Kennedale ISD ~3,400 students
Wildcats · compact district
City · Tarrant County
Kennedale
Population ~8,862 · kennedale-isd
You're Home
☕ Kennedale brief Mon, Jun 1
US-287 anchors commerce
Bordered by Arlington · easy access to AT&T, Globe Life
Mayor race May 2 2026
Contested race on ballot
Local News
Kennedale headlines
What's happening in Kennedale right now
Civic
Population about 9,000 in south Tarrant
Kennedale recorded 9,070 residents in the 2020 U.S. Census, sitting between Arlington and Fort Worth along U.S. 287 in south Tarrant County. Source: U.S. Census; City of Kennedale.
Updated 2026
Schools
Kennedale ISD with single high school
Kennedale ISD is a smaller district serving the city plus surrounding unincorporated south Tarrant County, with Kennedale High School as its sole comprehensive high school. Source: Kennedale ISD.
Ongoing
Development
U.S. 287 corridor reinvestment
The U.S. 287 corridor through Kennedale has seen renewed commercial activity as south Tarrant industrial and logistics growth continues. Source: City of Kennedale.
Ongoing
Council
Council meets monthly
The Kennedale City Council meets twice monthly at City Hall, 405 Municipal Drive, with agendas posted to the city's website. Source: City of Kennedale.
Ongoing
From across Tarrant County
🗳️ Election
Contested mayor races in nine Tarrant cities on May 2 ballot
The May 2, 2026 ballot featured contested races for mayor in nine Tarrant cities: Arlington, Euless, Keller, Kennedale, North Richland Hills, Pelican Bay, Sansom Park, Westlake, and Westover Hills. The slate also included numerous city council positions, school board trustee seats, and other municipal offices across the county. Source: NBC 5 DFW / Tarrant County Elections.
🗳️ Politics
Taylor Rehmet (D) wins Texas State Senate District 9 special election
In Tarrant County's state Senate District 9 special election held November 4, 2025, Democrat Taylor Rehmet finished as the top vote-getter, ahead by roughly 14,000 votes and a margin of nearly 15%. Rehmet replaces Republican Kelly Hancock, who left the seat in 2025 to become acting state comptroller. Rehmet completes the remainder of Hancock's term. Source: NBC 5 DFW.
Around Town
Around Town
Kennedale's places, people, and traditions
Park
Sonora Park
Sonora Park anchors Kennedale's central recreation system with ball fields, walking trail, and pavilions. Source: City of Kennedale Parks.
Year-round
Civic
Kennedale Community Center
The city's community center on Municipal Drive serves as a meeting and event space for residents. Source: City of Kennedale.
Year-round
Heritage
Old Town Kennedale
The original commercial cluster around Kennedale Parkway and Bowman Springs Road preserves the small-town heart of the community. Source: City of Kennedale.
Year-round
Landmark
Lake Arlington adjacent
Lake Arlington, the City of Arlington's primary water-supply reservoir on Village Creek, borders Kennedale on the east and provides shoreline recreation accessed through Arlington parks. Source: City of Arlington.
Year-round
Tradition
Kennedale Wildcats football
Kennedale High School football is a long-running south Tarrant athletic tradition and a primary fall community gathering. Source: Kennedale ISD.
Fall season
Festival
Kennedale community programming
The city's annual community events including Independence Day fireworks and seasonal programming anchor the local calendar. Source: City of Kennedale.
Seasonal
Known for
- Kennedale Arts District
- Sonora Park
- Village Creek historic area
- Kennedale ISD
The Story of Kennedale
Kennedale began around a mineral-water well in the 1860s or 1870s, southeast of Fort Worth, and took shape after Oliver Sylvester Kennedy and partners bought and surveyed the land in the 1880s.
To lure the railroad, Kennedy platted the townsite in 1886 and donated every other lot to the Southern Pacific — and the town was named in his honor. (The name itself echoed a Kennedale in Alabama, named for Kennedy's uncle.) A post office had opened in 1884.
Early Kennedale lived on its mineral well, several dairies, cotton crops and a brick yard.
Today Kennedale is a small city ten miles southeast of Fort Worth, grown into a quiet residential community along Village Creek.
Sources: Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas; City of Kennedale.
