John Kennedy Intermediate School

Press Release:

The Batavia City School District is proud to announce that John Kennedy Intermediate School has earned recognition as one of U.S. News and World Report's "Best Elementary Schools" for 2025.

John Kennedy Intermediate School ranked in the top 40% of elementary schools in New York State. The ranking is based on student performance in mathematics and reading on state assessment tests, with additional consideration given to achievement in the context of socioeconomic demographics.

"This prestigious recognition from U.S. News and World Report is a testament to the extraordinary work happening every day at John Kennedy Intermediate School," said Superintendent Jason Smith. "Our students, teachers, staff, and families work together to create an outstanding learning environment, and this honor reflects their collective dedication to educational excellence. We are incredibly proud of the John Kennedy community."

"Our hardworking students and dedicated staff make John Kennedy Intermediate School a truly special place," said Principal Paul Kesler. "Every day, I witness the determination of our students and the unwavering commitment of our teachers and support staff to create an engaging, supportive learning environment. We look forward to celebrating this extraordinary achievement with our entire school community and sharing our continued success story with everyone who has helped make this recognition possible."

According to U.S. News and World Report, schools were ranked based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading, as measured by state assessment tests. Half of the ranking formula was based on the results themselves, while the other half considered these results in the context of socioeconomic demographics. The rankings included more than 47,000 public elementary schools nationwide.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia is a recipient of $1,153,534 to install sidewalk connecting the Jackson Street Elementary School with Batavia Middle School.  The award comes from Governor Kathy Hochul as part of a $97.7M Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), being administered by the New York State Department of Transportation.

TAP grants promote alternative, environmentally friendly modes of travel, such as walking, biking or riding mass transit. The funding supports initiatives that improve access to the transportation system for all users and advance New York State’s nation-leading agenda to fight climate change by constructing new sidewalks, shared use paths and other enhancements that facilitate the use of non-motorized modes of travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"The City of Batavia continues to plan and pursue funding for sidewalk projects that promote walkability and healthy living across the City. The $1.1M will help to make needed improvements to the sidewalks on Swan, Ross and South Jackson Street.  Keeping sidewalks maintained, especially those on school routes, is beneficial to all our residents" said Eugene Jankowski Jr, City Council President.

The City of Batavia will install over 10,000 linear feet of sidewalks on South Swan, Swan, South Jackson and Ross Streets to connect Jackson Elementary School with Batavia Middle School.

The TAP grant program provides up to $5 million in grant funding for communities to implement alternative transportation projects, funding 80% of the total project cost.  The 20% local match is typically covered by CHIPS funding received from New York State to support continual street maintenance.

Currently the project estimates are being refined but the total project cost is estimated to be $1.4 million, making the City’s local match approximately $240,000.  The City can use CHIP’s funding in addition to other City funding as part of the City’s local match.  

“The corridor slated for improvement encompasses South Swan Street, Swan Street, South Jackson Street, and Ross Street. These upgrades aim to improve safety and mobility for school children, neighborhood residents, including many seniors, and businesses along the route. The proposed project will not only enhance handicapped accessibility but also increase walkability throughout the entire corridor. Additionally, it will establish a connection to previously TAP-funded sidewalk improvement projects along Washington Avenue, near Batavia Middle School,” said Batavia City Manager Rachael Tabelski. “We would like to thank Governor Hochul and our local state representatives for making this award possible.”

While James DiLullo is a proud Batavia native who just brought in a cast and crew from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Bergen, Waterloo, and yes, his own hometown, to film “Kitty,” the short work he scripted and produced at John Kennedy Intermediate School, he likes to tout the idea of regional versus local.

After all, he introduced all of those out-of-town visitors to a taste of this area, literally, through the food and beverage businesses that treated them aesthetically, as they commuted from their residences and experienced the scenery, Thruway system and landmarks in and around the city of Batavia. 

“We were showing a lot of these regional people what Batavia is, and, you know, many of them don't see it from off the Thruway. They only know the Thruway exit. So it was cool to show local families Batavia is more,” DiLullo said Monday from his family farm in Cattaraugus. “I would like to thank the teacher whose room we used and district leadership and facilities director Chad Bliss and Jason Smith for allowing this to occur.”

