John F. Kennedy High School (Iowa)

Kennedy High School is a public high school located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kennedy was founded in 1967. The building was dedicated by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, younger brother of the school's namesake President John F. Kennedy.^{[citation needed]} The school's athletic teams are known as the Cougars. It is a part of the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

Cedar Rapids-Kennedy High School
Address
4545 Wenig Rd NE Cedar Rapids , Iowa United States
Information
Type	Public
Established	1967; 56 years ago (1967)
School district	Cedar Rapids Community School District
Principal	Jason Kline
Teaching staff	94.86 (on an FTE basis)^[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,790 (2019–20)^[1]
Student to teacher ratio	18.87^[1]
Color(s)
Mascot	Cougs
Affiliation	Mississippi Valley Conference
Website	kennedy.crschools.us

In addition to portions of Cedar Rapids, Kennedy High's boundary includes:^[2] Hiawatha,^[3] Palo,^[4] and most of Robins.^[5]

Academics

Kennedy offers 32 Advanced Placement classes, including five world language courses AP Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.^[6] In 2019 Kennedy placed sixth on the Iowa AP Index, a ranking system developed by the University of Iowa's Belin-Blank Center.^[7] The Iowa AP Index recognizes AP participation among public and private high schools in Iowa.

Athletics

The Kennedy Cougars compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference in the following sports:^[8]

• Cross Country
• Volleyball
  • 1979 State Champions^[9]
• Football
• Basketball
  • Boys' 2-time State Champions (1972, 1984)^[10]
• Wrestling
• Swimming
  • Boys' 1981 State Champions^[11]
  • Girls' 2-time State Champions (1978, 1981)^[9]
• Track and Field
• Golf
  • Boys' 1991 State Champions^[12]
  • Coed 1974 State Champions^[9]
• Soccer
  • Girls' 3-time State Champions^[9]
• Softball
• Baseball
  • 2010 Class 4A State Champions^[13]
• Tennis
  • Boys' 2008 Class 2A State Champions^[14]
  • Girls' 1990 Class 2A State Champions^[9]
• Bowling
• Dance Team
  • 2 time State Champions (2001 lyrical, 2002 jazz)

The Cougars have won five consecutive Cedar Rapids Men's All-Sports Titles. The Cougars won the Girls State Soccer Championship in 2012 after upsetting top-ranked Ankeny in the finals.^[15]

Performing Arts

Kennedy varsity show choir is named Happiness, Inc. The first show choir west of the Mississippi, Happiness was named "America's Favorite Show Choir" by Parade Magazine in 2011.^[16] Happiness placed first in FAME National Show Choir Championship in 2003 ^[17] and at the 2012 Show Choir Nationals in Nashville, Tennessee.^[18] Kennedy's prep show choir is known as Protégé, and the all female show choir is known as Chanteurs, with each winning multiple awards for their divisions at several competitions over the years.^{[citation needed]} Kennedy's band participated in the Chicago 2006 Heritage Festival.

Notable alumni

• Salvatore Giunta - United States Army, veteran of the War in Afghanistan, and the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War^[19]
• Shawn Sedlacek, former MLB player (Kansas City Royals)^[20]

See also

• List of memorials to John F. Kennedy
• List of high schools in Iowa

Notes

1. "John F Kennedy High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
2. (PDF). Cedar Rapids Community School District. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
3. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Hiawatha city, IA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
4. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Palo city, IA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
5. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Robins city, IA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
6. . John F. Kennedy High School. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
7. "The 2019 Iowa AP Index". Belin-Blank Center. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
8. "Mississippi Valley Conference". Mississippi Valley Conference. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
9. "Cedar Rapids Kennedy". Iowa High School Sports. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
10. "2020 State Tournament Stat Book Basketball" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
11. "2020 Swimming Stat Book" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
12. "2019-2020 Golf Stat Book" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
13. "2020 IHSAA Baseball State Tournament Stat Book" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
14. "2020 IHSAA Tennis State Book" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
15. Birch, Tommy. "State girls' soccer: Kennedy stuns Ankeny in Class 3-A final". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 6 July 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
16. "America's Favorite Show Choir". Parade Magazine. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
17. "Past Show Choir National Champions". FAME Productions. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
18. "2012 Show Choir Nationals Results". Show Choir Nationals. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
19. Love, Orlan (1 May 2012). "Medal of Honor winner presents scholarship to Kennedy senior". The Gazette. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
20. "Shawn Sedlacek Statistics and History". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 21 April 2014.

External links

• Kennedy High School Homepage

42°1′29″N 91°40′51″W / 42.02472°N 91.68083°W / 42.02472; -91.68083