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Kennedy John F Elementary School

Q: Is Kennedy John F Elementary School a good school?

Kennedy John F Elementary School ranks 538 th of 899 Massachusetts elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-6

538^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 899 Massachusetts Elementary Schools

Better than 40% of Massachusetts elementary schools

Summary

Kennedy John F Elementary School is a PK–6 Boston Public Schools elementary school in Jamaica Plain, MA, serving 399 students — a mid-sized school in its local cluster. The Boston district as a whole ranks 299th of 351 Massachusetts districts, but Kennedy's own standing is higher: in 2025–2026 it ranked 538th of 899 schools statewide, at the 40th percentile with 2 stars. Its history shows real improvement — from the 6th percentile in 2017–2018 to roughly the 38th–41st percentile since 2022–2023 — though it has plateaued short of the state average.

On the 2025–2026 MCAS Next Generation tests, Kennedy beat Boston in all three subjects but came in below Massachusetts in all three: 34.41% proficient in English language arts (vs. Boston's 29.41% and the state's 40.03%), 37.10% in math (vs. 29.12% and 41.11%), and 37.50% in science (vs. 24.94% and 40.98%). Results vary a lot by grade. Third-grade math was a standout at 46.15%, above both Boston and the state, while 5th-grade ELA was the weakest spot at 27.50%, below both. Math in grades 4–6 and 5th-grade science were above Boston but below the state.

Locally, Kennedy is middle-of-the-pack. It is far stronger than Hennigan Elementary School, Ellis Elementary School, Tobin K-8 School, and Trotter Elementary School, but below Hale Elementary School and Hernandez Elementary School, and comparable to Mendell Elementary School and Bridge Boston Charter School depending on subject. Curley K-8 School ranks higher overall, but its 7th- and 8th-grade scores drag down its all-grade numbers, so it isn't a clean comparison. Among student groups, special education and English learner results sit near the middle statewide, while low-income student results dipped. Kennedy's student-teacher ratio of 13.6 is higher than most nearby schools, yet it outperforms several higher-spending neighbors. Note that free/reduced-lunch data is missing here and should be treated as unknown, not zero.

399

Students ?

13.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$31,343

Per pupil spending ?

71.2%

Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?

All students in Massachusetts receive free school meals.

93%

Kindergartners with all required immunizations (2025-26)

Exemptions: 0% (any vaccine)

7 Bolster Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

(617) 635-8127

District: Boston

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

58.9%

African American:

16.5%

White:

16.3%

See top rated Massachusetts elementary schools

Compare Kennedy John F Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 33rd percentile in 2016 → 40th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 7 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school36%

District avg29%

Massachusetts avg41%

538^th of 899

Massachusetts public elementary schools ?

Bottom 40%▲ up 7 pts since 2016

From bottom 33% (2016) to bottom 40% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Massachusetts Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

21^st of 63Elementary Schools in the Boston

299^th of 351Boston among Massachusetts 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	39.9	538 of 899	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	41.6	534 of 906	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.5	570 of 916	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.8	576 of 928	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.8	748 of 932	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.5	754 of 936	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.4	776 of 942	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	8.9	882 of 934	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	20.1	783 of 938	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	38.3	620 of 932	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2015	47.6	524 of 914	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2014	43.9	579 of 926	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	26.0	731 of 928	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	24.9	725 of 930	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	28.6	703 of 924	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	11.1	839 of 920	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	5.5	877 of 909	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	5.7	871 of 908	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	3.4	894 of 911	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	5.5	881 of 911	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	6.8	846 of 887	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	8.6	817 of 882	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2003	3.6	859 of 884	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2021	55.9	52 of 166	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	49.3	81 of 172	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.0	92 of 174	47.1%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2022	41.4	354 of 672	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	44.2	314 of 632	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	46.4	316 of 665	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	30.7	471 of 656	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	43.0	135 of 291	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	40.8	152 of 281	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.0	147 of 282	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	42.6	125 of 264	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	61.5	46 of 267	82.8%	★★★★☆
2021	55.2	48 of 240	80.0%	★★★★☆
2019	52.6	79 of 258	69.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	29.3	186 of 244	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	33.4	570 of 869	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	30.0	619 of 869	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.4	616 of 886	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.3	614 of 887	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.0	719 of 901	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.6	689 of 898	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.7	760 of 902	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.4	820 of 893	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	39.1	286 of 475	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	50.4	194 of 458	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	51.5	169 of 446	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	58.9	121 of 420	71.2%	★★★★☆
2022	42.2	204 of 401	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	40.2	200 of 379	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	50.5	180 of 398	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	27.5	302 of 379	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	33.4	18 of 23	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	30.6	565 of 742	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	38.1	473 of 736	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.9	458 of 760	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	44.2	431 of 757	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.7	600 of 772	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.7	510 of 705	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.0	450 of 700	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	26.3	576 of 685	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	50.0	437 of 879	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	53.4	405 of 884	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	48.1	466 of 891	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.8	478 of 896	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.0	721 of 908	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.7	746 of 904	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.1	737 of 907	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	8.3	860 of 898	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	46.7	331 of 709	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	44.1	347 of 717	51.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	44.2	359 of 731	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	54.0	262 of 703	62.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	26.8	715 of 905	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.3	669 of 894	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.9	619 of 896	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	22.3	784 of 886	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Tested In Person

