Our philosophy at Al Kennedy High School is that we strive to engage students in authentic, cooperative learning focused on connections between self, school, community and the world. With that in mind, we are proud to offer various programs to meet the different needs of our students.  We believe that students learn best in an environment where there is a positive relationship with teachers and other adults.  In addition to core academic, elective and vocational subjects, students who attend KHS have the opportunity to participate in our Advisory support classes and hands-on learning experiences and field trips.

It’s important that our students feel they have a choice in their education.  When a student joins our community, they go through our multi-step intake process to help identify their academic and social needs. During their time at Al Kennedy we work with students, and their families, to develop their own unique path towards graduation. 

At Kennedy, we recognize that every student is unique. Some excel in traditional learning environments, while others struggle. Different learning styles require differentiated instructional approaches. Therefore, we have created two different programs to best fit the needs of our students:

Cohort Program:

In cohorts, students benefit from small class sizes and experience a collaborative learning environment across interdisciplinary classrooms. Throughout the day, groups of students move through different classrooms together while using the themes of sustainability and equity to gain and demonstrate academic skills. Subjects include: Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Health, and Career Technical Education. Cohort teachers focus on students' individual academic and social needs in pursuit of their high school, transitional, and career goals. 

While cohort lessons take place within a classroom, our teachers utilize many resources to expand learning to the outside world. Many field trips at Kennedy focus on agriculture and the environment, and those real world experiences are incorporated into all our classes.

GED:

GED stands for General Educational Development. It is a series of four tests that measure people's achievement in four major areas of high school education. When people pass all 4 GED tests and receive a GED certificate, it indicates they have knowledge and skills equivalent to high school graduates.

At Kennedy, students enroll in the GED program and are expected to be in school 3 hours per day, five times per week. Students are given official practice tests to determine their ability to pass tests. Students, then, work to increase their skills and pass all four tests. All of the tests must be administered at an official testing site; however, the fees are paid by the school.