Kennedy International School
🇺🇸 New York · Founded 1964 · IB / Blended / Japanese · Ages 3–18
Reviewed by Priscilla Han · 2026-07-23
A long-established (est. 1964) Midtown-Manhattan bilingual day school offering French-English and Japanese-English tracks from nursery through grade 12, culminating in a bilingual French/English IB Diploma. Its distinctive strength is genuine dual-language immersion accredited by the French Ministry of Education; its main limits are the absence of a US regional accreditation (WASC/MSA/NEASC/CIS) and no publicly disclosed enrollment, IB results, or placement data.
Curricula
IB, Blended, Japanese
Age range
3–18
Languages of instruction
English, French, Japanese
Annual fees
SGD USD 24,000–45,000
Boarding
No (day school)
IB authorised
DP
Accreditations
French Ministry of Education, AEFE, NYSED-recognized
Tier Profile
We only tier dimensions backed by a public inspection verdict or verifiable accreditation. Other dimensions show a data flag — never a guessed score.
BrightKey's Assessment
Kennedy International School was founded in 1964 by Éliane Dumas — a teacher from the Lycée Français de New York — and named to honor President John F. Kennedy. It originally operated as the Lyceum Kennedy French American School, later Lyceum Kennedy International School, and now Kennedy International School. In 1986 it was acquired by Dr. Koji Sonoda, a linguist and professor from Japan, and through the late 1980s and 1990s added Japanese-language programming alongside its French roots.
The school is a co-educational day school serving preschool (Pre-K 3) through grade 12, roughly ages 3–18, across two Midtown Manhattan buildings at 225 East 43rd Street and 815 Second Avenue (NY 10017). A former Ardsley, New York campus and a Japanese day elementary school (closed 2004) are part of its history but not its current footprint.
Academically it runs two parallel bilingual immersion tracks — a Bilingual French-English program and a Bilingual Japanese-English program (the latter alongside a Japanese Saturday program) — from the early years through elementary. In grades 11–12, students sit a bilingual French and English IB Diploma with Spanish as the second language; the school became an authorized IB Diploma Programme school in September 2014.
Accreditation is anchored in the French system: the school is accredited by the French Ministry of Education and belongs to the AEFE network, so students can transfer into French schools in France, and grades K–12 are recognized by the New York State Education Department. It does not hold — and does not claim — a US regional accreditation such as WASC, MSA, NEASC, or CIS.
Honest positioning: a genuinely bilingual, francophone-rooted NYC school with a real IB Diploma endpoint and strong language-immersion credentials. But it publishes no current enrollment total, student-teacher ratio, IB score average, or university-placement data on its public pages, so academic outcomes cannot be independently verified. Demographic figures that do exist are old and refer to the former Ardsley campus.
Why These Ratings?
Inspection & AccreditationA — Excellent
Accredited by the French Ministry of Education (with AEFE network membership) and recognized by the New York State Education Department for K–12, plus IB Diploma Programme authorization since 2014 — a solid, verifiable accreditation base. The United States has no graded public school inspectorate (WASC/MSA/NEASC/CIS accredit but do not issue graded verdicts), and this school in fact holds none of those US regional accreditations, so the tier reflects accreditation depth only and is capped at A — never S.
Strengths & Trade-offs
Strengths
- Long heritage (founded 1964) as one of New York's established bilingual international schools
- Genuine dual-immersion model — two full bilingual tracks (French-English and Japanese-English), not token language classes
- Accredited by the French Ministry of Education and in the AEFE network, enabling seamless transfer into the French school system
- Authorized IB Diploma Programme school since 2014, offering a rare bilingual French/English IB Diploma with Spanish as a second language
- Continuous pathway from nursery (age 3) through grade 12 on two Midtown Manhattan campuses
- No application fee, and a 30% UN-staff tuition discount for Pre-K 3 & Pre-K, reflecting its diplomatic/international community
Trade-offs
- Holds no US regional accreditation (WASC, MSA, NEASC, or CIS) — its quality assurance runs through the French Ministry and NYSED recognition instead
- Publishes no current total enrollment, student-teacher ratio, or class-size data on public pages
- Does NOT publish IB Diploma score averages or pass rates — academic outcomes cannot be independently verified
- Does NOT publish university-placement or matriculation data
- No published, structured EAL/ESL program on public pages, despite an immersion intake (over 50% of elementary students were reported as non-French-speakers prior to enrolling)
- Day school only — no boarding
- Public demographic data is dated and tied to the former Ardsley campus, not the current Manhattan operation
Is It Right For You?