🗓️ Coming this week Full calendar →
TUE
28
Birdville ISD Board of Trustees
6:30pm · agenda online
TUE
2
Tarrant County Commissioners Court
10am · agenda online
TUE
2
Fort Worth City Council
7pm · agenda online
TUE
2
Arlington City Council
6:30pm · agenda online
MON
8
Northwest ISD Board of Trustees
6:30pm · agenda online
MON
8
Keller ISD Board of Trustees
6:30pm · agenda online
MON
8
Carroll ISD Board of Trustees
5:30pm · agenda online
🎈 Kids Trading Post · Kennedale 3 activities →
Storytime, classes, camps, leagues, and open-play in Kennedale, sourced from libraries and partner orgs. Updated nightly · no manual data entry.
See all 3 kid activities →
Sports
Kennedale Sports (Kennedale ISD)
School-district athletics + city rec
ISD Athletics
Kennedale ISD — Wildcats
Kennedale students participate in Kennedale ISD athletics. UIL classification varies by HS enrollment.
Source: Kennedale ISD
Community Rec
Kennedale parks + community programs
City Parks & Rec coordinates youth + adult community recreation programs scaled to Kennedale's pop.
Source: City of Kennedale
Cross-District
Friday-night football in the surrounding district
For HS football fans, the closest district games are in Kennedale ISD stadiums — typically a short drive within the Mid-Cities or NE/NW Tarrant corridor.
Source: Kennedale ISD
⭐ Game of the week
Carroll Dragons — district football (anchor program)
🏈 District football ·
Tarrant County's anchor programs — Carroll (8 state titles), Keller (top-of-district 5A), Mansfield (B-rated district), Arlington Martin (AISD flagship), Fossil Ridge (KISD power program) — get priority weekly coverage from the news radar. Carroll Dragons headline the off-season anchor framing; weekly schedule populates from MaxPreps DFW + each ISD's athletics site.
📜 On this day in Tarrant County sports
1988
🏈 Carroll (Southlake) Dragons claim 1st state football championship — beginning of the dynasty that would produce 8 UIL state titles. Under coach Bob Ledbetter.
1993
🏈 Carroll Dragons capture their 3rd state football title (1988, 1992, 1993 = three-in-a-row 3A run under Coach Ledbetter; QB Kris Brown led the '93 squad past Cuero).
2011
🏈 Carroll Dragons win their 8th and most recent UIL state football title — capping the program's run as Tarrant County's most successful HS football dynasty.
2018
🥎 Mansfield Tigers softball reaches UIL state semifinals — anchor moment for MISD's growing softball program under HC Gregory George's broader program leadership.
2026
🏃 Keller ISD sends 11 athletes to UIL State Track & Field — multiple medal-stand finishes per district release.
📻 Radio guide
Southlake Carroll Dragons football
KKGM 1630 AM (Fort Worth; news/sports) — exclusive radio home of Carroll football
Dragon Sports Network
Aledo Bearcats football (Tarrant-area marquee program)
KTFW-FM 92.1 'Hank FM' (LKCM Radio Group; country) — flagship for Aledo broadcasts
Aledo Sports Network
Arlington ISD football (Martin · Lamar · Bowie)
NFHS Network (streaming platform) — official AISD broadcast partner
NFHS Network
Mansfield Tigers football
NFHS Network (streaming platform) — Mansfield ISD live broadcasts
NFHS Network
Keller / Fossil Ridge (Keller ISD) football
NFHS Network (streaming platform) — Keller ISD live broadcasts
NFHS Network
Fort Worth-area HS football game of the week
KTCU-FM 88.7 'The Choice' (TCU student station, Fort Worth)
KTCU 88.7
🏆 UIL playoff bracket
No active Tarrant County UIL playoff bracket on the desk. Populates when a Tarrant County team is in a UIL playoff round (football, basketball, baseball/softball, volleyball). Source: UIL playoff records.
Activities
Things to do in Kennedale
Kids, library, sports, fitness, classes, camps, open play — sourced from libraries, parks, and partner orgs across Kennedale.
story-time
Preschool Storytime
Weekly · check library calendar
Kennedale Public Library · 316 W. Third St, Kennedale
event
Summer Reading Program
June–July 2026
Kennedale Public Library · 316 W. Third St, Kennedale
sports
KYA Youth Baseball, Football & Cheer
Baseball begins April; football/cheer begin August
Kennedale Youth Association · Sonora Park & Kennedale Ballfields, 901 Wildcat Way
Civic & Government
Civic & Government
Kennedale city hall, schools, and county connection
Government
Council-manager government
Kennedale operates under a council-manager form with a mayor and council members. Source: City of Kennedale.
Mayor
Mayor presides over council
The Kennedale mayor is elected citywide and presides over the council that sets policy and appoints the city manager. Source: City of Kennedale.
