John Kennedy Elementary School

2135 Woodland Drive

Dubuque, IA 52002

School District

Dubuque Community
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Dubuque Community School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on July 09, 2016

Great energy in this school. Much thought goes in to the programs. All schools need to remember that these are not THEIR kids, they're OURS. Parents are their "customers", so we need to be assertive about what our children need and then follow through.
Submitted by parent on April 03, 2015

If you are the parent of a special needs child stay far away from Kennedy. Principal sees you as trouble. He is pompous and disrespectful to kids and parents, and quite frankly should be terminated. If you have a perfect child, you can likely get a pretty good education at Kennedy, but differentiate a little from the norm and you will hate this school. Stay away from Kennedy as long as the Administration is in place.
Submitted by parent on April 27, 2012

It's not just Kennedy, it's a LOT of Dubuque's Public schools. We are moving to another State & the choice wasn't a hard one when we seen how Dubuque Schools are run. We came back to Dubuque after being gone a few years and I was horrified when my then 3rd grader had to "repeat Math that he did the previous year in another State BECAUSE, " Dubuque school isn't doing that " INSTEAD of keeping him going, they "dummied him down" he lost interest in Math, which was his favorite subject but when a child has to repeat what's he's already learned b/c the rest of the class isn't there, it's not education. Also, I agree with the poster from April 4th 2012, if your child is Bullied and you stand up, there's more to come. we have had problems with 2 Teachers, 2 different schools, and the principals did NOTHING about it. When a Teacher calls a child names in front of classmates, that's grounds for immediate termination ! Especially when other kids start using those words towards your child. Dubuque's School are FAR from what the used to be :(
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2012

Our experience with Kennedy has soiled the ideas I once held about public schools. I had been a big believer in the school system and a great supporter of public education. After 3 years of attendance, I have grown more and more disgusted with the way things are handled. Kennedy can be a great school... if your child is not special, unique, or different in any way. If your child has any kind of special needs or quirks about them, this is not the place for you. If your child is bullied and are brave enough to report it, they will be shamed and blamed for being picked on. If your child needs extra help, they will be shamed and made to feel "less than" by both the teachers, principal, and counselor. I will say we had one teacher in our time with Kennedy that was amazing. She made that year livable. However, as a whole, the school is flawed greatly in the way complications are dealt with. Parental involvement is high, and the school itself is in a lovely area and is well kept. Its simply the administrative staff and some teaching staff that have ruined a once-amazing school.
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2012

I attended Kennedy as a child and had good memories of the school, so I moved my family to the area the summer before my daughter started Kindergarten. I don't know what has happened over the years, but what we have dealt with is far from what I remember. We are now moving out of the area specifically to get away from this school. Highly disappointed.