Best For
- ✓Francophone or francophile families wanting an authentic French-immersion education with transferability into the French system
- ✓Japanese expatriate and internationally-mobile families seeking a Japanese-English bilingual track in Manhattan
- ✓Families targeting a bilingual IB Diploma pathway (French/English) for grades 11–12
- ✓Diplomatic and UN-affiliated families based in Midtown (UN-staff discount available for the youngest grades)
- ✓Families wanting a continuous nursery-through-12 bilingual school
Not Ideal For
- ✕Families who specifically require a US regionally accredited school (WASC/MSA/NEASC/CIS)
- ✕Families needing boarding or living outside the Midtown Manhattan commute zone
- ✕Families who want published IB results and verifiable university-placement data before enrolling
- ✕Older students needing heavy structured EAL/ESL support (none published)
- ✕Families seeking a British/Cambridge or purely American AP curriculum
Curriculum
Two parallel bilingual immersion tracks from the early years: Bilingual French-English and Bilingual Japanese-English (the latter with a Japanese Saturday program). Instruction in English, French, and Japanese depending on track. Grades 11–12 lead to a bilingual French and English IB Diploma with Spanish as the second language; the school has been an authorized IB Diploma Programme school since September 2014. Not Cambridge-authorized and not a US AP program.
Fees
Fully published for SY2026–27 (Sept 2026–June 2027, full day 8:00am–3:30pm). Bilingual French-English program: Pre-K 3 & Pre-K full-time USD 40,000 (Pre-K 3 part-time USD 24,000), Kindergarten–8th grade USD 42,500, High School 9th–12th USD 45,000. Bilingual Japanese-English program: Kindergarten USD 42,000, Pre-K & Pre-K 3 full-time USD 40,000, Pre-K 3 part-time USD 24,000. One-time new-student fee: USD 1,000 (Pre-K 3/Pre-K) or USD 3,000 (K–12). Non-refundable downpayment USD 4,000; installment service fees USD 400 (2-installment) or USD 700 (5-installment). Extras include overnight trips (USD 350–700 by grade) and IB Diploma registration USD 900 (grade 12). No application fee. 30% UN-staff discount for Pre-K 3 & Pre-K. Financial aid/scholarships are referenced on a separate page but amounts are not published — verify current figures with the school.
Admissions
No application fee. The school serves a multicultural community reported at 40+ nationalities. Placement into the French-English or Japanese-English track reflects each family's language goals and background; more than half of elementary entrants have historically been non-French-speakers prior to enrolling (immersion intake). Specific entry-age cutoffs, testing requirements, and acceptance rates are not published — verify with admissions.
Campus Life
Two Midtown Manhattan buildings near the United Nations: a Lower School at 225 East 43rd Street and an Upper School at 815 Second Avenue (NY 10017). Day school only, full day 8:00am–3:30pm with extended aftercare to 6:00pm for the youngest grades. Overnight/residential trips run for grades 4–5, 8, and 9–10. A former Ardsley (Westchester) campus is historical and no longer in use.
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: Kennedy International School does not publish IB Diploma score averages, pass rates, or a university-placement/matriculation list on its public pages, so senior-school outcomes cannot be independently verified. Its French Ministry accreditation supports transfer into the French school system, but specific university destinations are not disclosed.
Sources
Every verifiable fact carries a public source — verify it yourself.
- Kennedy International School — official homepage (bilingual nursery–grade 12, two Midtown campuses) · 2026-07
- Kennedy International School (Lower) — School History (founded 1964 by Éliane Dumas; acquired 1986 by Dr. Koji Sonoda; French/Japanese/English) · 2026-07
- Kennedy International School (Lower) — Accreditations (French Ministry of Education, AEFE, NYSED-recognized K–12, IB DP) · 2026-07
- Kennedy International School (Lower) — Tuition & Fees SY2026–27 (published by grade + program) · 2026-07
- Wikipedia — Kennedy International School (former names, IB DP authorization Sept 2014, demographics, campus history) · 2026-07
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