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John F Kennedy High School

Public Grades 9-12
300th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 328 Colorado High Schools
Better than 9% of Colorado high schools
Summary

John F Kennedy High School is a public high school in Denver, Colorado, serving 707 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the School District No. 1, which is ranked 76 out of 115 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

John F Kennedy High School consistently ranks in the bottom 25% of Colorado high schools, with low academic performance on standardized tests that is significantly below district and state averages. For example, in 2024-2025, only 11.5% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in CMAS/Science, compared to 19.2% for the district and 25% for the state. The school also struggles with a lower-than-average graduation rate of 80-84% and a higher-than-average dropout rate of 2-4%. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with around 77-78% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and a concerning chronic absenteeism rate ranging from 27.7% to 58.3%.

While the challenges faced by John F Kennedy High School are not unique, as many nearby schools such as DSST: College View High School, Bear Creek High School, and Addenbrooke Classical Academy also struggle with academic performance, graduation rates, and socioeconomic factors, the data suggests that targeted interventions and support may be necessary to improve student outcomes at John F Kennedy High School.

681
Students ?
13.8
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,887
Per pupil spending ?
78.9%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 2855 South Lamar Street
       Denver, CO  80227-3809

(720) 423-4300

District: School District No. 1


Feeder schools for John F Kennedy High School:

Elementary:    Doull Elementary School
    Force Elementary School
    Grant Ranch Ece-8 School
    Gust Elementary School
    More...
Middle:    Bear Valley International School
    Rocky Mountain Prep Federal
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
76.1%
White:
10.7%
Asian:
7.2%
more
 See top rated Colorado high schools

 Compare John F Kennedy High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Rebounding — 2nd percentile in 2021 → 9th in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is rebounding — up to 9th (2025) from a 2nd-percentile low (2021)
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Colorado average (23% vs 47% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (61% vs 28% Colorado)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school23%
District avg41%
Colorado avg47%
300th of 328
Colorado public high schools ?
Bottom 9%▼ down 15 pts since 2015
From bottom 24% (2015) to bottom 9% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Colorado High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
23rd of 30High Schools in the School District No. 1
76th of 115School District No. 1 among Colorado districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202511.1300 of 3288.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.6311 of 34910.9%★☆☆☆☆
202312.2306 of 34912.3%★☆☆☆☆
20221.8216 of 2212.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20212.3206 of 2101.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.5318 of 41122.6%★☆☆☆☆
201817.5305 of 38821.4%★☆☆☆☆
201716.4212 of 25617.2%★☆☆☆☆
201610.3241 of 2555.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201524.1222 of 29224.0%★☆☆☆☆
201426.3281 of 36923.8%★☆☆☆☆
201322.9265 of 34924.1%★☆☆☆☆
201219.3267 of 33420.1%★☆☆☆☆
201126.3255 of 33724.3%★☆☆☆☆
201026.7247 of 32724.5%★☆☆☆☆
200926.6241 of 31022.3%★☆☆☆☆
200819.0249 of 30117.3%★☆☆☆☆
200711.6264 of 29811.4%★☆☆☆☆
200613.1255 of 28610.8%★☆☆☆☆
20059.1254 of 2809.3%☆☆☆☆☆
200412.8251 of 27910.0%★☆☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
20259.637 of 4314.0%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202444.718 of 3650.0%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
20257.8235 of 2474.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.7230 of 25710.5%★☆☆☆☆
202310.9230 of 2549.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20228.9230 of 25710.5%★☆☆☆☆
202110.6215 of 23910.0%★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
20210.2116 of 1181.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202511.9174 of 1877.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202412.4179 of 19910.1%★☆☆☆☆
202317.6167 of 19815.7%★☆☆☆☆
202212.5187 of 2058.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202116.6158 of 18112.7%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202516.4177 of 1948.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202417.9180 of 21114.7%★☆☆☆☆
202322.4165 of 20017.5%★☆☆☆☆
202220.6171 of 20315.8%★☆☆☆☆
202130.1138 of 18826.6%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202513.1217 of 24611.8%★☆☆☆☆
202411.9226 of 25611.7%★☆☆☆☆
202310.7226 of 25210.3%★☆☆☆☆
20228.9229 of 2539.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202110.6211 of 24012.1%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
20248.9211 of 2297.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.4226 of 2343.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20226.5217 of 2284.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20217.3209 of 2257.1%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
English Language Learner (2024)50th percentile+39 vs school
Asian (2025)14th percentile+5 vs school
Male (2025)12th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)9th percentile~ school
White (2024)8th percentile-3 vs school
Hispanic (2025)7th percentile~ school
Female (2025)5th percentile-4 vs school
Gifted and Talented (2021)2nd percentile~ school
By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?
Reading and Writing39%-26 vs state
Mathematics14%-24 vs state
Science12%-14 vs state

1.0
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What people are saying
by a citizen
Friday, April 30, 2010

Open Quote John F Kennedy has made some minor improvements over the last few years. It has implemented several higher education programs such as IB and Avid. Sadly the morals and ethics of students within the school have declined over the years. The name John F Kennedy stands for something completely different than what is portrayed by the student body at this school. What happened to honesty, integrity, pride, morals and ethics? This is something that the staff really BOASTS about during student orientations right? Maybe that is something just to get the enrollment numbers up to get that good old funding from Uncle Sam. As a citizen in the area I have found it disheartening to see how much toxicity has been bred in the school. Students tagging on the walls inside and outside the school, homes in the neighborhood being vandalized, theft of high priced items from student lockers, theft of money from athletic fundraisers....need you hear more? I don't know what is more frustrating, the fact that the school has this "wonderful" security system with security cameras, school resource officers, and deans that administer discipline. Wow with all that money going out for this where is the security really at? Could it be in the steady paycheck that comes home at the end of the month? To make a long story short...your child can succeed at Kennedy with a lot of parental guidance and involvement, just make sure to send them to school looking like they are from a very low income family so those whom the staff deem as "less fortunate" will find someone else to steal from and prey on. Less fortunate individuals would be those whose parents did not take the time to teach them morals, ethics,values, honor, integrity, and self worth.
Sincerely,
Disappointed tax payer who sees where our future is headed. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about John F Kennedy High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 681 students attended John F Kennedy High School.

John F Kennedy High School ranks in the bottom 8.5% of Colorado high schools.

Students at John F Kennedy High School are 76% Hispanic, 11% White, 7% Asian, 3% African American, 2% Two or more races.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Colorado Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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