John F Kennedy School, Ogdensburg NY

Original Research by School Decision on John F Kennedy School

John F. Kennedy School sits on Park Street in Ogdensburg, a small river city at the New York-Canada border in St. Lawrence County. It is a public elementary school in the Ogdensburg City School District, currently enrolling pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, though that grade configuration is about to change in a meaningful way.

Starting in 2026-27, the district is reconfiguring its two elementary buildings. JFK will shift from a neighborhood K-6 school to a district-wide intermediate school serving grades 2 through 6, while the other elementary, Grant C. Madill, will become a primary school for pre-K through first grade. Assignment will no longer be based on a child's home address. This is a finalized structural decision, publicly reported by the district, driven by declining enrollment and budget pressures. Families with elementary-age children should understand that which building their child attends, and for which years, will look different going forward than it does today.

The school serves a mid-sized enrollment for its grade span. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the economic pressures present in Ogdensburg more broadly, a city where the cost of living runs well below the national average and the housing market is significantly more affordable than the New York state norm. Home values in the area are a fraction of the state median, and active listings have grown year over year, signaling a buyer's market. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

On the New York State Testing Program, proficiency results vary by grade and subject. Third-grade math is the strongest result in the data, with a majority of tested students reaching proficiency, and fifth-grade ELA and science also land above half. Fourth-grade ELA and math, and sixth-grade ELA, come in below half. Fifth-grade math is the weakest result across tested grades. Relative to districts in St. Lawrence County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the top quartile of that comparison set, meaning it performs above most of its county neighbors on this combined measure. That context matters: this is a county where, across many districts, proficiency rates are modest. Parents wanting to understand how students are tracking toward grade-level expectations may want to ask the school directly about supports in place for students not yet meeting proficiency, particularly in math as students move from third into fourth and fifth grade.

Chronic absenteeism and IEP data were not available in the data provided, which limits how completely one can assess attendance patterns and the school's special education infrastructure. English learner data was similarly not reported.

The district approved a capital project in early 2024 that includes specific upgrades at JFK: a new water system, roof replacement, and improved playground surfaces. The project is publicly reported as tax-neutral, with state reimbursement and capital reserves covering the cost. That work is underway or planned within the current multi-year timeline.

On the budget front, voters rejected the district's proposed 2026-27 budget in May 2026, sending it to a revote. If the budget fails again, the district would operate under a contingency budget, which would prohibit any tax-levy increase and create a meaningful funding gap with additional cuts to programs and staff. That outcome is not certain, but it is a live issue families should follow.

Ogdensburg itself offers a compact, walkable downtown with the Frederic Remington Art Museum, public library, and waterfront parks close together. The Maple City Trail runs along the St. Lawrence River. The city received a state Downtown Revitalization Initiative award in March 2026, publicly reported as directed toward new housing, retail, and waterfront improvements, part of a broader effort to rebuild a downtown that has contracted from its peak as a port and industrial hub. The economy leans heavily on public-sector employment in corrections, mental health services, and healthcare.

JFK is a neighborhood school in transition. The academic results place it competitively within its county peer group, but the grade-level picture in math and ELA is uneven, the district faces real budget uncertainty, and the structural reorganization will change daily routines for every elementary family in the city.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 66% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 53% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 41% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 46% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 56% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 54% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 54% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 45% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 46% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 579%

School 79% · district not reported

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolOGDENSBURG CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income45%Higher-income64%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income45%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income63%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income50%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income48%Higher-income76%28 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income58%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income56%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income71%36 pp gap