John F. Kennedy High School (Paterson, New Jersey)
Encyclopedia
John F. Kennedy High School (or Kennedy High School) is a four-year public high school
in Paterson
, New Jersey
, United States, that serves the western section of Paterson. Kennedy High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Paterson Public Schools
. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Secondary Schools since 1928.
In 2011, the school was changed to theme schools, as part of a goal to give students a better choice in areas they wanted to pursue, with four smaller academies operating within the high school.
As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,035 students and 234 classroom teachers (on an FTE
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.70.
The school was the 290th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly
magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 314th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 306th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.
of various Latin American nationalities, 34% Black, 7% White American
, and 5% Asian
. 35% of the school speaks Spanish
in their homes, 3% speak Bengali
, 2% speak Arabic, 2% speak Turkish
, 0.2% speak Italian and 0.1% speak Albanian. There are also limited English proficient students or LEPs who compose 11% of the school. Limited English Proficient students cannot speak, read, or write in English. 50% of the students participate in the free or reduced price lunch program.
The average class size is 22 students, excluding special education
. The school's ratio of computers to students is 7 to 1 meanwhile the state average is 4 to 1.
Based on data from the 2010 New Jersey School Report Card
, on the Language Arts section of the High School Proficiency Assessment
(HSPA), 2010 graduates scored 43.3% proficient and 55.6% scored partial. On the Math section of the test, 28.5% scored proficient and 69.4% scored partial. The average SAT
score is 1139 out of 2400. The Advanced Placement (AP) participation rate is 4.6%. The average attendance rate is 87.2%. As of the 2010 school year, Kennedy High School had a suspension rate of 47%. 71.1% of John F. Kennedy High School seniors graduated. Roughly 20.0% of the graduating seniors planned to go on to four-year colleges and another 49.3% of the graduating seniors go on to two year colleges.
The student to faculty ratio is 7.3 to 1. The faculty gets paid $56,733 a year while the state average is $61,840. The administrators get paid $108,105 as the state average is $117,895.
The school is in a “special needs” or one of the Abbott District
s. The district receives 82% of its budget from the state and spends an average of $16,575 per pupil.
, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
. The school had previously participated in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
(NNJIL), an athletic conference consisting of public and private high schools located in Bergen County
and Passaic County
. The school has been classified as North I, Group IV by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
(NJSIAA).
The football team won the North I Group IV state sectional championships in 1987.
The girls basketball team won the 2001 North I, Group IV state sectional championship with a 61-50 win over Bayonne High School
in the tournament final.
School of Architecture and Construction Trades (ACT): Pedro Valdes (Director), Florita Cotto (Supervisor), Dewitt Evering (Vice Principal)
School of Business, Technology, Marketing & Finance (BTMF): Kyle Brunson (Director), Judith Rhodes (Supervisor), Sandra Martines-Preyor (Vice Principal)
School of Education and Training (SET): Mary Anne Perrotta (Director), Danyel Cicarelli (Supervisor), Burnie Bristow (Vice Principal)
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Sondra Muniskin (Director), Dante Petretti (Supervisor), Richard Hymson (Vice Principal)
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Paterson
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States, that serves the western section of Paterson. Kennedy High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Paterson Public Schools
Paterson Public Schools
The Paterson Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade from Paterson, New Jersey, United States...
. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...
Commission on Secondary Schools since 1928.
In 2011, the school was changed to theme schools, as part of a goal to give students a better choice in areas they wanted to pursue, with four smaller academies operating within the high school.
As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,035 students and 234 classroom teachers (on an FTE
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.70.
The school was the 290th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly is a monthly glossy publication featuring issues of possible interest to residents of the United States state of New Jersey...
magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 314th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 306th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.
Demographics and achievement
Kennedy High School is 54% HispanicHispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
of various Latin American nationalities, 34% Black, 7% White American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, and 5% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
. 35% of the school speaks Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in their homes, 3% speak Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, 2% speak Arabic, 2% speak Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, 0.2% speak Italian and 0.1% speak Albanian. There are also limited English proficient students or LEPs who compose 11% of the school. Limited English Proficient students cannot speak, read, or write in English. 50% of the students participate in the free or reduced price lunch program.