The city school district, parks and police department, and GO Art!, which awarded him a $5,000 grant, Batavia Players and Pat Burk were all on board with the project and helped make it a smooth effort, he said.

It was two days of filming at the Vine Street school, with a cast of 19 children from Rochester, Bergen, Waterloo and Batavia, and the lead feline character, Bunny Pitbull Buzzkill, who has experienced her “first and last acting performance,” he said. 

Not that production was in any way negative, he said. In fact, he was quite pleased with excellent performances by a primarily youth cast. It went “better than planned,” he said. 

“Beyond better. It blew my mind what what we did this weekend, it was just, it's really accomplished all my goals. As stated in the previous article, we got a lot of positivity and a lot of inspiration. We had a special set visitor one day — both of our lead little girls in the film play hockey; they're both 8-year-old hockey players. So I had Mr. Gerry Meehan visit the set  … he's a business associate of mine, so I had him visit the set and provide some inspiration beyond film for those children. So that was excellent. It was excellent to be able to include a local legend in the filming process. He's not part of the crew or anything, he was just a visitor, we called him to set a little perk for our girls because they were hockey girls so it made sense.”

He wanted to treat the two young actors who are involved in hockey to a surprise, so Meehan, the first captain for the Buffalo Sabres and former general manager, stopped by for a surprise visit. 

DiLullo made the six-and-a-half-minute film and invested the grant money here in Genesee County. Meant to pique the curiosity and imagination of an audience, this short film is based on DiLullo’s childhood experiences with pets and how perceptions may differ from those of adults. Putting the four-legged star into action had its trials, he said.

“It was a challenge. Dealing with animal talent is never easy,” he said.

Part of his goal was to focus on the regional aspect of the project — working locally here and putting Batavia in the center “geographically as well as economically,” he said. While stationed in Batavia, he also brought in talent from other areas in Western New York.  He went through a Rochester casting agency and struck gold for finding what he needed.

“It’s local and exposing local, but the talent is regional,” he said. “The region has the primary talent. And it was excellent. I couldn't have asked for a better performance.”

After relaxing with family for the Fourth of July weekend, he will head back to his home in Los Angeles and work on post-production — audio, music, post-sound, color correction, and making important connections. 

“It’s locating an executive producer that can help expose the film to more people, so all the post production has to occur,” he said. “And we're hoping to do that very quickly in order to have a finished product by the beginning of September so that we can start to send that out to various film festivals and get some attention on the project and the wonderful creatives and technicians who executed it from Western New York.”

He’s grateful for the support of four businesses, Cinquino’s Pizza, The Yngodess Shop, Pub Hub Coffee Shop and Everybody Eats, he said.

In turn, he likes to reciprocate when possible by doing business here, purchasing local goods and services, and even treating the crew to some local fun when it’s available. Once filming was wrapped up, several of the Kitty crew attended Barracuda at Batavia Downs, DiLullo said.

While it may seem like an aside, he sees it as an extension of what he’s always trying to do: strengthening the local economy by bringing in outside dollars. He did just that by treating his crew to a concert at Batavia Downs.

“It was the best way to end a hectic shooting schedule; it was just to relax and slam some blues with 4,000 boomers. And just have fun. That was a great show,” he said. “So shout out to Batavia Downs for their concert series and bringing the quality acts that are relatable to many generations, right? 

“Several of us, including producers, attended the Heart show, and it was excellent. We had a blast. So there’s a lot going on in Batavia. There’s a lot happening; it’s just harnessing that and then bringing the dollars from outside in,” he said. “That’s my goal, bringing the dollars, show the world it can be done here and it can be done efficiently and economically.”

The film is dedicated to the memory of Florence Lullo, a longtime supporter of baseball in Batavia and DiLullo’s grandmother.

John Kennedy Intermediate School held its annual Mud Run on Wednesday.

City Fire supplied the water.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Students at John Kennedy Intermediate School had a big holiday-themed message for first responders on Tuesday morning: Thank you.

