John F. Kennedy High School

Posted: October 2, 2025

I am currently a student here at Kennedy I will say that they really do have good programs, good teachers, and overall they have really good programs and classes to take here. MOST of the teachers are nice some of them get to annoyed easily and that's why students get frustrated. The students overall are very lazy and don't like to do their work, they prefer being with the crowd etc. This school does help with non English students and that's very helpful. I think this school is pretty good tbh everything is good its just the students making it difficult to learn, that's why I think they should be more stricter especially with freshman! Many students are inmature and I think that could be fixed if the school actually put more work into it. But overall its a really good school, the staff are very motivational and want you to succeed. I think life would be easier if staff/teachers would separate the students to do want to succeed and the students who are paying attention/class clowns so the environment can be easier and so teachers know which students to focus on if that makes sense.

Posted: October 2, 2025

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Posted: January 30, 2023

I currently attend Kennedy as a Junior. This school would be way greater than it is if it weren't for the individual students themselves. Teachers here actually care about what they do, it's just that some students don't try. There are amazing things in this school like the IB programs, AP classes, Health Professions, Teacher Academy, Broadcasting, and NJROTC. All of these programs are open to anyone to join, it's just that people don't take the initiative to try. Recently in our school, there has been a surge in overdoses and we (the students), believe the administrator system hasn't been doing as well as they could have been. The security also seems to not try. They befriend students who are notorious for doing drugs and getting into fights. There seem to be only two security guards who care about doing their best for the school. About sports in this school, we do take sports seriously, but some sports don't have recognition. Most of the time, no one goes to girls' sports games unless it's girls' volleyball. Being in a team really opens you up to new friendships and I would definitely recommend it.

Other than the fighting and drug issues we have in this school, the school would be a great place to be

Posted: January 30, 2023

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Posted: January 12, 2023

Terrible just straight terrible, they don’t do anything about the people that fight, they let people get jumped and don’t do anything to fix it, they let people get away with it, this school isn’t safe at all i was forced out because of the students and they have known since i first moved here but they were okay with it.

Posted: January 12, 2023

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Posted: May 7, 2021

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Posted: May 7, 2021

JFK is a great school for kids to learn and grow as young people. This school has a number of programs that students can join like the healthcare professions, NJROTC, and a ton of International Baccalaureate classes! I would definitely send my child to this school. In a recent survey, students shared why they loved Kennedy High School - more than 20% said because of the academic program choices, and almost 30% said because of the amazing teachers and staff that they have. Here's a quote: "Kennedy makes me feel safe and welcomed, I don’t have to worry about being segregated and left out on opportunities...I was struggling with bullying in my previous school but I don’t have to worry about that in Kennedy. I also enjoy that Kennedy takes the time to understand student’s situation and the programs available to us for free which I highly appreciate..."

Posted: November 19, 2020

It's an OK school. I've been going to Kennedy for 3 years now. The teachers put forth their best efforts to help a student succeed, but what the majority of students show is lack of compassion and motivation at this school. I want to say less than 20% of the students here at JFK HS try and do their best, the rest typically don't care or aren't too worried about succeeding or getting good grades. The resources are there, we just don't use them. A lot of bad behavior typically happens around here, there's fights every year, a few teachers let their emotions get the best of them. These past 2 years the Football Field was flooded and not usable, meaning schools can't compete AT Kennedy unless it was a sport like Baseball or Lacrosse. It has some poor moments, but overall this school is Ok.

Posted: November 19, 2020

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Posted: April 16, 2020

Graduated in 2009 and the students and teachers at this school helped me shape who I was. That being said, I'm not sure how the school is now but what I will say is there are good and bad students, sometimes teacher, at every school. The school did a good job at providing the resources but it's up to the students to use them and to figure out their own goals.

Posted: April 16, 2020

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Posted: May 25, 2019

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Posted: May 25, 2019

There are wide demographic differences at the school which are handled quite well. There are also great special advanced programs at the school, which include IB program, Medical Professional Curriculum, Media Professional Curriculum, JNROTC, etc.

Posted: May 28, 2018

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Posted: May 28, 2018

JFK is a great school despite its negative reputation which is falsely propagated by uninformed outsiders.

Posted: February 8, 2017

All of the courses that I wanted to take are the courses that this school does not offer. Basically saying, Kennedy sucks.

Posted: February 8, 2017

Posted: February 8, 2017

This school is full of bullies. I see people getting violated almost every week, and the scary thing is, that the teachers do nothing to try and prevent it.

Posted: February 8, 2017

When I was in my freshman year, the school "Decided" to wrongfully diagnose me with ADHD. Meanwhile, I have never had any problems with paying attention. Now, thanks to Kennedy , I have to live with the discriminative label, and I do not receive anything from the school because of this that does not hurt me in some way.

Posted: February 8, 2017

This school, in comparison to the schools around it, has no diversity. It is almost all Hispanic and African-American, and the only thing that I have learned about respect, is that my school does not respect it's students very well at all.

