John F. Kennedy High School (New York City)
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John F. Kennedy High School is a former four-year comprehensive
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
public high school, located at 99 Terrace View Avenue along the border of the Spuyten Duyvil section of
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
and the Marble Hill neighborhood of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, near the
Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the ab ...
section of the Bronx. The building currently operates as John F. Kennedy Educational Campus, housing four small public high schools and two charter high schools. The campus serves grades 9–12 and is operated by the
New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...
. JFK High school is known as one of the most successful Public Schools Athletic programs in New York City. The male sports teams' mascot is the Knight and the female's is the Flame. The school has won 37
Public Schools Athletic League The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...
championships as of 2011, including titles in basketball, football, volleyball, gymnastics, and track and field. Notable alumni include American politicians, hip-hop legends, and professional sport stars.


Location

John F. Kennedy Campus is located along the north–south border of the Bronx and Manhattan, the eastern half of the campus within Marble Hill, and the western half in Spuyten Duyvil, with the Hudson Line of the Metro-North Railroad and
Spuyten Duyvil Creek Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from t ...
to the south. Marble Hill is politically and legally part of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, but geographically within
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. The school was built as part of an "educational park" along with PS/MS 37 and In-Tech Academy (MS/HS 368) to the north. The high school building was built to serve 4,000 students and is eight-stories high, but is depressed from the surrounding neighborhoods in the former creek riverbed. Entrance to the building is via a pedestrian bridge at the fourth floor, leading east to Terrace View Avenue in Marble Hill. A second bridge on the west side of the school to Spuyten Duyvil was originally planned, but never built. The other access point is at West 230th Street and Tibbett Avenue at the north end of the park, leading to a first floor entrance. The building features a large 22,000-volume library, several gymnasiums, and numerous
industrial arts Industrial arts is an educational program that features the fabrication of objects in wood or metal using a variety of hand, power, or machine tools. Industrial Arts are commonly referred to as Technology Education. It may include small engine re ...
shops. The building also features several escalators and elevator banks. The roof of the school features solar panels, which provide five percent of the structure's electricity. Several
portable building A portable, demountable or transportable building is a building designed and built to be movable rather than permanently located. Smaller version of portable buildings are also known as portable cabins. Portable cabins are prefabricated structu ...
s are located at the north end of the building, used for security offices and extra classrooms. At the south end of the campus near the shore is the athletic complex, featuring a football field circumscribed by a running track, a baseball field, and eight tennis courts. The football field was originally AstroTurf, but now consists of modern artificial turf. The baseball field is dirt and grass. The campus is served by the Marble Hill–225th Street subway station, and the Marble Hill Metro-North station, both located at West 225th Street and the foot of the Broadway Bridge. The school is also served by the and bus routes, which run along either Broadway or West 231st Street near the campus.


History

Prior to the 20th Century, the site of John F. Kennedy High School was part of the course of
Spuyten Duyvil Creek Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from t ...
which separated Manhattan and the Bronx, while Marble Hill was geographically part of Manhattan. Tibbett Avenue was originally the right-of-way of
Tibbetts Brook Tibbetts Brook, originally Tippett's Brook or Tibbitt's Brook, is a stream in the southern portion of mainland New York, flowing north to south from the city of Yonkers in Westchester County into the borough of the Bronx within New York City. Or ...
, which merged with the creek at approximately West 230th Street. In 1895, the
Harlem River Ship Canal Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from t ...
was dug between Marble Hill and the rest of Manhattan, and in 1914 the original creek routing was filled in. The land was later used as a freight spur called Kingsbridge Yard by the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
, as part of the
Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad was a railroad built in what is today the West Bronx and South Bronx in New York City, United States. It ran from the junction between the West Side Line and the Hudson River Railroad near Spuyten Duyvil ...
. In the mid-1960s, the city proposed to construct John F. Kennedy High School, Harry S. Truman High School, Herbert H. Lehman High School and Adlai E. Stevenson High School in eastern Bronx, South Shore High School in Brooklyn, and
August Martin High School August Martin High School is a New York City public high school located in South Jamaica, Queens, at 156-10 Baisley Boulevard. The school focuses on aviation (students can obtain their pilot's certification while studying there) and other voc ...
in Queens. Both Kennedy and Truman High Schools were planned as "educational parks", containing multiple schools in park settings, and integrating students from multiple areas and backgrounds to stave off
de facto segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internat ...
within the school system. The Kennedy park would include two middle schools and other academic institutions including a planetarium, museum, and weather station, as well as a community center. The high school and park were named after President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
, who resided in nearby Riverdale during his youth. The school was designed to serve students in the Northwest Bronx and Upper Manhattan, relieving overcrowding at
DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...
and George Washington High School. After several delays, the site was acquired by the city via condemnation in 1968, and construction began in 1969. The school opened on September 11, 1972, along with Lehman High School and
Tottenville High School Tottenville High School is located at 100 Luten Avenue, in Huguenot, Staten Island, New York. Tottenville H.S. is in Administrative District 31, and is operated by the New York City Department of Education. The school's principal is Gina Battista, ...
in Staten Island. The adjacent middle schools were completed at a later date. In April 1982, Kennedy formed a joint arts program called "Urban Arts" with the private-
Fieldston School Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), also referred to as Fieldston, is a private independent school in New York City. The school is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. The school serves approximately 1,700 students with 480 facult ...
in Riverdale. That year, a mural was created on the south side of the building facing the athletic fields. This mural has since been removed. Beginning in September 1982, Kennedy High School hosted the
Phoenix House Phoenix House is a nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization operating in ten states with 150 programs. Programs serve individuals, families, and communities affected by substance abuse and dependency. History Phoenix House was ...
academy to educate former drug addicts. By this time the high school was overcrowded, housing nearly 5,500 students. In 1985, Kennedy was among 72 city public high schools whose performance was considered deficient. By 1995, less than 25 percent of seniors at the school graduated. The school also suffered increasing crime and gang-related activity. In 2002, the school began utilizing
metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...
s following a fatal stabbing outside the school in August of that year. Beginning in fall 2002, smaller high schools were established within the JFK campus, co-existing with Kennedy High School. Marble Hill High School was opened in September 2002. The Bronx School of Law and Finance and Bronx Theatre High School were opened in September 2003. The Bronx School for Law & Finance was opened in September 2004. The enrollment of John F. Kennedy High School began shrinking in 2004 as the small schools grew, with a target cap of 2,500 students. Results from the 2010-11 NYC School Survey were abysmally low. Over half of students who took the survey reported that their peers did not respect teachers or other students; over 70 percent of teachers reported the same; meanwhile, the school became increasingly plagued by crime and poor academic results. In late 2010, the Department of Education decided to shut John F. Kennedy by eliminating one grade per year until it graduated its last class in 2014. Crucial to the decision to close the school was the DOE's assertion that the school was underperforming, earning an overall D on its 2009-10 progress report, with an F grade for student performance. According to the DOE, four-year graduation rate at Kennedy High School was 46%, as opposed to a 63% average for the city.Feeny, Michael
"John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx one of dozen schools Dept. of Ed has targeted for closure"
'' New York Daily News'' (December 6, 2010)
JFK High School graduated its final class in June 2014. In mid-2014, solar panels were installed on the roof of the building. On August 20, 2015, a gas explosion occurred at 8:10 pm, damaging the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors and injuring 3 workers who were at the time repairing the science lab on the sixth floor.