The students expressed their appreciation for the help and support the school gets from City Fire and Batavia PD at school events, notably the JK Polar Plunge, the Thanksgiving Food Drive, the Golisano Holiday Toy Drive, Careers and Candy, Fire Safety, and the Mud Run.

Twelve families in Batavia will likely have a more filling and flavorful Thanksgiving than might otherwise have been possible, thanks to the students at John Kennedy Intermediate School, City Fire, and Batavia PD.

The students packed Thanksgiving dinner prep kits to be delivered by Batavia PD to the selected families.

Firefighters delivered turkeys and all the fixings for a complete holiday dinner.

Photos via Batavia City Schools

First-time business owner Ember Arend enjoyed the prospects of running a fish ’n chip shop in Batavia, she said, thought there were plenty of lessons to learn before finding success.

First, she would have to price her meals something more reasonable to turn a profit.

“I had my fish listed for $1 or $2 and had to put it up to $13 to make some money,” the 10-year-old said at John Kennedy Intermediate School. “And an employee wanted to sell burgers, and I said no, I’m lowering your payment because you said we’re selling burgers.”

Perhaps that’s why the soon-to-be fifth-grader said that the nature class was her favorite: she only dealt with toads. 

Ember is one of 45 children who participated in Batavia City School District’s inaugural 21st Century innovation camp this summer that ran along with summer school.

Meant to be a “nurturing, fun environment,” the five-day per week program offered three different courses: nature and exploration, building and engineering, and music and drama. 

The 21st Century program is grant-based and offered through the state Education Department by application.

“We applied because we wanted to have more opportunities for kids outside of the school day,” said Dr. Molly Corey, executive director of curriculum and instruction. "And it was nice the 21st Century allowed us to expand summer programming to include additional things, fun things, for kids to do in a structured environment after the extended day programming.”

Rather than a set content that is done during the school year, this is considered to be more of an “enrichment program,” teacher Alyssa Elliott said. 

“So within those three areas, the teachers have been setting up fun, different prompts. Today in the building room, they were creating a Ferris wheel and cars, and in the nature room, they were creating bug hotels with natural materials. And in the music and drama room today, they were creating board games,” Elliott said. “So they set up those prompts and see what the students do with it and ask them questions to get them to explore their interests even further. Or there's a student that is really interested in building, and they're in there, and they come up with another idea that teachers just run with it and help them explore their curiosities and what they're interested in and try to connect it back to the academic content as much as possible, but it's more of like an open-ended exploration.”

There’s an extended day-school violence grant that “allows us to do after-school activities for at-risk students, Corey said, and the 21st Century program is open to all students. 

“So we really wanted to expand based on interest,” she said. “After this summer, we’ll open it, technically it could be for K through 12. But we just did it this year, we started small with one site. But our intent is to expand it in all schools for after school in the fall and next summer.”

The grant program is for five years, and according to the state Education Department’s website, the grant is for $228,393.

Considering it’s summertime and most of the kids have been making it to school every day, that might say something about the program’s success so far. 

Augustus Rojo-Hallock has been having so much fun, he was going to be sad when it ends on Friday, he said. 

“I’ll wait to next year for summer school to come back again,” the eight-year-old said while showing his partially crafted Ferris wheel.  “This can spin by itself.”

While it may sound merely like fun and games, there’s more to the projects, Elliott said. 

“They had to be able to look at the pictures of the directions and read the words and problem solve. If something wasn't working, we had to figure out what they did incorrectly and how they can improve and personally persevere through solving it because it was really tricky,” she said. “And then with the bug hotels is the same kind of problem-solving skills, trying to design something and seeing what works and what doesn't. And then the board games, they were doing a lot of writing and thinking ahead …”

Augustus named building and engineering as his favorite space because “it does a lot of fun things,” including the Lego boat, magnet and milk carton car that he got to make by himself. 

Logan Oxencis and Lavanya Main explained how they created a board game, they titled “The Game That Never Ends (until after 20 rounds),” complete with handmade dice and board pieces. 

