John F. Kennedy Middle College High School was founded in 2006 as an "Alternative School of Choice" in the Corona-Norco Unified School District. Built on the campus of Norco College, JFK students attend high school and college classes throughout the school day. JFK serves a regional population drawing students from counties including Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Los Angeles and is currently one of the largest middle college programs in the state.
The central purpose of JFK is to provide opportunities for “middle students” to access career, technical and collegiate pathways. At more traditional high schools these students were often overshadowed by higher achieving students or by those with greater needs. Often they were not engaged in their former schools which resulted in inconsistent effort, poor attendance, and suppressed achievement. Additionally, many of our students fall into categories generally perceived as being “under represented” among university bound students. Our approach in working with students is to identify gaps in their learning, effort and achievement. We then address identified gaps by prescribing curriculum, making classes relevant, providing appropriate rigor and building relationships.
Our program at JFK engages students in standards-based learning opportunities that they find relevant to their goals and meaningful to their lives now and in the future. Our constructivist approaches allow students to fully interact with their teachers and one another in and outside of class as they build their own meaning on the foundation of their previous learnings, life experiences, and unique talents. Consequently, students garner great respect for their teachers, seeing them as life coaches and facilitators of their learning. These relationships instill in students motivation and confidence in their abilities to do well both in their high school classes and those they take through the college. Further, the "college like" open campus environment permits students to function as college students which encourages them to behave more responsibly and adult like. The result is a high level of respect, trust and caring among students and staff.
To further facilitate student success we have implemented several programs to help assess, monitor, and assist students on their academic pathways. One such program is the Excel courses which provide high school and college guidance, assist in career and post-secondary options and provide a means for communication, accountability, student recognition and relationship building.
JFK Middle College provides a nurturing, academically rigorous environment for middle students to ensure high school completion and success in their careers, college and beyond. We are creating conscious contributors to society, one student at a time.