Sports

From 1972 to 2011, The Knights won 37 city championships in a variety of sports and PSAL divisions over 40 years, according to officials of the school’s athletic department. This includes 21 titles won by boys’ teams and 17 by girls and these numbers don’t include the several championship matches in which the Knights fell just short of a city title, or the hundreds of playoff games — quarter and semifinals — in which various Kennedy teams have competed. PSAL City Championships since 1972. * Boys Basketball - 2000, 2005 * Football - 1984, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2000 * Track & Field - 1978, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986 * Tennis - 1981, 2011 * Girls Volleyball - 2002, 2004, 2006


Current schools

Six specialty schools – four established in 2004 and two in 2011 – are co-located on the JFK campus: *Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy *Bronx School of Law and Finance * Bronx Theatre High School *Marble Hill High School for International Studies * New Visions Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science * New Visions Charter High School for the Humanities


Notable alumni

* Bronx Style Bob (born 1965), hip hop artist *
David Britton David Britton (18 February 1945 – 29 December 2020) was a British author, artist, and publisher. In the 1970s he founded ''Weird Fantasy'' and ''Crucified Toad'', a series of small press magazines of the speculative fiction and horror genres. ...
(born 1958), basketball player for Texas A&M University who was named MVP of the 1980 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament. *
Kid Capri David Anthony Love Jr. (born February 7, 1967) is an American DJ and rapper better known by his stage name Kid Capri. Early life Kid Capri's humble roots can be traced back to his parents' home in the Bronx, where ten year old David Antho ...
(born 1967), DJ and rapper know for his seven seasons of Def Comedy Jam. *
Angel Estrada Angel Estrada (born March 12, 1978 from Bronx, New York) is a former American football wide receiver and defensive back for the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. He played college football at West Virginia University. High school ...
(born 1978), American football wide receiver and defensive back * Stephfon Green (born 1989), American football running back who played for the Detroit Lions. * Dwight Hardy (born 1986), professional basketball player. *
Karamba Janneh Karamba Janneh (born October 10, 1989 in Banjul, The Gambia) is a Gambian footballer who currently plays for KidSuper Samba AC in the Eastern Premier Soccer League. Career Janneh made his debut for VSI Tampa Bay on 30 March 2013 against Phoen ...
(born 1989), Gambian footballer * Miguel Jimenez (born 1969), professional baseball player * Joseline Peña-Melnyk (born 1966), is an American politician who represents District 21 in the Maryland House of Delegates. *
Scott Stringer Scott M. Stringer (born April 29, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 44th New York City Comptroller. A Democrat, Stringer also previously served as a New York State Assemblyman, and as the 26th borough president of Manhattan. I ...
(born 1960), is an American politician serving as the 44th
New York City Comptroller The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...
.


References


External links


New York City Department of Education: John F. Kennedy High School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John F High School Public high schools in the Bronx Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx Monuments and memorials to John F. Kennedy in the United States Marble Hill, Manhattan