About Us
John F. Kennedy Elementary School is one of four elementary public schools within the Hastings School District. It is located on the eastern side of Hastings, Minnesota at the corner of 10th and Tyler Street. This site was formerly occupied by a nine hole golf course which now provides Kennedy Elementary with a beautiful setting and a wonderful playground. The playground provides the students with playground equipment, a blacktop area for kick ball, basketball, hopscotch, four-square, etc., softball fields and an area for track and field events. In the winter it becomes a wonderland with a hockey rink, recreational ice skating rink, hills for sliding and space for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.Enrollment at John F. Kennedy Elementary, Pinecrest Elementary, and Christa McAuliffe Elementary is based on attendance areas. In otherwards, the home address of the student determines which elementary school they will attend. These three schools are Grade 1 - 5 schools. Tilden Kindergarten Center houses all Early Childhood Special Education and Kindergarten students.John F. Kennedy Elementary is a grade 1-5 school with an enrollment of 575 students. The average class size in grades 1 is 27.6. At the present time, the average class size in grade 2 is 30. The average class size in the intermediate grades(3-5) is 28.8. The students are provided with a strong academic curriculum provided by our certified staff which includes: 20 classroom teachers,specialists in art, music, physical education and mediaspecial education staff in the areas of speech/language, learning disabilities, social work, DCD (Developmental Cognitive Delay) and Title 1 lead teacher.John F. Kennedy Elementary shares the services of a psychologist, an occupational therapist, a teacher of the hearing impaired, a teacher of the physically impaired, an adaptive physical education teacher, band instructor and orchestra instructor with other buildings in the district. When students qualify their education is also supported by Title 1 instructional *** stants or pupil support assistants(non-certified positions) in the classroom.There is a health service office at Kennedy Elementary which is open from 9:15 to 3:15 each day. It is staffed by a registered nurse.The mascot of John F. Kennedy Elementary School is the Kennedy Cougars, but perhaps, it should be Kennedy Kids as the students are always our first priority. It is our role to develop citizens who can live effectively and constructively in an ever changing democratic global society. To achieve this we will:Provide a challenging and enriched curriculum that encourages the development of the whole child.Present a multi-cultural, gender fair curriculum that reflects the diversity of our world.Encourage positive self-esteem and respect for others.Guide students towards life-long learning and inquiry by teaching them to think, reason, evaluate and live independently and responsibly. Foster education as a cooperative effort among students, teachers and community.