Summary
John F. Kennedy High is a public high school serving grades 9–12 in Richmond, in West Contra Costa Unified, with 740 students. In 2025–2026, chronic absenteeism was 55.9%, compared with 34.3% in the district and 18.3% statewide; graduation was 76.2%, versus 89.1% in the district and 87.9% statewide. These attendance and completion figures make chronic absenteeism and graduation the school’s most pressing concerns.
Of the three tested subjects, English language arts is the school’s strongest relative to nearby schools: it ranked fourth of eight with current results, while math ranked fifth and science was second-lowest. Still, John F. Kennedy High scored below the nearby-school averages in all three: 14% in ELA, 23% in math, and 10% in science, compared with averages of 45%, 30%, and 32%. It was also below the district by 20, 5, and 14 percentage points, respectively, and below the state by 35, 16, and 26 points. Math is the closest to district and state results; science is the clearest weakness against nearby schools.
Math proficiency has improved, rising 18 percentage points from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, while ELA fell 7 points; science rose 5 points from 2023–2024. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking improved from the 13th percentile in 2024–2025 to the 25th in 2025–2026, but the school still has 1 star and ranks fifth among eight nearby schools with a current rating. Its 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio was 19.2, below the nearby average of 22.3. In 2024–2025, 59.9% of students were reported as free/reduced lunch eligible, compared with a 70.9% nearby average. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile for Special Education Students was 60 in 2025–2026, above the school’s overall percentile of 25—a notable difference in the ranking measure of how well the school serves this group.
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