Schools
Kennedale ISD serves the city
Kennedale ISD is a small independent district with Kennedale High School as its sole comprehensive high school. Source: Kennedale ISD.
County
City sits in Tarrant County (judge Tim O'Hare)
Kennedale is fully within Tarrant County, governed at the county level by County Judge Tim O'Hare. Source: Tarrant County.
Reach the right desk
By the Numbers
By the Numbers
Pop
~8,862 residents
Smaller incorporated city of Tarrant, ringed by Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield. Steady growth as DFW expanded south.
Source: Wikipedia
County
Southeast Tarrant
In SE Tarrant — part of DFW-Arlington MSA. County services + jail in Fort Worth.
Source: Wikipedia
Schools
Kennedale ISD ~3,400 students
Small district vs AISD/MISD but tight footprint allows close school-community ties.
Source: KISD
Highway
US-287 through town
Dominant transportation feature — direct access to I-20 north, Mansfield + points south.
Source: Wikipedia
Population
8,862
Type
city
School District
kennedale-isd
School ISDs in Tarrant County
Tarrant County ISDs by enrollment + TEA 2024-25 accountability rating.
| ISD | Enrollment | Rating | Mascot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Worth ISD | 70,184 | C | Panthers |
| Arlington ISD | 56,000 | C | Various |
| Lewisville ISD | 50,000 | B | Various |
| Mansfield ISD | 35,000 | B | Tigers |
| Keller ISD | 34,078 | B | Indians |
| Northwest ISD | 32,000 | B | Texans |
| Birdville ISD | 22,637 | C | Hawks |
| Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD | 22,000 | B | Eagles |
| Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD (HEB) | 22,000 | B | Trojans |
| Crowley ISD | 16,000 | C | Eagles |
| Grapevine-Colleyville ISD | 12,520 | B | Mustangs |
| Burleson ISD | 12,000 | B | Elks |
| Carroll ISD | 8,300 | A | Dragons |
| White Settlement ISD | 6,700 | C | Brewers |
| Azle ISD | 6,600 | C | Hornets |
| Everman ISD | 5,500 | C | Bulldogs |
| Castleberry ISD | 4,000 | B | Lions |
| Kennedale ISD | 3,400 | C | Wildcats |
| Lake Worth ISD | 2,700 | D | Bullfrogs |
Updated 2026-05-27
Ask the Desk
Questions about Kennedale
What are Tarrant County's 2025 property tax rates?
Tarrant County (general portion): ~$0.19 per $100. City of Fort Worth: $1.0624. City of Arlington: $1.0929 (down ~1¢ from 2024). Combined rates from Fort Worth ISD + City of Fort Worth + Tarrant County College bring the total for most Fort …
Who is Tarrant County's County Judge?
Tim O'Hare. He is the 33rd County Judge of Tarrant County since the county's founding in 1849, took office January 1, 2023, and his current term runs through January 1, 2027. He is running for re-election November 3, 2026, and has said the …
Who is Tarrant County's Sheriff?
Bill E. Waybourn. Source: Tarrant County elected officials (tarrantcountytx.gov).
Who is the State Senator for Tarrant County's District 9?
Taylor Rehmet (Democrat), who won the November 4, 2025 special election to replace Republican Kelly Hancock — Hancock left to become acting state comptroller. Rehmet won by roughly 14,000 votes (~15% margin) and is completing the remainder …
Which ISD serves Kennedale?
Kennedale ISD serves the city, with a TEA C district rating (2024 confirmed, 2024-25 pending) and approximately 3,400 students. The mascot is the Wildcats. Kennedale ISD's footprint covers the city plus unincorporated Tarrant County south o…
All Kennedale Q&As → Community Voice
History
Founded 1947
From a 19th-century farming settlement to a small south-Tarrant city
Kennedale traces its name to Oliver S. Kennedy, who established a sawmill and small store on Village Creek in 1884 — the community that grew up around the mill took the Kennedy name and a post office was established as Kennedale in 1886. Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries the community remained a small farming and milling district. Kennedale incorporated as a city in 1947 to gain zoning authority and forestall Arlington and Fort Worth annexation in the postwar period. Population grew slowly from a few hundred at incorporation past 1,500 by 1970 and past 4,000 by 1990 before climbing to 9,000 by 2020 as Lake Arlington-area suburban development reached into the city. Modern Kennedale remains a small council-manager city with Kennedale ISD as its central civic institution. Sources: TSHA; City of Kennedale; Wikipedia.
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