Principal - Jodie Cohen, [email protected], 508-647-6650, ext 6655
Vice Principal, Grades 5 & 7 - Mark DiStefano, [email protected], 508-647-6650, ext 2414
Vice Principal, Grades 6 & 8 - Megan Hatt, [email protected], 508-647-6650, ext 6654
Jodie Cohen, Principal
Dear John F. Kennedy Middle School,
It's with great pleasure that I welcome you to Kennedy Middle School! We are thrilled to have you here in our community.
Our mission at Kennedy is to provide a safe and healthy learning community that fosters respect and promotes intellectual, social and emotional growth. We strive to engage and appropriately challenge students of all levels as we value their individual strengths.
This mission drives our work as we build the next generation of innovative leaders and thinkers in the world. We look forward to partnering with families and students in this important work.
Thank you for being an integral part of this community.
Very truly yours,
Jodie B. Cohen
Principal
A Brief Background
Ms. Cohen taught science for twenty years at Newton North High School. She moved into administration in 2019 as Assistant Principal at the W. L. Chenery Middle School in Belmont. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Simmons College, a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Endicott College and a BS in Biology from UMass Boston. Prior to working in the field of education, she worked in the financial industry as a stockbroker and in mutual fund marketing. After a few short years in finance she decided to return to school to pursue a career in the sciences.
Ms. Cohen's extensive science teaching background and her vision for the use of our STEM centered middle school facility coupled with solid experience in facilitating cross-cultural/racial communications and support make her an ideal candidate to join our team. Her enthusiasm, energy and capacity to connect with others in pursuit of high standards for kids has earned her the descriptor as "warm demander" by her colleagues at Chenery. We are excited to have Ms. Cohen join us as a leader of Kennedy Middle School and look forward to her contributions to Natick.