The average class size is 22 students, excluding special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
. The school's ratio of computers to students is 7 to 1 meanwhile the state average is 4 to 1.
Based on data from the 2010 New Jersey School Report Card
New Jersey School Report Card
The New Jersey School Report Card is an annual report produced each year by the New Jersey Department of Education for all school districts and schools in the U.S. state of New Jersey...
, on the Language Arts section of the High School Proficiency Assessment
High School Proficiency Assessment
The High School Proficiency Assessment is a standardized test administered by the New Jersey Department of Education to all New Jersey high school students in March of their junior year...
(HSPA), 2010 graduates scored 43.3% proficient and 55.6% scored partial. On the Math section of the test, 28.5% scored proficient and 69.4% scored partial. The average SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
score is 1139 out of 2400. The Advanced Placement (AP) participation rate is 4.6%. The average attendance rate is 87.2%. As of the 2010 school year, Kennedy High School had a suspension rate of 47%. 71.1% of John F. Kennedy High School seniors graduated. Roughly 20.0% of the graduating seniors planned to go on to four-year colleges and another 49.3% of the graduating seniors go on to two year colleges.
The student to faculty ratio is 7.3 to 1. The faculty gets paid $56,733 a year while the state average is $61,840. The administrators get paid $108,105 as the state average is $117,895.
The school is in a “special needs” or one of the Abbott District
Abbott District
Abbott districts are school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with New Jersey’s state constitution. They were created in 1985 as a result of the first ruling of Abbott v. Burke, a case filed by the Education Law...
s. The district receives 82% of its budget from the state and spends an average of $16,575 per pupil.
Athletics
The John F. Kennedy High School Knights compete in the Big North ConferenceBig North Conference
The Big North Conference is a high school athletic conference in New Jersey. It is one of six North Jersey "super athletic conferences" created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association in 2009...
, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.-State championships:...
. The school had previously participated in Division C of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League
The Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, abbreviated NNJIL, was a former athletic conference located in Bergen County, Passaic County and Essex County, New Jersey...
(NNJIL), an athletic conference consisting of public and private high schools located in Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
and Passaic County
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...
. The school has been classified as North I, Group IV by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.-State championships:...
(NJSIAA).
The football team won the North I Group IV state sectional championships in 1987.
The girls basketball team won the 2001 North I, Group IV state sectional championship with a 61-50 win over Bayonne High School
Bayonne High School
Bayonne High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey, operated by the Bayonne Board of Education....
in the tournament final.
Main administration
Core members of the school's administration are:- Amod Field (Operations)
- Kathi Kellet (Curriculum & Instruction)
Academy administration
The academy programs offered (with their administration listed) are:School of Architecture and Construction Trades (ACT): Pedro Valdes (Director), Florita Cotto (Supervisor), Dewitt Evering (Vice Principal)
School of Business, Technology, Marketing & Finance (BTMF): Kyle Brunson (Director), Judith Rhodes (Supervisor), Sandra Martines-Preyor (Vice Principal)
School of Education and Training (SET): Mary Anne Perrotta (Director), Danyel Cicarelli (Supervisor), Burnie Bristow (Vice Principal)
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Sondra Muniskin (Director), Dante Petretti (Supervisor), Richard Hymson (Vice Principal)
Notable alumni
- Eric DowningEric DowningEric Lamont Downing , is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League.-High school career:...
(born 1978), defensive tackle for the San Diego ChargersSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. - Devon McDonaldDevon McDonaldDevon Linton McDonald is a former professional American football player who played linebacker for three seasons for the Indianapolis Colts and one season for the Arizona Cardinals...
(born 1969), linebackerLinebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for the Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
and Arizona CardinalsArizona CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
External links
- School website
- Paterson School District
- GreatSchools.net: John F. Kennedy High School
- Data for the Paterson Public Schools, National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...