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2021	18.8	751 of 925	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Tested Remotely

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2021	35.4	236 of 399	40.9%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	95.1	7 of 737	99.1%	★★★★★

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)

White (2025)99th percentile+58 vs school

African American (2021)69th percentile+49 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)54th percentile+13 vs school

Special Education (2026)53rd percentile+13 vs school

Male (2026)50th percentile+10 vs school

Disabled (2022)47th percentile+28 vs school

Tested Remotely (2021)41st percentile+21 vs school

Hispanic (2026)40th percentile~ school

Female (2026)34th percentile-6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)24th percentile-16 vs school

Homeless (2025)22nd percentile-19 vs school

Tested In Person (2021)19th percentile~ school

By subject vs Massachusetts (2025-2026) ?

Science38%-3 vs state

Mathematics37%-4 vs state

English Language Arts34%-6 vs state

4.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Saturday, May 21, 2016

The John F. kennedy is the first STEM Elementary School in Massachusetts. They are using the Engineering Design Process (EDP) to teach students thinking skills and problem solving in all subjects. They started implementing hands on activities tied through literature in primary grades. I am very happy with the school. Close Quote

Schools Near Kennedy John F Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts (2026)							MCAS Next Generation Mathematics (2026)							MCAS Next Generation Science (2026)			MCAS Next Generation Civics (2026)	Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Directly certified (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Science 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Civics 8th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Total
Kennedy John F Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	7 Bolster Street	Jamaica Plain	02130	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8127	399	29	13.6	71.2%	65 (16.3%)	66 (16.5%)	235 (58.9%)	11 (2.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.3%)	39.9	538^th of 899 public elementary schools	40.2%		41.6	534^th of 906 public elementary schools	41.1%	4	35.3	34.7	27.5	39.1			34.4	46.2	33.3	30.0	37.0			37.1	37.5		37.5		93%	0%	$31,343
Hennigan Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	200 Heath Street	Jamaica Plain	02130	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8264	472	50	9.4	91.9%	14 (3.0%)	129 (27.3%)	307 (65.0%)	9 (1.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	11 (2.3%)	5.1	882^nd of 899 public elementary schools	1.9%		5.4	890^th of 906 public elementary schools	1.8%	8	0.0	9.6	7.0	8.7			6.4	4.4	5.8	2.3	14.9			6.9	11.6		11.6		81%	3%	$34,544
Mendell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	164 School Street	Roxbury	02119	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8234	309	29	10.4	58.3%	77 (24.9%)	80 (25.9%)	114 (36.9%)	12 (3.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (7.8%)	49.6	460^th of 899 public elementary schools	48.8%		41.8	532^nd of 906 public elementary schools	41.3%	72	60.0	26.2	32.4	52.9			42.5	50.0	32.6	35.1	47.1			40.9	35.1		35.1				$32,752
Curley K-8 School	Public	PK, KG-8	493 Centre St.	Jamaica Plain	02130	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8176	902	113	7.9	52.0%	283 (31.4%)	158 (17.5%)	354 (39.2%)	41 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	65 (7.2%)	53.6	416^th of 899 public elementary schools	53.7%		49.9	453^rd of 906 public elementary schools	50.0%	37	51.7	43.0	38.1	41.7	6.6	6.1	32.7	42.2	44.2	38.7	46.3	5.2	6.4	32.4	40.4	2.8	25.1	5.1	98%	1%	$36,836
Hernandez Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	61 School Street	Roxbury	02119	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8187	372	27	13.8	64.0%	56 (15.1%)	11 (3.0%)	292 (78.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.5%)	57.4	375^th of 899 public elementary schools	58.3%		29.3	641^st of 906 public elementary schools	29.2%	266	68.2	25.0	51.3	41.2			46.6	61.4	31.8	51.3	35.3			45.3	43.6		43.6		97%	0%	$32,356