Logan, going into fourth grade, made a diamond card, helicopter, motorcycle, and Superman, using bright colors for each. 

“This is a little challenging,” he said. “I decided to put in some color and make it not dull. And the dice is colorful, so it’s not boring.”

They also drafted rules, which began with no cheating. That seemed to be a common starting point, as nine-year-old Mira Ferrando’s Candy Planet game also began with “Don’t Cheat!” And ended with “Don’t Quit and Have Fun.”

Did they ever hit a point where they weren’t sure what to do?

“Some parts I didn’t know what to do,” eight-year-old Lavanya said. “I just figured out what to do, I figured it out in my mind.”

Over at nature and exploration, Lucas Norman had “the most fun,” he said, building a bug hotel out of outdoor debris and household goods — leaves, moss, toilet paper rolls, part of a plastic pop bottle and a shoe box, to name a few items.

And, of course, there was one other important reason.

“Because we got to explore outside, and we got to see a toad,” he said.

The 21st Century camp ran for five weeks as one of several district extended-year programs, including acceleration camps, SOAR, math and literacy camps, and My Brother’s Keeper. 

After COVID’s social distancing separated kids from the school environment, teachers and their classmates for so long, many educators had noticed setbacks in student learning. The Batavian asked how these students are doing now.

“I think one of the biggest things from COVID was the social-emotional piece. And I think that's one thing that the summer programs really helped with, just interacting with other kids and doing group work, and even just coming in school and having those conversations with teachers,” Elliott said. “And so I think that's a really important piece that the summer programs helped to address and something that I saw kids struggle a little bit with after being gone for so long. And I also see some improvement in mathematics if I know that they were at summer school.”

City School District employees, administrators, teachers, and staff, along with first responders from Batavia, participated in a Special Olympics fundraiser on Friday -- a polar plunge -- outside of John Kennedy Intermediate School.

The participants dashed -- in freezing weather -- under the spray of a fire truck's hose and got soaked.

The event raised $8,700 for Special Olympics.

Kelly Ligozio, senior development director for Special Olympics in Western New York, said the Buffalo polar plunge was last week and typically honors the school in Western New York that raised the most money for Special Olympics.  But Ligozio said she told the director, who has been in the position for 23 years, that they had to wait for Batavia's event before naming a winner.  The director wanted to maintain tradition, but Ligozio said the agency owed it to Batavia to wait because Batavia was the only school district to continue to hold the fundraising event during the pandemic.

So, they waited.

And Batavia won.  Special Olympics will host an ice cream social at John Kennedy sometime this year and the school's colors will be part of the Polar Plunge sweatshirt next year.

"It's amazing," Ligozio said. "What's amazing about it is how they've broadened it to include all the schools in the district so all the different schools can participate."

John Kennedy Intermediate School Principal Brian Sutton took a little extra time to get dressed Tuesday. He sported some fancy headgear: a whimsical cloth turkey of bright yellow, orange and red, with two legs dangling over Sutton’s ears. 

He briefed excited groups of students of the day’s events in between roast turkey, expressing gratitude and just having fun. 

“Today we actually have quite a few things happening,” he said to students gathered outside. “You’ll have a half hour to do all of the activities.”

Sutton and the school community, including parents and other family members, took those 30 minutes in each group of second, third and fourth-graders to enjoy the sunshine, mindfulness exercises, a soothing cup of hot chocolate, and each other.

There were stations for the kids to visit and perform activities, which included writing something they were thankful for on index cards. Teachers carved turkey for students to enjoy beforehand, followed by a Gratitude Walk, second grade Macy’s Day parade and reading aloud the index cards filled with Thanksgiving sentiments. A book drop provided opportunity for students to bring in and/or take a book to read during the upcoming break. 

A collection effort led by school counselor Eric Knapp motivated staff and students to donate enough food items so that a dozen Batavia City School District families would have a Thanksgiving dinner. Assisted by city police and fire department members, the meals were delivered later Tuesday. 

The day was focused on one central element, Sutton said.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to reflect on what they’re thankful for, what they’re grateful for, and reflect on what’s important at this time of year,” he said. 
 

