JFKS Fact Sheet
- Founded in 1960, the John F. Kennedy Schule is a bilingual, bicultural, German-American, college preparatory public school. German and U.S. students are taught together, with the goal of developing respect, tolerance and understanding for each other and their partner cultures.
- The John F. Kennedy School is a public school, operating under the auspices of the Berlin Senate Office of Education, Science and Research.
- The faculty has 160 full- and part-time members — 83 are German; 75 are U.S. citizens, and 2 are of other nationalities.
- School Enrollment (at the opening of 2009-10 school year) — 1,732 students (k-6= 826 and 7-13= 906). 958 students are German; 648 are American, and 126 are of other nationalities.
- JFKS was originally called “The German-American Community School,” and renamed soon after John Kennedy’s death in 1963.
- The two-semester school year usually extends from mid-August to early July.
- JFKS combines features of both the American and German educational systems. Instruction is in German and English, with English emphasized. The school accommodates U.S. children who move to Berlin with little or no knowledge of the German language.
- In addition to the traditional School Conference, JFKS has a ten-member Educational Directorate (ED), which functions as a U.S.-style “board of education” for the school. The ED includes representatives of the Berlin government, the U.S. Embassy and JFKS parents.
- American students learn German in formal, daily lessons, beginning in the third grade. As their proficiency in German increases, they participate in classes where the medium of instruction is bilingual German and English, or predominantly German.
- The Kennedy School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
- JFKS students can earn an American high-school diploma and/or the German abitur.
- Comprehensive Advanced Placement and Leistungskurse are offered.
- Elementary and high-school extracurricular activities are available. Musical and drama productions and drama productions are particularly strong features of the school’s program.
- Students may also become involved in various individual and team sports, in student government, and in yearbook, literary or newspaper publications. For older students, class trips are scheduled to Austria, England, France, Italy, and within Germany, depending on the particular grade level, and promote German-American integration among students.
- Enrollment: Enrollment at the opening of the 2009-2010 school year was 1,732 (K-6: 826 and 7-13: 906). Of the total, 648 were Americans, 958 were Germans and 126 were of other nationalities. The U.S. enrollment included 21 dependents of U.S. government direct-hire or contract employees.
- Facilities: Located in Zehlendorf, a residential area in the southwest of Berlin, the school's six buildings house an integrated elementary and high school. The school has 135 classrooms, 9 science labs, 2 library-media centers, 4 computer labs, modern sports facilities, an annex for fine arts and drama, and a cafeteria.
- JFKS admission is based on past school records and, where necessary, on testing. With certain exceptions, qualified American applicants are admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.
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