John F. Kennedy High School (Denver, Colorado)

John F. Kennedy High School (also known as "Kennedy" or "JFK") is a public secondary school located in the Bear Valley neighborhood on the southwest side of Denver, Colorado, United States. The school serves about 1,500 students in grades 9-12 in the Denver Public Schools system.

John F. Kennedy High School
Location
2855 S. Lamar Street
Denver, CO 80227

United States
Coordinates39.664468°N 105.067277°W / 39.664468; -105.067277
Information
TypePublic high school
Motto"Home of the Commanders"
Established1964
School districtDenver Public Schools
PrincipalTiffany Almon
Faculty70.5 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,070[2] (2018-19)
Student to teacher ratio17[1]
Campus typesuburban
Color(s)Navy blue and kelly green         
Athletics5A
Athletics conferenceDenver League[3]
MascotCommanders
Educational ProgramInternational Baccalaureate[4]
Websitejfk.dpsk12.org

When the school opened with the spring semester of the 1965 - 1966 school year, it served both grades 7 - 9 and grades 10-12. There was no junior high school in the area, so the new school was designed to accommodate both junior and senior high school students.

In 1974, a court ordered the almost 100% white school, along with the rest of Denver's school system, to begin desegregation busing. A large portion of the former attendance area was assigned to Lincoln High School (without buses) and students from other parts of Denver were assigned to Kennedy (with buses). The court-ordered busing was the start of the great white flight out of the Denver Public School System.

Demographics
  • Hispanic 77.4%
  • White 10.3%
  • African American 2.9%
  • Asian 7%
  • Multiple 1.4%
  • Native American <1% [2]
    • Not exactly 100% due to rounding.

80.1% of Kennedy students are eligible for a free/reduced lunch rate.[2]

International Baccalaureate Program

On December 11, 2007 Kennedy became the second high school in Denver to offer the two-year International Baccalaureate program, and is the only school in Denver to offer an authorized IB education for all grade levels.

Extracurricular activities

Sports

Kennedy offers many after-school sports:

  • Fall sports
    • Football
    • Softball
    • Golf, boys
    • Tennis, boys'
    • Volleyball
    • Cross country, boys' and girls'
    • Boys' soccer
    • Girls' gymnastics
    • Cheerleading
  • Winter sports
    • Basketball, boys' and girls'
    • Swimming, girls'
    • Wrestling, boys'
    • Cheerleading
  • Spring sports
    • Baseball
    • Swimming, boys'
    • Golf, girls'
    • Soccer, girls'
    • Tennis, girls'
    • Lacrosse, boys' and girls'
    • Track and field
    • In-line hockey, boys'
    • Cheerleading

Activities and clubs

Kennedy offers many after-school activities and clubs:

  • Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE)
  • Anime Club
  • Believe It Or Not I Care (BIONIC)
  • Book Club
  • Cheerleaders
  • Chess Club
  • Cultural Commanders Club
  • DECA
  • Destination Imagination
  • El Pomar Youth in Community Service (EPYCS)
  • Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
  • Fellowship of Christian Commanders (FCC)
  • Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
  • Key Club
  • Latin Dance
  • Link Leaders
  • Math, Engineering, Science Association (MESA)
  • Mock Trial
  • Model U.N.
  • Peer Counseling
  • Scrapbooking
  • Slam Poetry
  • Speech and Debate
  • Spring Break London Trip
  • Student Leadership (Student Council)
  • Weightlifting

Performing arts

Kennedy offers many performing arts avenues for students to follow:

  • Drama
  • Vocal
  • Instrumental music
    • Marching band
    • Jazz band
    • Orchestra
    • Concert band
  • Dance

Honorary societies

Students who excel academically are offered the opportunity to join one or more of these societies:

JROTC

The mission of the JROTC is to motivate young people to be better citizens. Students receive instruction in leadership theory and application, Foundations for Success, wellness, fitness and first aid, geography and earth science, citizenship, American history, firearm safety, and rifle marksmanship. Students are required to wear a uniform once a week. JROTC provides students with opportunities to be members of competitive drill and rifle teams and to achieve success in various levels of leadership positions within the program.

Teachers honored

The National Association of Biology Teachers, in conjunction with Prentice Hall and the Colorado Biology Teachers Association,[5] gave Kevin Lindauer the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award for Colorado for 2008.[6]

Parent support groups

Commander Connection

The mission of the Commander Connection, also known as the Commander Club, is to act as a support group, to enhance the academic, athletic, social and arts & science activities of the students at John F. Kennedy High School, and to promote school spirit & school pride. The Commander Connection provides volunteer support of student activities. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room at Kennedy High School.

KIBPA

KIBPA (Kennedy's International Baccalaureate Parent's Association) is the parent support group for IB students and teachers.

Notable alumni
  • Greg Jones - former NFL Linebacker
  • Tony Laubach - professional storm chaser featured on the Discovery Channel TV series Storm Chasers, National Geographic Channel TV special Into the Tornado, and Women's Entertainment TV series, Twister Sisters
  • Gabe Molina - former MLB player (Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals)
  • Dean Zupancic - Class of 1977 - Nominated for an Academy Award in Sound Mixing for his work on "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe". Dean has done extensive work with sound engineering on a myriad of motion pictures, and has been nominated for several awards during his illustrious career.[7]

References
  1. "John F Kennedy High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  2. http://media.dpsk12.org/enrollmentsnapshots/ES453.PDF
  3. "John F. Kennedy". Colorado High School Activities Association. Archived from the original on 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  4. "John F. Kennedy High School". International Baccalaureate Organization. Retrieved 2008-01-09. IB school code: 002488
  5. Colorado Biology Teachers Association
  6. "Kevin L. Lindauer Honored as Outstanding Biology Teacher for 2008" (PDF). Denver Public Schools. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  7. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0958711/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.