Top photo: John Kennedy Intermediate School Principal Brian Sutton instructs students before they participate in several activities related to Thanksgiving Tuesday at the Vine Street School. Photos by Steve Ognibene

Submitted photo and press release:

The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) program at John Kennedy Intermediate School in Batavia received a $500 Educational Alliance Program grant from the ExxonMobil Corporation, which was then matched by the local distributor that had initiated the grant application, Reid Petroleum Corporation.

Mike McCarthy, vice president of Reid Petroleum, along with his grandson, Jack, currently a third-grader at John Kennedy, presented the two checks to John Kennedy’s STEAM teacher, Melissa Calandra at the Crosby’s convenience store/gas station in Batavia. Crosby’s is a subsidiary of Reid Petroleum.

Reid Petroleum had taken the lead initially by applying for the ExxonMobile grant on behalf of John Kennedy. When their office received word that the school would receive a check for $500, they decided to match it. As the money can only be used for math or science, it will go to support hands-on activities that go along with science lessons in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program, which is run by Calandra.

“I am so excited, and so grateful,” Calandra said. “This will be such a big boost for our students and our STEAM program.”

Photo: Melissa Calandra, John Kennedy’s STEAM teacher, left, and Vice President of Reid Petroleum Mike McCarthy, right, with his grandson, Jack.

Press release:

This Thursday, Nov. 19, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Batavia Middle School and John Kennedy Intermediate are hosting a COVID-19 friendly event for all Batavia City School District families.

The annual Warm the Night will be held at Batavia Middle School at 96 Ross St.

Families are invited to come and pick out gently used and new winter clothing (including coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots) for members of their family.

In addition, representatives from many community agencies will be available with information about their programs and services. The growing list of agencies includes:

• Community Action of Genesee and Orleans
• Catholic Charities
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• AmeriCorps
• Liberty Center
• Neighborhood Legal Services
• Connect 2-1-1
• Batavia City Fire Department  

Also, Christina Kulesz, DC, a Batavia chiropractor, will be there for free chair massages. There will be other free giveaways as well, including free Timbits and hot chocolate.

More than 170 fourth-grade students from John Kennedy Intermediate School celebrated Moving Up Day as they will enter in the Middle School this coming school year in September.

Principal Amanda Cook presented along with teachers for various academics, merit, arts, physical education and school based awards to students. Many parents, educators, family and friends celebrated today's ceremony.

Photos from last evening's 27th annual Pasta Night fundraiser at John Kennedy Intermediate School, Batavia. Many local businesses contributed to raffles, door prizes and fun for all who attended. 

Principal Amanda Cook thanked all the supporters including teachers, parent volunteers, Batavia Middle School eighth-grade mentors and scouts from Troop 6006.

Press release:

This week, students, staff and parents will have opportunities to meet with the final two candidates for the position of principal of John Kennedy Intermediate School.

Lauren Combo, currently the director of Curriculum and Instruction in the Perry Central School District, will be at the school on Wednesday, Nov. 29, and Amanda Cook, currently the assistant principal at the Byron-Bergen Elementary School, will be there on Thursday, Nov. 30.

Each will begin their respective afternoons with the current principal, Paul Kesler, for a tour of the building, then visit a second-grade class to share a story with students. Afterward, each will meet with the interview team, then staff members. The afternoon will conclude with a meet-and-greet at 2:45 for all interested parents and teachers. 

A team of teachers, clerical and custodial workers, parents and administrators narrowed the field of initial applicants down to seven interviews and then four candidates. Those four were interviewed by the District Leadership Committee, including Board members Patrick Burk and Barbara Bowman. Out of those interviews came the two finalists.

Combo began her career in Le Roy as an AIS (Academic Intervention Services) math teacher for grades two and three, then as a kindergarten teacher. During that time, she took on the position of Elementary Math Curriculum coordinator, and worked as principal for two summer programs – including Batavia’s TEAM Literacy program.

