| John F. Kennedy High School | |
| Motto: | "Home of the Commanders" |
| Type: | Public high school |
| District: | Denver Public Schools |
| Grades: | 9-12 |
| Principal: | Tiffany Almon |
| Faculty: | 70.5 (on FTE basis)[1] |
| Ratio: | 17 |
| Enrollment: | 1,070 |
| Enrollment As Of: | 2018-19 |
| Ceeb: | 060418 |
| Athletics: | 5A |
| Conference: | Denver League[2] |
| Colors: | Navy blue and kelly green |
| Mascot: | Commanders |
| Campus Type: | Suburban |
| Free Label: | Educational program |
| Free Text: | International Baccalaureate[3] |
| Address: | 2855 S. Lamar Street |
| City: | Denver, Colorado |
| Zipcode: | 80227 |
| Country: | USA |
| Coordinates: | 39.6645°N -105.0673°W |
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.
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.
80.1% of Kennedy students are eligible for a free/reduced lunch rate.[4]
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.
Kennedy offers many after-school sports:
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]
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 (Kennedy's International Baccalaureate Parent's Association) is the parent support group for IB students and teachers.