Posted: February 8, 2017

The teachers at Kennedy simply care about earning money. Not one teacher has ever put more than 25% effort into his/her work.

Posted: February 8, 2017

At this school, homework is given simply so that we can fulfill the "Homework" section in our class grades. It does nothing for us students except give us one more thing to worry about.

Posted: August 26, 2016

Posted: August 26, 2016

Posted: August 26, 2016

Posted: August 26, 2016

I am currently attending JFK high school and have been for the last three years, a chunk of students who don't care about school and don't try at all bring down the test scores and the general reputation of the school, but if you are a hard working student who is motivated the staff will support, work with and encourage you. You will get as much as you put in, if you actively become a part of the school through AP/IB/Honors classes, sports teams, after-school clubs and other extracurricular activities you will prosper here. Overall I have had a great experience at my years at Kennedy and don't regret coming to the school in the least, I met some really amazing teachers and friends who have shaped my future and will continue to inspire me through my life.

Posted: July 20, 2016

Extreme lack of diversity, no help from parents of many students in the community, a negligent security team(like really, not worth keeping at all(not all, but a few)), and a administration who for the love of God will not push a math, science, and engineering heavy curriculum( no ap comp sci, no principals of engineering, etc).

But, Kennedy does have many programs for those pursuing art degrees, Those pursuing careers in medical field, and those pursuing degrees/careers related to social science.......

I truly believe you can do extremely well at Kennedy if want to. And along the way teachers will see that motivation and respect you for it.

My advice:
Find a group where you're always learning and always contributing. Each friend of yours should be smarter than you in some way.

Or be a loner, read a ton and challenge yourself both inside and outside of school(best choice).



My advice for student interested in math/hard sciences/engineering: take as many ap/ib math classes as possible, take Mr.argyros' engineering class(extremely important), and take Ib Chem and physics....concurrently, You should be taking Classes at Montgomery college, Umd, or online(programming( I recommend Java and C) thermodynamics, math(repeats or higher level), etc). Or, you should be reading and rereading A TON. Also, you should be actively looking for employment opportunities and internships in the field you're pursuing.

P.s the only languages you should be trying to learn right now are computer languages.


Adios amigos

Posted: July 20, 2016

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Posted: January 31, 2015

John F Kennedy has horrible reputation. I transferred to this school this year and I love it. The school has a comforting atmosphere, I get along with almost everybody. The rumors are FALSE, There aren't many druggies or bullies. The school is small so everybody knows each other. Please do not judge this school as bad as the rumors say. If you spend a day here, you'll fall in the JFK titan spirit!

Posted: December 14, 2013

John F. Kennedy is a great school by a former student and current student (Me and my sister, who is a kennedy alumni). Kennedy has programs that force you to push your boundaries. For an example LTI (Leadership Training Institute) and IB (International Baccalaureate) these programs allow students to have the tools to become successful. Nonetheless the most important part in a child's education is parents involvement. When its lacking the teachers play an active supportive role to those students that seem motivated and focused. Like any other schools there are cliques. As a former student at a primarily while school I can honestly say there is more mobility and less bullying. The key to a great high school experience is a mix of extracurricular activities, great program involvement, and a good parent/teacher involvement this could found at kennedy. But everyone has to work hard to succeed in life. Alumni's from '06 have graduated from Princeton, Harvard and this includes 2 medical doctors. It sadden me to read that the school is full of drugs because this is a reflection of the parents not the school its self. If parent involvement is greater then the school would be different.

Posted: August 30, 2013

i think this school lacks diversity. there all black and Hispanic kids and no white kids. overall they lack diversity and if your white get excluded due to race.

Posted: August 2, 2012

As a former student of Kennedy (class of 2011) , I do have to say that a large number of students are subpar academically, and that there is a serious lack of motivation from students as a whole. This is evident in Kennedy's test scores when compared to the rest of the county's. There were a lot of wannabe-thug types, but you really become dismissive of them when you settle into your own niche. That being said, I had a great time at Kennedy when I was there. My teachers pushed me to do well academically, and I got accepted into the college of my choice. I felt well prepared when I got to college, and have had no problems keeping up academically with peers from other, more prestigious schools in the county. Kennedy's ECs were also fun, and often headed by motivated faculty interested in helping students. Yes, I'm sure some teachers were ineffective, and the administration seemed weak and downright ineffective sometimes (in handling fights, etc), but if you are bright, motivated, and looking for college preparation, Kennedy is a solid place to be. Don't regret it at all.

Posted: June 27, 2011

I graduated in the class of 2008 and while I excelled at Kenendy I certinaly wasn't pushed to go above and beyond academically. I did find though that if I put in the work the teachers were supportive. I found a place in the student goverment, LTI and College Institue. These programs all made my time amazing, but if you don't get invovled in things it can be a lot harder.