After working as an administrative intern in the Perry District, she was hired by them as the director of Curriculum and Instruction. In that most recent position, she planned, implemented and evaluated instructional programs with teachers and building administrators; facilitated monthly data meetings; oversaw intervention and enrichment activities and programs; provided professional development; assisted in conducting K-12 observations; collaborated on the creation of a K-12 instructional technology plan; and was the test coordinator for all assessments and exams.

Cook began her education career as a Special Education teacher in Pavilion Central Schools. Five years ago she was hired as Byron-Bergen Elementary School’s assistant principal where she honed skills in instructional leadership and school operations management.

In instructional leadership, she developed and earned statewide recognition for a character education program using input from district-wide stakeholders; incorporated proactive and positive behavior practices within the school-wide student management program; led the design and implementation of local curriculum and bully prevention programs; coordinated service learning programs within the community; created student leadership opportunities to enhance school culture; implemented assembly programs to support classroom character education instruction; and partnered with teachers to complete professional observations as part of the APPR process.

In school operations, she coordinated scheduling and accommodations for NYS assessments, including the field testing of computer-based testing; managed student behavior through communication with teachers and families; developed time-efficient master schedules to maximize instructional and Response to Intervention times; facilitated building safety committee to ensure thorough and efficient practices; and implemented programs to streamline professional learning and evaluation processes.

Each candidate will begin her session with a brief biography and then respond to questions from attendees.

At the next Board of Education meeting on Dec. 5, Superintendent Christopher Dailey will recommend the appointment of one of these candidates to the Board of Education, with the intention of having the new JK principal begin work by Jan. 1.

Press release:

The students of John Kennedy Intermediate School will host its inaugural community-wide My School Color Run on Saturday morning, Oct. 21, to raise money for their school. Check-in begins at 9 and the race starts at 10.

Cost is $25 for preregistration; $30 day of the event.

The My School Color Run is an untimed three-mile fun run for everyone in the community, of all ages and fitness abilities. Along the route, participants pass through vibrant color zones, making it a “colorful experience.”

Additionally, each pre-registered participant is provided with a single powder color packet that will be thrown in the air at the final color celebration at the finish line.

“Rather than sell goods, we want to engage the entire student body in a fitness initiative that aims to encourage a lifelong healthy way of living,” says run coordinator Courtney Marsh.

Participants who register by Oct. 2 will receive a T-shirt, race bib, and individual color packet.

You can sign up for the run by visiting www.JKISmscr.eventbrite.com or by completing a paper registration form.

Business sponsorship opportunities are also available. Please contact the event organizer (Courtney Marsh) for more information.

At a glance:
WHAT: My School Color Run for John Kennedy Intermediate School

WHEN: 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 21
WHERE: John Kennedy Intermediate School, 166 Vine St, Batavia

REGISTER: www.JKISmscr.eventbrite.com
CONTACT: Courtney Marsh – 585-343-2480, ext. 5000

Have you heard of Dirty Girl? How about Tough Mudder? Well, the second annual John Kennedy School “Sons and Mudders” event kicked off last night. More than 300 sons and moms participated in the half-mile obstacle course. Some of the course events consists of sprinklers, tug-of-war, slip-'n'-slide to name a few, but most of the entertainment happens when they go through the mud crawl, said Allision Chua who is co-chair of tonight’s event.

David Chua came up with the “Sons and Mudders” name last year when they had 225 participants.

“It’s to promote and improve fitness for all age levels and to have some fun with our sons," said Allision Chua. "We have our annual father-daughter dance in February and our JK parent group got together to come up with some ideas with Jennifer Houseknecht who co-chaired the event last year and thought this would be a big hit and tonight showed it."

Three different time slots were broken up by grades from second to fourth to accommodate everyone.

Allison said, "We could not do it without our sponsors."

Muller Quaker, donated the yogurt and Artic Refrigeration, the ice and water for after each group finished. 

T-Shirts Etc. printed the shirts and nearly 30 local businesses donated toward the costs of the event. 

Dave Fisher runs the “Mud Crawl” and if you don’t get mud on you, he makes sure you do. AD Call & Sons helped with the covering costs for the dirt used for the event.

For more photos and to purchase go to: Steve Ognibene Photography