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school currently runs with 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 9.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 11.4:1 average. An estimated 27% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is below Middlesex County's rate of about 42%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, John F Kennedy Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 51.4%, the actual is 46.3%, a residual of -5.1 points.

Across the wider county, census data for Middlesex County shows median household income runs about $111,549, roughly 46% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Middlesex County runs 214 public schools (combined enrollment of about 129,255 students), of which John F Kennedy Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Riley Preschool Annex, around 0.6 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), John F Kennedy Elementary School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 48.3%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 6%: 273 students in 2018 compared to 256 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 56% to 44% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 11.1:1 in 2018 to 9.4:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.