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Minnie B. Kennedy Middle School, orginally named Kennedy Junior High, is located on Pine Log Road in Aiken, South Carolina. The school is named for one of Aiken County's most dedicated educators, Minnie Brown Kennedy who began her teaching career at age fifteen and spanned for forty-eight years.

Kennedy Middle, along with Paul Knox Middle, was ready for occupancy for the 1958-1959 school year. The building was to be constructed mainly of steel but a steel strike caused more concrete to be used. The cost of the building was $750,000 and it was constructed for 475 students and 17 teachers. In the 1960's an additional wing was added. Originally, grades seven through nine were housed at Kennedy; grades seven and eight in 1970; from 1979-2020, grades six through eight. Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, Kennedy became a school for only grades seven and eight.

In 1995 construction began to completely remodel the school because it had outgrown the current building. After about two years of construction, the new additions and updates were complete in 1997 with the addition of a new wing and complete interior renovation. The school is built around four enclosed courtyards which can serve as outdoor classrooms and provide each grade level with a separate wing. The exploratory classes, cafeteria, and gym are located in separate building.

The principals who have headed Kennedy Middle since its start in 1959 to the present are

• 1958-1968 - Carl Lowman
• 1968-1969 - Norman Woodward
• 1969-1977 - L.C. Jones
• 1977-1986 - Chris Brooks
• 1986-2006 - George Rogers
• 2006-2007 - Garen Cofer
• 2007-2010 - Ben Osborne
• 2010-2013 - Kyle Smith
• 2013-2019 - Teresa Mitchem
• 2019-current - Ryan Ashley

Kennedy Middle has a proud history of academic success and continues to educate and prepare students for high school and to become productive, contributing members of our community.

Our school has so many things to be proud of! From the classroom to the athletic field, our students achieve academically, socially, and athletically. Our teachers and staff members work diligently to provide amazing opportunities to enhance our students' learning and make our school great.

The list below shows some proud moments from the 2018-2019 school year.

Student Achievement Recognition & Programs:

*79 students qualified as Duke TIP recipients. Among these, 36 were enrolled and 33 tested. 5 students qualified for state recognition, 21 students qualified for Academy for Summer Studies and 15 qualified for Center for Summer Studies.
*16 eighth-grade students were recognized as South Carolina Junior Scholars.
*84 eighth-grade students took the PSAT in the fall.
*97% of eighth-graders passed the Algebra 1.
*100% English 1 End of Course exams (2018).
*11 students were accepted into the Aiken Scholars Academy and 4 waitlisted for Aiken Scholars Academy.
*7 are receiving Celebration of Character.
*KHAN Academy accounts are available to students.
*French, Spanish, and German are offered as foreign language options.

Student Club Information:

*Beta Club – with 252 members – participated in several service projects including “Be a Bunny, and “Operation Christmas Child” for children in the
community. They also attended the State Convention and competed. The members placed fourth in the state and qualified for Nationals.
*Art Club students painted art for the Black History Month program.
*The Serteen Club was involved in a wide range of appreciation school and community service projects.
*Student Council consisted of 43 representatives and 6 officers. The club collected recyclable materials and sponsored a canned food drive.
*The Lego League/Robotics Club had two teams compete at both the Regionals and State Qualifiers. Awards received at
Regionals were Aiken Qualifier Champion Award, Aiken Qualifier Robot Design Award. Awards from the State Qualifiers were Gracious Professionalism Award and the Programming Award.
*Future City had four teams compete in the Future City Regional Competition in January 2019. Awards won were Environmental Awareness, “Thinking Outside the Box”, Best Energy System, Excellent Grid Resilience, and Best Land Surveying Practice.
*One student won the Kennedy spelling bee, as well as the Aiken County district spelling bee. She competed in theNational Scripps Spelling Bee in  Washington, DC in May 2019.
*Battle of the Books consisted of 63 student participants. For the second year in a row, the Kennedy team came in second place at the district competition.
*The Math Counts team competed in the district Competition and won first place. Two students placed in the top ten in individual competitions.
*The Buddy Club consists of 120 members in grades six, seven, and eight. The club sponsored the Red Carpet Dance for middle school students with special needs and invited students from two local high schools as well.
*The FCA was awarded the FCA Leadership Award for participation in a leadership role.

Athletics:

*The girls’ volleyball team celebrated a 10-4 record and were Conference Champions.
*The boys’ basketball team finished the season with a 10-5 record. They reached the first round of basketball playoffs.
*The girls’ basketball team finished the season with a 16-0 record and were Conference Champions and Aiken County Champions.
*The golf team finished the season with a first place win, three second place wins, one third place win, and fourth place overall at the conference tournament.
*The football team finished the season with a 6-1 record and were second place in the county.

School & Career Counseling Department:

*More than 38 local sponsors participated in Mini Courses to expose students to a range of topics from careers to hobbies in March 2018.
*Classroom guidance sessions on student success, test-taking strategies, and study skills were conducted.
*99% of eighth-graders completed Individual Graduation Plans (IGPs).
*100% of sixth graders and 77% of seventh graders completed Individual Learning Plans (ILPs).
*84 students were recipients of the Presidential Academic Excellence award.
*Sponsored the “Meet and Greet” for our rising sixth-graders and their parents.

PTO News:

*Provided KMS tshirts for the staff for the first day of school
*Helped purchase 47 laptops for math teachers
*Purchased/maintained the Reading Counts reading incentive program
*Assisted in funding school beautification
*Funded 250 new chairs for use in assemblies
*Sponsored the 6th grade field trip
*Provided cupcakes for monthly birthday celebrations
*Sponsored quarterly “good behavior” incentives
*Operated concession stand at football and basketball games
*Helped manage two book fairs
*Spearheaded fund raising efforts to provide resources for teachers
*Sponsored events: open house, teacher appreciation (holiday lunch, gift cards), Fall and Spring school dances, Back-to- School Bash, Family Fun Nights, and clubs and extracurricular activities

Grants:

*A Read 180 teacher won the Target Field Trip Grant. She has received this grant for the past 10 years.
*The yearbook sponsor received an anonymous donation of two DSLR cameras from an anonymous donor. She also received a Smart Keyboard and an Apple *pen through a Donor’s Choose project.
*A Special Education teacher won the SRNS grant.
*The Buddy Club received a grant from Special Olympics to be a unified school.