John F Kennedy Middle School in Plainfield, Illinois on DonorsChoose

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The very next morning, I was just giddy to show the students! Now they ask me each day to show them our \"moments\" from the camera. \r\n\r\nI cannot thank you enough for giving our students this unique opportunity. It's experiences like this that help motivate young learners and encourage them each and every day.","fullyFundedDate":1747610208747,"projectUrl":"project/for-the-birds-and-readers/9359782/","projectTitle":"For the Birds (and Readers)","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Carlisle","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp485047_orig.jpg?crop=1713,1713,x534,y1421&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1649183450654","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/jcarlisle"},{"teacherId":485047,"projectId":9124366,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation to my classroom. Last year, I brought in a few decks of cards to share with students. Well, at the beginning of this year, I have some of those same students in my class. And guess what? They remembered those couple of fun Fridays we had! Imagine the excitement when I told them that I have more card games to share with them this year! All thanks to you!\r\n\r\nSince then, they've been asking me every few days to schedule our first game Friday. Well, today was the day and the excitement was off the charts! Laptops are tossed aside (carefully of course!) and students are laughing and having fun together! They are taking turns, teaching each other, and just having fun! Success!\r\n\r\nThank you for bringing the good ol' fun back! We're loving every minute of it!","fullyFundedDate":1746832835988,"projectUrl":"project/bringing-the-good-ol-games-to-a-new-gen/9124366/","projectTitle":"Bringing The Good Ol' Games To A New Generation","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Carlisle","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp485047_orig.jpg?crop=1713,1713,x534,y1421&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1649183450654","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/jcarlisle"},{"teacherId":485047,"projectId":8970967,"letterContent":"These new whiteboards and dry erase markers have been so much fun! It may seem simple but for middle schoolers who use so much technology, bringing out old-school tools is super exciting! When I first brought out the new whiteboards, I heard gasps! From 8th graders! \r\n\r\nOf course we had a little fun with our new stuff before we got down to business! After some silly drawings, we've been using our new materials to find text evidence in our reading, diagram sentences, and practice working with Greek and Latin roots. And I have so many other ideas planned. Students love a game called Game of Quotes and now we can use our dry erase boards instead of a screen. And review games online? Those are old news! Now we have our new dry erase boards!\r\n\r\nMiddle schoolers love classic tools just like younger students. They just need the opportunities to use them. And now, the ideas are endless. Thank you for helping my middle schoolers take a break from their screens to use dry erase boards.","fullyFundedDate":1733289084868,"projectUrl":"project/technology-break-time-to-dry-erase/8970967/","projectTitle":"Technology Break! Time to Dry Erase!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Carlisle","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp485047_orig.jpg?crop=1713,1713,x534,y1421&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1649183450654","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/jcarlisle"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_94492","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":927,"numTeachers":64,"percentFrplEligible":35,"percentAsian":15,"percentBlack":17,"percentWhite":36,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":22,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"6 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"14.5:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"SUBURBAN","ncesMetroType":"SUBURB_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":80.0,"schoolId":94492,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about John F Kennedy Middle School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"John F Kennedy Middle School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/illinois/plainfield-consolidated-school-district-202/john-f-kennedy-middle-school/94492"}

About this school

John F Kennedy Middle School is a suburban public school in Plainfield, Illinois that is part of Plainfield Consolidated School District 202. It serves 927 students in grades 6 - 8 with a student/teacher ratio of 14.5:1. Its teachers have had 8 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Public School

Grades 6 - 8

927 Students

64 Teachers

12350 Essington Rd

Plainfield, IL 60585 View local requests

Evidence-based impact

Inspire teachers to stay in the classroom and boost student achievement.¹

Give to this school

Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

Kindergarten teacher at PS81 - Robert J. Christen School in Bronx, NY

John F Kennedy Middle School Teachers on DonorsChoose

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John F Kennedy Middle School Demographics

35%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

54%

of students are Black, Latino, Native American, or Asian

Schools in districts that mainly serve students of color receive substantially less state and local support than similar districts that serve primarily White students. Learn more about this gap, why it exists, and how you can help close it.

John F Kennedy Middle School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 5, 2025

DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need, moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education.