Kennedy Middle School (Cupertino, California)

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Sports field of Kennedy with the Regnart neighborhood as the backdrop

The John F. Kennedy Middle School (KMS) is a middle school located in Cupertino, California which educates grades six through eight, and feeds nearby Monta Vista High School. Its Principal is Russ Ottey and the school mascot is the cougar. Kennedy Middle School is part of the Cupertino Union School District. Founded in 1963 as Kennedy Junior High School, it was the first school to be named after President John F. Kennedy. The CUSD school board had passed a resolution to name the new school after the victor of the 1960 presidential election before the close election between Kennedy and Nixon had taken place. Orginially composed of the seventh and eight grades, Kennedy extended to the sixth grade in Fall 1998 and was renamed Kennedy Middle School in Fall 1999. It was visited by Trenton Lee Stewart, author of The Mysterious Benedict Society, when he talked about his book and signed it.

Kennedy, like other schools in the district, is known for its high academic ratings. In the 2004-2005 school year, Kennedy was placed first in the school district for its high API score. It is consistently ranked among top 10% of middle schools in California based on the Academic Performance Index (API). It is a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School. Kennedy is not afraid of being surpassed by the new intellectually challenged school of the Cupertino School District, Lawson. Kennedy tried its best to score high in the API ranking and was very successful.Lawson has just barely surpassed Miller Middle School and wishfully hopes to surpass Kennedy in the Standardized Testing And Reporting (STAR) test.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Michael Chang, tennis player
• Daniel Puder, wrestler and martial artist

[edit] External links

• Official site of Kennedy Middle School