Side Kick
Camdenton, MO 65020

My kid went here recently and he loves it he loves the football team the teachers and the students he's from a Hispanic background and he feels very accepted here he even has his own friend group

Camdenton High School has one of the most disappointing and frustrating athletic programs I’ve seen. The biggest issue is not talent—it’s leadership. The athletic department and coaching staff show little to no real commitment to integrity, accountability, or fair competition, and it shows every single year in conference play.There is a clear culture of looking the other way when it comes to cheating, rule-bending, and unethical behavior. Instead of addressing these problems, the staff appears more interested in protecting themselves than fixing what’s broken. When a program lacks standards, discipline, and consequences, losing becomes the norm—and that is exactly what keeps happening year after year.Poor performance is not bad luck; it’s the result of weak leadership. Coaches are not held accountable, athletes are not held to consistent standards, and nothing changes. As long as the athletic staff continues to tolerate unethical behavior and avoid responsibility, this program will continue to fall behind schools that actually value fair play and proper development of student athletes.Money is also clearly mismanaged. Funds are spent on unnecessary or flashy items while core issues—coaching quality, athlete safety, and program development—are ignored. Instead of investing in long-term improvement, the school keeps patching over problems and wondering why results never improve.Camdenton athletics desperately needs a complete reset. Until the school addresses the toxic culture within its athletic leadership and takes cheating and accountability seriously, there is no reason to expect different results. Students deserve better than a program that fails them both on and off the field.

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My daughter just recently graduated from Hawthorn (4th grade) and will be moving onto Oak Ridge in the fall. Top reasons we loved Hawthorn are: the staff really care about each student. They learn everyone's name and like all Camdenton buildings, the teachers are outside at 720am each day dressed up and listening to "kid friendly" pop songs and giving out high fives and smiles to each student! My daughter was part of the Robotics program, and has been the past 2 years, along with a Project Lead the Way both of which were after school clubs which she loved. Hawthorn's push for more STEM based curriculum is amazing, and each student loves it! Their clubs, reading and math contests, to the after school programs for both the advanced (listed above) and for those who just need a little bit of help like PASS & Book Buddies. As with all the elementary schools in camdenton, they have an amazing PTO program & volunteers that give their time to watch all the students grow too! I couldn't imagine a better school for my daughter! We cannot wait until fall and what Oak Ridge has in store for her!