Plainview – Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School

The school was opened in 1966 under the name John F. Kennedy High School. It was Plainview's second high school. Originally, all senior high school students went to Plainview High School, but were split by residential location when JFK High School opened. In 1991, Plainview-Old Bethpage High School and John F. Kennedy High School were merged into the John F. Kennedy High School building. The school was renamed Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School. The newly merged school abandoned Plainview High School's colors of green and white in favor of John F. Kennedy's blue and white. Both the original Plainview High School mascot, the Gulls, and the John F. Kennedy High School mascot, the Eagles, were replaced with a new mascot, The Hawks. It is now the only public high school for residents of the community of Plainview and Old Bethpage.

For the 2013–2014 school year, the student body of POBJFK was 82% white and 14% Asian or Native, Hawaiian/Other, or Pacific Islander, . All other races or ethnicities made up 0–3% of the student body. Eighty percent of teachers had a master's degree plus 30 hours or doctorate degrees.[3] The school was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1987-1988. Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School was ranked 174 of 1600+ schools listed in Newsweek's America's Top High Schools 2015 list.[2] It was also ranked 11th on Long Island.[4]

For the 2013–2014 school year, 99% of graduates received a Regents Diploma. 77% of graduates received an Advanced Regents Diploma. 85% percent of 2013–2014 graduates went on to four-year colleges and 12% went on to two-year colleges. Zero percent went to the military and 1% to employment.[3]

For the 2012-2013 school year, students achievements include 13 New York State Academic Excellence Award Winners, 2 Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalists, 5 Siemens Semi-Finalists, 2 Scholar Artists for Fine and Performing Arts, 12 All State Students for Fine and Performing Arts, 3 All Eastern Students for Fine and Performing Arts, and 13 LISFA Recognition Students for Fine and Performing Arts [5]

Plainview is known for its award-winning Robotics program. Known as The POBots, they first competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 2000. Every year, this robotics team participates in the SBPLI regional at Hofstra University on Long Island (School- Business Partnerships of Long Island) SBPLI Homepage. Additionally, they participate in the NYC regional in the Javits Center. They have also been to the international competition twice. They have won the chairman's award, which is the most prestigious award in the regional competition, as well as the Engineering Inspiration award, the Judges award, team spirit award, and many others. Additionally, alumni from the team have founded a new team in Utica, called the second mouse, who has won the rookie all star award.The Second Mouse Homepage[9][10]

The school offers numerous sports teams yearly including Tennis, Golf, Swimming, Basketball, Tennis, Basketball, Lacrosse, Football, Softball, Soccer, and Bowling just to name a few. The school has various rivalries with high schools neighboring hamlets such as Syosset High School, Jericho High School, and Farmingdale High School.

• The Boys Varsity Tennis Team were Long Island champions in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2015.
• The Boys Varsity Baseball Team were Long Island Champions and New York State Runners Up in 2003.
• The Boys Varsity Volleyball Team were Long Island champions in 2006, 2007, and 2013.
• The Varsity Girls Cheerleading Squad made it to the National Competition in Florida in 2012-2013 and 2016–17

The Class of 2006's senior prank.

POBJFK made headlines[11][12] when the Class of 2006 pulled a senior prank in which students placed a car on the school's roof on the last day of classes. The car, or rather shell of a car, which was painted hot pink and covered in green question marks, was lifted onto the school's roof directly above Principal James Murray's office. Mr. Murray responded to the prank by wearing a hot pink tie with green question marks on it to the 2006 graduation.

There are eight distinct student run A Cappella groups found in POBJFKHS: The Rolling Tones, Noteworthy, Under a Rest, B Sharps, Drastic Measures, On a High Note, Chock Full of Notes, and the Acafellas. The program features all groups in their winter and spring "Night of A Cappella." In 2015, "The Rolling Tones" and "Chock Full of Notes" were featured on Lifetime's "Pitch Slapped." [13]

• Harrison Chad, 2010, actor, played Boots on Dora the Explorer and has appeared in multiple Broadway musicals. Attended Brown University
• Matthew Cooper, 2010, Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Trans-Media Sports Coverage - NBC Sports [14]
• Diane Franklin 1978, actress on cinema and television
• Maxwell Jacob Friedman, 2014, professional wrestler
• Brad Greenberg, 1972, basketball player and coach
• Seth Greenberg, 1974, basketball coach
• Marc Iavaroni, 1974, professional basketball player, coach
• Aaron Karo, 1997, author and comedian
• Marc Lawrence (filmmaker), 1977, screenwriter, film producer and film director.
• Frank London, 1976, Grammy award-winning composer, trumpeter and bandleader.
• Steven Markowitz, 2006, recording artist, Hoodie Allen
• Daniel Mendelsohn, 1978, award-winning author, critic, translator, Editor-at-Large of New York Review of Books, director of Robert B. Silvers Foundation
• Eric Mendelsohn, 1982, actor, writer, director
• Joshua Tauberer 2000, civic hacker, open government activist, entrepreneur, and author
• Scott Ullger, Major League Baseball player
• Danny Werfel, 1989, former commissioner of the IRS
• Robin Young, 1968, radio and TV personality