John F. Kennedy High School

How to Enroll at John F. Kennedy High School

John F. Kennedy High School enrolls students by Anaheim Union High School District attendance area, bounded by Houston Street to the north, Knott Avenue (between Crescent and Houston) to the east, Lincoln Avenue to the south and the Los Angeles/Orange County line to the west. Students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam; families can call the school to verify an address.

The school's Attendance Boundaries page states that John F. Kennedy High School is currently closed to students who live outside the district. Under Anaheim Union High School District Board Policy 8536, an out-of-district student must first be approved by the district of residence and then reviewed by Anaheim Union High School District; permitted reasons are continuing at the school, having a sibling there, being the child of a district employee, having a parent who works within district boundaries, and seeking a specific instructional program at the school, and space as well as satisfactory grades, credits, attendance and behavior are required. Inter-district permits are valid for one school year, and the district does not provide transportation.

Anaheim Union High School District residents who want to attend Kennedy for the KITE:AI pathway must submit an intra-district transfer request in Aeries, selecting "Priority 2: Parent Request" as the transfer type, and also complete the KITE application. The IB page lists 8th grade parent information meetings in January 2026; the school website does not list an IB application deadline or entrance exam.

Courses and Signature Programs at John F. Kennedy High School

In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, John F. Kennedy High School has 159 approved courses, including 17 AP courses, 27 IB courses and 57 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB)

IB is the curriculum of the International Baccalaureate Organization. At John F. Kennedy High School the IB program runs in grades 11 and 12, with Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the Extended Essay (EE) and Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) as core requirements. Students must reach at least Pre-Calculus by the end of grade 12 and complete four years (or level 4) of a second language.

IB Course Offerings

IB courses include English Literature HL, Spanish and Korean at SL and HL, French SL, History of the Americas HL, Psychology SL and HL, Biology SL, Physics HL, Mathematics at SL and HL, Film SL and HL, and Computer Science SL and HL.

Kennedy Institute of Technology and Engineering (KITE:AI)

KITE:AI is the school's project-based STEM exclusive pathway, with Fabrication, Engineering, and Computer Science & AI strands covering CAD design, CNC tooling, welding, C++ programming, electronics and robotics, full-stack application development and game development. Students can begin with Engineering at Walker Junior High, and enrollment requires the KITE application.

Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathways

According to the 2024-25 SARC, the school offers ten career pathways in industry sectors including Arts, Media and Entertainment; Education, Child Development and Family Services; Business and Finance; Health Science and Medical Technology; Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation; Information and Communication Technologies; Marketing, Sales and Service; Entrepreneurship and Innovation; and Public Services.

Cypress College Dual Enrollment

Students can take free Cypress College dual enrollment courses for college credit in pathways such as Business, Cybersecurity, Music, Dance, Culinary Arts and UC-CSU Transfer. The application has three online steps: the Cypress College general application, the Dual Enrollment Special Admit Form with required signatures, and registration in MyGateway after approval; seats are limited and filled first-come, first-served.

Academic Results at John F. Kennedy High School: CAASPP and Graduation

In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 73.5% of John F. Kennedy High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 39.8% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 99.6% of the 493 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 63.3% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.

Twelve Years of UC Application Data at John F. Kennedy High School: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA

The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 268 of 415 applications from John F. Kennedy High School to the UC system were admitted (65%). Categories with fewer than five students are not published by UC and appear as "—", not zero.

Campuses are listed in order of the U.S. News national university rankings. UC leaves a category blank when it has fewer than five applicants or fewer than three admits or enrollees.

Student Body at John F. Kennedy High School

In 2025-26, 59.1% of John F. Kennedy High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 5.7% were English learners.

• Hispanic or Latino46.5%
• Asian19%
• White13.5%
• Filipino11.4%
• Two or more races4.4%
• African American3.3%

Other Public High Schools in La Palma

John F. Kennedy High School is the only public high school listed for La Palma.

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