Kennedy High School was built by the St. Louis Archdiocese, its first for both boys and girls. It was actually co-institutional, as boys and girls were in separate but connected buildings. At its opening in 1968 it was staffed by priests, Sisters of Providence and lay teachers. The administrator and principal for the boys was a priest, and the principal for the girls was Sister Mary Magdalen Schwartz, SP. The Sisters of Providence remained at Kennedy High School until 1978.