Ellis Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	302 Walnut Avenue	Roxbury	02119	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8257	391	31	12.4	92.6%	14 (3.6%)	111 (28.4%)	256 (65.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.3%)	7.9	864^th of 899 public elementary schools	3.9%		7.2	873^rd of 906 public elementary schools	3.6%	9	15.1	18.4	12.1	11.4			14.5	9.3	10.2	11.8	13.6			11.1	8.8		8.8		78%	0%	$36,446
Higginson Inclusion K0-2 School	Public	PK, KG-2	160 Harrishof Street	Roxbury	02119	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8247	154	18	8.7	90.9%	5 (3.2%)	45 (29.2%)	96 (62.3%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.5%)								(n/a)																			86%	0%	$37,038
Hale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	51 Cedar Street	Roxbury	02119	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8205	162	15	10.6	45.7%	24 (14.8%)	80 (49.4%)	33 (20.4%)	11 (6.8%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (8.0%)	75.9	214^th of 899 public elementary schools	76.2%		62.6	342^nd of 906 public elementary schools	62.3%	128	65.2	59.1	55.0	43.5			55.7	52.2	72.7	55.0	52.2			58.0	50.0		50.0				$32,936
Tobin K-8 School	Public	PK, KG-8	40 Smith St	Roxbury	02120	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8393	364	38	9.6	89.3%	17 (4.7%)	86 (23.6%)	230 (63.2%)	22 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.5%)	14	793^rd of 899 public elementary schools	11.8%		11	840^th of 906 public elementary schools	7.3%	47	15.8	4.3	32.3	16.7	13.5	5.7	13.7	26.3	6.4	12.9	39.1	2.7	2.9	13.3	6.3	5.7	6.0	2.9			$35,130
Trotter Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	135 Humboldt Avenue	Dorchester	02121	Suffolk County	Boston	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 635-8225	352	33	10.7	86.9%	10 (2.8%)	175 (49.7%)	143 (40.6%)	6 (1.7%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	15 (4.3%)	12.2	818^th of 899 public elementary schools	9.0%		14.2	796^th of 906 public elementary schools	12.1%	22	9.8	6.5	21.2	41.4			17.5	12.2	10.9	6.1	13.8			10.7	21.2		21.2		96%	0%	$37,313

Frequently Asked Questions about Kennedy John F Elementary School

What district is Kennedy John F Elementary School in?

Boston

How many students attend Kennedy John F Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 399 students attended Kennedy John F Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Kennedy John F Elementary School?

Students at Kennedy John F Elementary School are 59% Hispanic, 17% African American, 16% White, 5% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Kennedy John F Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Kennedy John F Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Higginson-Lewis K-8 School
Middle : Ohrenberger School
High : Albert D Holland School of Technology
High : Another Course To College
High : Boston Adult Technical Academy
High : Boston Arts Academy
High : Boston Day and Evening Academy Charter School
High : Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter School
High : Boston International High School & Newcomers Academy
High : Boston Latin Academy
High : Boston Latin School
High : Brighton High School
High : Charlestown High School
High : Community Academy
High : Community Academy of Science and Health
High : Dearborn STEM Academy
High : East Boston High School
High : Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers: A Horace Mann
High : English High School
High : Excel High School
High : Fenway High School
High : Greater Egleston High School
High : Lyon High School
High : Madison Park Technical Vocational High School
High : Margarita Muniz Academy
High : New Mission High School
High : O'Bryant School of Math & Science
High : Quincy Upper School
High : Ruth Batson Academy
High : Snowden International High School
High : TechBoston Academy
Alternative : Carter School

Is Kennedy John F Elementary School a good school?

Kennedy John F Elementary School ranks 538^th of 899 Massachusetts elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Kennedy John F Elementary School!

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Latest Massachusetts data All new data »

2013–14 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 20, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesMar 5, 2026

2024–25 MCAS Next Generation test scoresSep 29, 2025

2023–24 school spending dataMay 8, 2025

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